ACT goes online 10 times, why are Meme coins still booming, and what is the current state of the market?

As of November 10, the data statistics for BTC, ETH, and TON on the TrendX platform are as follows:

The discussion count for BTC last week was 20.53K, an increase of 21.23% compared to the week before last; the price last Sunday was $81,357, up 19.2% from the Sunday before last.

The discussion count for ETH last week was 5.75K, an increase of 50.03% compared to the week before last; the price last Sunday was $3,203, up 27.1% from the Sunday before last.

The discussion count for TON last week was 786, a decrease of 2.48% compared to the week before last; the price last Sunday was $5.42, up 0.83% from the Sunday before last.

Just today, Binance launched the AI Meme projects ACT and PNUT. As soon as the news broke, the ACT token skyrocketed by about 10 times, setting a new record for the increase of Meme tokens listed on exchanges, bringing a bit of Meme shock to the industry. It seems that exchanges are shifting their focus towards Meme.

This month, Binance Research released a report titled "Understanding the Rise of Meme Coins," which shows that since 2022, the total market capitalization of Meme coins has increased from 4% to 11% in 2024, nearly tripling in just two years. According to a report released by Bybit exchange in June this year, institutional investors increased their holdings in spot Meme coins from $62.5 million to $204.8 million between February and March this year, peaking at $293.7 million in April, an increase of nearly 500%. The wind of Meme coins is blowing stronger, with DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, GOAT… Suddenly popular Meme coins have made many people wealthy while leaving others confused. This article will help you understand why Meme coins are so popular and analyze the current state of their market.

The Rise of Meme Coins

Meme coins—cryptocurrencies based on internet memes. They are usually created by developers or enthusiasts, inspired by popular memes or internet culture, and widely spread through channels such as social media and online forums.

From the definition of Meme coins, we can see that, unlike other crypto assets, Meme coins may be created for humorous and entertainment purposes. These Meme coins do not have specific uses or practical applications; they inadvertently provide investment opportunities based on consensus while stimulating people's sense of humor. This foundational concept also underpins the trend of Meme coins this year. Here are the reasons for the sustained popularity of Meme coins this year:

1. Financialization of Internet Culture

The viral spread of Meme coins and their community-driven appeal have extended into the financial realm through cryptographic technology, achieving the financialization of Meme coins. From being a part of internet culture, they have been given value through financialization, allowing for buying and selling transactions, thus becoming a financial tool.

As one of the basic conditions for financialization, these Meme cultures have gained consensus in the "market" of the internet, which is also one of the biggest characteristics of Meme coins—lack of practicality but high attractiveness: Meme coins are based on internet culture, memes, or trends, usually lacking clear utility or intrinsic value. They represent a newer, fairer, and more accessible opportunity for wealth creation, with no pre-mining, team allocations, or venture capital distributions; all tokens are equally available to all participants at the time of issuance.

2. Impact of the Global Macroeconomy

This is a butterfly effect caused by the dollar. During the COVID crisis, central banks around the world engaged in unprecedented monetary easing, leading to a total global money supply increase from $81 trillion to $102 trillion, an increase of over 25%. This phenomenon of "massive liquidity" has made high-risk investments more attractive, with funds starting to flow into high-risk, high-return investment tools, including Meme coins.

The rapid expansion of global money supply has also triggered inflation and rising commodity prices worldwide. The inflation rate in the U.S. reached 7% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022. Faced with currency depreciation, rational actors have invested funds into assets deemed to have long-term value, and Meme coins, as an emerging asset class, have attracted some excess capital.

3. "Traffic Spread Fast Attack Strategy" of Major Public Chain Meme Coins

Meme coins are seen as the "outposts" of ecological development, acting as pioneers for the development of various blockchain ecosystems by attracting market attention and funds, thus promoting subsequent ecological development. Moreover, their spread has a cyclical high-heat characteristic; Meme coins in 2024 are showing cyclical high heat, spreading like an infectious disease, usually accompanied by exponential growth through social media and community dissemination.

These factors work together to drive the explosive rise of Meme coins in 2024. Their emergence is not only a reflection of changes in the financial market but also a result of the younger generation's dissatisfaction with the traditional financial system and their search for new investment opportunities. At the same time, the dissemination model and value proposition of Meme coins have attracted significant attention and participation from numerous investment institutions.

Mainstream Institutions' Views on the Meme Coin Sector

It can be said that since the beginning of this year, Meme coins have increasingly become an important focus for institutional investors. Starting in the second half of 2024, some VCs have announced investments in Meme coin infrastructure, marking a shift from previous opposition to gradual acceptance by VCs.

1. Binance

As early as 2023, Binance Labs invested in several Meme coins, and in 2024, it continues to maintain enthusiasm for the Meme coin sector. In January, it invested in the native ecological token MEME of Memeland, which was included in Binance Launchpool in October 2023. Subsequently, Binance Labs supported the development of its own Whyanelephant project.

2. Coinbase

Coinbase Ventures began supporting DOGE as early as 2018, although the specific investment amount was not disclosed, the project has accumulated significant community support. In 2021, Coinbase Ventures invested in SHIBA, and its parent company Coinbase announced at the end of 2023 that it would add Bonk to its list of tradable assets. Additionally, after the surge of GOAT, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong proposed setting up a crypto wallet for Truth Terminal, reflecting their ongoing focus on the Meme sector.

