Is the exchange siding with "NEIRO"? The Meme Civil War is underway

Author: Tuo Luo Finance

The Legendary "Dog" in the Crypto Market

Recently, the NEIRO contract, once referred to as the new generation "Dogecoin," was launched on OKX and Binance one after another. Driven by the exchanges, NEIRO quickly surged over 6 times. This launch also officially announced the slow demise of its competing product "Neiro."

The final outcome of MEME, in both uppercase and lowercase, was determined by the exchanges, sparking heated discussions in the market. In the competition of conspiracy theories between the manipulators and the community, the industrialization of MEME was also placed under scrutiny.

When mentioning NEIRO, industry outsiders may not be very familiar, but if referring to Dogecoin, the recognition is much higher.

This 2013 MEME, featuring a Shiba Inu, gained some fame on the geek-centric Reddit upon its inception. In 2019, it rapidly gained global popularity under the promotion of Elon Musk, and in 2021, it became a typical coin that ignited the animal coin frenzy, making multiple appearances on China's Weibo hot search. To date, DOGECOIN has become a unique representative in the crypto MEME culture, boasting its own dedicated website and community, along with a massive following of over 3.98 million on the X platform and more than 30,000 members on Discord, naturally rising to become a top influencer in the crypto space.

In fact, DOGE has a real-life prototype; it is a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, adopted in 2008 by a Japanese kindergarten teacher, Atsuko Satō. Due to its old age, Kabosu passed away on May 24 of this year at the age of 18. At that time, DOGE briefly surged by 9%. The main character of this article is precisely the story that unfolded afterward.

On July 28, 2024, Atsuko Satō posted on the X platform, announcing the adoption of a new Shiba Inu named 'ねいろ'. At that time, Trump was giving a speech at a Bitcoin conference, and crypto users were eagerly awaiting the explosion of speech-related MEMEs. The emergence of the Shiba Inu at this moment was a golden opportunity for the crypto field, which is adept at leveraging hot topics. However, when it came to naming, the creator faced a complex consideration; a complicated Japanese name was clearly not conducive to MEME dissemination, and a simpler, more direct English name was the industry’s first choice. The direct translation of ねいろ is "Neiro," and around this English name, the debate over the legitimacy of uppercase and lowercase began that day.

The fastest responding MEME token was the lowercase "Neiro" token, built on the Solana ecosystem, which saw its market cap peak at $49.7 million on that day. Subsequently, the Neiro token contract was also deployed on the Ethereum ecosystem. The timing was close, and the uppercase "NEIRO" token also appeared on both Solana and Ethereum.

As the two sides fiercely competed across various chains, well-known trader Ansem intervened, posting a K-line link for lowercase $Neiro on the X platform. Users received the signal, and funds quickly flowed into the lowercase dog. However, facing the true and false "Monkey King," Atsuko Satō tweeted that she only supported the IP copyright holder @ownthedoge $dog (the decentralized autonomous organization Own the Doge purchased the image rights related to the Dogecoin prototype Kabosu, but the organization did not disclose the purchase price), and that other tokens were unrelated. The lowercase Neiro promptly fell, and a more dramatic turn occurred when Ansem joined the uppercase "NEIRO" Space to speak, reversing the situation once again. NEIRO's market cap surged to nearly $40 million, while Neiro's market cap dropped back to $20 million.

After a series of dramatic operations, the next day, the market caps of both uppercase and lowercase tokens on Ethereum stabilized and gradually increased. By July 31, the market cap of the uppercase NEIRO token had reached $70 million, seemingly resembling a new generation of golden dogs, but it faced another crisis of trust.

Bubblemaps exposed on Twitter that the $NEIRO token issued on Ethereum had a large amount of internal wash trading, with about 78% of the tokens being pre-allocated and subsequently transferred to over 400 wallet addresses. Further media analysis indicated that the suspected wash trading addresses all came from a mixer address marked as Cointool, and the funds were transferred at 22:13 on July 27, with amounts around 0.05 Ethereum.

Despite the exposure, the market cap of uppercase NEIRO still soared to $170 million after a FOMO surge, indicating that NEIRO's wash trading share reached a staggering $130 million, making it the largest wash trading case among MEME coins. However, due to the scandal, NEIRO's rise lost momentum and gradually fell, with its market cap returning to $2.6 million on September 4.

Price trend of uppercase Neiro, source: Coinmarketcap

On the other hand, lowercase Neiro unexpectedly returned to life. At the initial token launch, the Neiro community followed the common practice of transferring 4% of the total Neiro tokens to Vitalik's address. This routine operation did not bring any benefits, but coincidentally, Vitalik sold all the MEME tokens he received on August 5, allowing Neiro to ride on Vitalik's response, creating a new hype. Coupled with strong team operations and promotions, the token surged by as much as 50 times in the following week. Although it quickly fell afterward, it once again attracted market attention. In contrast, during the rise of Neiro, NEIRO nearly halved.