3. a16z

As a well-known mainstream venture capital institution, a16z was initially unfriendly towards the Meme coins that seized the market. Several chief leaders at a16z have tweeted harsh criticisms of Meme coins, claiming they undermine the long-term vision of cryptocurrencies, bluntly stating that this is a casino in the crypto world.

However, recently a16z has changed its critical stance from earlier this year, frequently participating in Meme events. First, a16z co-founder Andreessen Horowitz tipped $50,000 in BTC to the bot account Truth Terminal on X, which gave rise to the recently popular goat coin GOAT, pushing GOAT from an obscure project to a shocking historical market cap of $850 million, while Truth Terminal became the first AI millionaire, further promoting the trend of AI + Meme.

This Year’s Strong Performing Meme Coin Projects

Meme coins are the "get-rich-quick concept" we hear about every day. Compared to other sectors in the crypto market, the Meme coin sector clearly has a strong wealth effect, such as SHIB rising 500,000 times and DOGE rising 400 times, these wealth creation myths have attracted countless flows and funds into the cryptocurrency industry. However, the Meme coin sector is not just a flash in the pan; the wealth creation myths of this wave are still continuing.

1. DOGE (Dogecoin)

As one of the pioneers of Meme coins, DOGE has always been known for its community support and market performance. In 2021, DOGE gained mainstream popularity, growing from a market cap of $700 million on January 1 to $88 billion in early May, increasing over 100 times in just four months.

Currently, DOGE's market cap is around $36 billion. Of course, when mentioning DOGE tokens, one cannot overlook the huge traffic and influence brought by Elon Musk, who has repeatedly expressed his fondness for DOGE on Twitter. Recently, due to his support for Trump winning the U.S. election, the price of DOGE tokens rose 140% within three months, with a 70% increase over seven days. The promotion by such an influential global tech celebrity has a significant impact on the development of DOGE.

2. PEPE

The PEPE token was launched in April this year, and in less than a month, the number of token holder addresses reached 100,000, an unprecedented rapid growth at that time. Looking at the token price, the increase on the 22nd reached 120,000 times, with the price rising from ten zeros before the decimal point to five zeros. This not only attracted significant market attention but was simply boiling hot.

The success of PEPE is naturally a combination of multiple factors. After witnessing the massive wealth effect brought by the crazy surges of Dogecoin and SHIB, people have been searching for the next MEME coin. The emergence of PEPE and its rapid growth triggered FOMO emotions, with people fearing they would miss out on another hundredfold or thousandfold MEME coin opportunity. Thus, the faster the initial growth, the more buyers there were, creating a self-reinforcing process.

In addition, exchanges played a significant role in the development of PEPE. For example, the PEPE token was listed on the MEXC exchange in just six days and on Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in 22 days, a privilege not afforded to many other mainstream tokens.

3. Degen

Degen is a representative Meme project on the Base chain, which was very popular before PEPE emerged in February-March this year. Degen started as a community Meme project, entirely 100% Meme in nature. As the attributes of Degen's high-hat gentleman became more pronounced, it was later endowed with utility by the official app, serving as a tipping token for the Farcaster social platform, but it still retained its Meme attributes, equivalent to 80% Meme attributes and 20% utility attributes. Later, the support from Farcaster and various ecosystems on Base propelled Degen, contributing to the development of the Meme market and laying the groundwork for PEPE.

4. GOAT

AI Meme coin, its emergence is even more creative. The fundamental reason for the rise of GOAT coin is the combination of AI and Meme coins, creating a novel concept of AI autonomously issuing coins, something no one had attempted before, making GOAT coin appear coherent and native under a market cap of tens of millions. Of course, without certain traffic support, it would be hard to gain visibility. GOAT initially entered the public eye thanks to the influence of a16z, whose founding partner Marc Andreessen tipped it with $50,000 worth of Bitcoin, bringing initial attention and trust to GOAT coin. The launch of Moonshot made purchasing GOAT easier, causing its price to soar, completely entering the FOMO rhythm. Subsequently, GOAT's market cap soared, reaching a high of $600 million on October 20, with crypto bigwig Arthur Hayes even predicting that GOAT would reach a market cap of $1 billion.

5. ACT

ACT Meme is a cryptocurrency that combines AI technology with blockchain, aiming to create an ecosystem themed around "AI and Meme." The project is named "Act I: The AI Prophecy," built on the Solana blockchain, providing users with an equal and collaborative digital interaction experience through its innovative AI-driven mechanism.

Conclusion

The phenomenon of the popularity of Meme coins not only showcases the integration of internet culture and the financial realm but also marks a new trend in the combination of Meme and AI. As an indispensable part of the cryptocurrency sector, Meme coins continue to attract the attention of global investors with their unique community-driven and cultural symbolism. With the involvement of AI technology, the innovative potential and market influence of Meme coins will further expand, bringing new vitality and possibilities to the cryptocurrency market. In the future, Meme coins will continue to play an important role in the cryptocurrency field, driving the development and transformation of the industry.

Research Report