Of course, regardless of the coin price, both uppercase and lowercase dogs have a solid community foundation. The lowercase Neiro community has been highly praised by many KOLs for its grassroots promotional efforts, and the technical team also participates in charitable activities to enhance visibility, earning a good reputation in the circle. NEIRO is not to be outdone; with the backing of wash trading capital, its underlying team is evidently formidable, especially in the Japanese KOL circle, where its influence is prominent. In fact, when Bubblemaps raised questions, many KOLs such as @apipiro22, @mikky8080, and @yukimarupotty responded, claiming that having team tokens is essential for going further.

It was initially thought that the conflict between the two sides would end abruptly, but the intervention of exchanges changed the entire situation. On the evening of September 5, OKX and Binance successively launched the NEIRO contract, causing NEIRO's price to soar from about $0.03 to $0.1952, currently reported at $0.19, with its market cap returning to $180 million. In contrast, lowercase Neiro was powerless to resist, with its market cap dropping to $16 million.

Price trend of lowercase Neiro, source: Coinmarketcap

It can be argued that the exchanges ultimately determined the legitimacy of NEIRO, deciding the winner and loser between the two. However, a token with obvious wash trading allegations being lifted by major exchanges has sparked intense dissatisfaction in the market. Industry insiders believe that MEME has become a victim of factional conflict, with the interests of major exchanges exacerbating this situation. MEME is no longer a free choice of the community but has truly become a tool for interest groups to harvest profits.

The price trends of the two major tokens also indirectly prove this point. According to Rhythm's observation, just before the news broke, NEIRO experienced a surge after half a month of decline without any positive news, while Neiro continued to be in a downward channel, facing a significant drop. This indicates that perhaps interest groups had already been aware of the behind-the-scenes news and acted accordingly.

What is the value of MEME? For different subjects, there are clearly different answers. Ordinary users see it as a fairer opportunity for wealth, exchanges view it as a cash weight with traffic, and project parties maneuver within the balance of interests to obtain more reasonable returns. From any perspective, around the so-called attention economy, profit is undoubtedly the most important aspect for participants in the MEME ecosystem. When interests align, the operations of exchanges can lead users to revel in the excitement, praised as a strategic adaptation to the market. However, when interests diverge, public opinion can be entirely different. For example, in this token listing event, the NEIRO community's secret delight corresponds to the helpless curses of Neiro users.

From a deeper perspective, MEME, as a product of culture, while being a carrier of speculation, also possesses values that transcend that part, which is precisely why many MEME tokens endure over time. Even in a digital casino, it remains a personal choice. This is also the point of greatest dissatisfaction among industry insiders; the listing of tokens by exchanges is inherently a choice of sides, a choice that overrides user demand and serves only the interests of capital-rich groups.

However, it must be acknowledged that in today's crypto circle, MEME has indeed become an industrialized mass product. When new hot topics emerge, hot tokens spring up one after another. In the bustling flow of money, it is not surprising that the capital of interest groups plays a role in driving this. Looking at any fleeting token, it is inevitable that there are manipulators; otherwise, we wouldn't see so many "consensus-building" values skyrocketing hundreds of times in minutes or even seconds with golden dog MEMEs. This may be the main trend in the development of the MEME market.

And regardless of interest groups, sometimes the participation of a single individual is enough to change the game. For example, during the uppercase and lowercase dispute, Ansem's flip-flopping operations caused the tokens to experience a reversal between extremes. However, in an interview, Ansem merely mentioned that he had made a momentary operational error and had retweeted before fully understanding the situation. Even though he later clarified multiple times in Space, the FOMO market remained indifferent; after all, the traffic had arrived, and the story ended there. Yet to this day, some still claim he "killed" Neiro.

The more equitable market envisioned by users is also intertwined with numerous interests, but project parties still allow users to choose whether to enter. And what users entering the market can do is simply to discard their fantasies and strive to find clues to board the high-speed train of the manipulators, rather than being run over by the speeding train. As for values, in the current market where inventory is lacking, it will only face more severe tests.

Returning to the eponymous MEME, it is quite interesting that such situations are already widespread. For example, against the backdrop of the popularity of Black Wukong, MEMEs named Wukong have also begun to scatter across various public chains, reminiscent of Neiro.

It can be anticipated that the arena of eponymous MEMEs will continue to see fierce battles, and the ultimate victor, if not the loudest, will certainly be the one with the most funds. The final outcome—whether it results in full competition or bad money driving out good—will be a matter of perspective.