Meme coins are the most popular and profitable narrative of this crypto cycle. After leading the market in both the previous quarters this year, they are expected to fly high once again as new money flows in, with the Federal Reserve announcing 50 bps rate cuts for the first time since 2020.
You may wonder how these meme coins achieve massive gains despite seemingly offering no fundamental value or utility. But you will be wrong there; while they may not offer value in the traditional sense, they possess a unique utility as a new-age marketing strategy that can allow for more authentic and relatable connections.
Memes are actually a popular mode of communication among younger audiences, allowing them to showcase their personality, humor, and values.
Given that memes help create a sense of community and loyalty among their users and followers, they have become vastly popular in the crypto space as a way to connect with the masses.
Shaped by internet trends, viral content, and social media influencers, meme coins allow a far broader reach, which goes beyond language and geographical limitations.
In the financial speculative world of crypto, memes are more than just a way to communicate complex concepts in a simplified and engaging manner. They have actually become the basis for cryptocurrencies, thriving on community engagement, social media activity, hype, and FOMO (fear of missing out).
As communities grew and media attention increased, meme coins became a tool for generating outsized financial gains, which can be likened to that of artwork, whose value is influenced by subjective factors. And the higher the prices go, the larger the traction and community growth, which then leads to more astronomical moves in prices, creating a feedback loop.
Shiba Inu and Pepe Coin are popular examples of this trend. However, it’s not a recent thing; meme coins have always outperformed traditional investments.
The OG Dogecoin was created as a joke, only to see its market cap reach $85 billion at its peak. While Dogecoin was among the handful of meme coins available up until a few years ago, today, the meme coin mania has spread throughout the crypto space.
Redefining Digital Finance
By tapping into the cultural zeitgeist and gaining social media virality, the meme coin sector has grown to be worth $44.2 bln. During the bull market of 2021, Ethereum was the lead blockchain for this movement, but this time around, Solana took the meme coin craze to even greater heights.
The meme coin sector alone on Solana is and it continues to spread to other chains like Base and Tron.
There is no slowing down of this trend either with new meme coins being launched every other day. But, of course, not all coins are the same.
Tokens like WIF have already solidified their position with memes, huge price appreciation, and capturing like GCR. Meanwhile, emerging ones like PONKE are slowly building their community and ecosystem through integrations with top exchanges, wallets, and services, as well as offering fun elements to spread creativity and memes around.
The appeal of meme coins is not just humor; they also offer an excellent entry point for those excluded from traditional financial systems and those who missed the huge upside of majors like Bitcoin and Ether.
The low price point of meme coins, which tends to be far below a dollar, offers an attractive opportunity for investors to accomplish enormous returns.
For instance, is a meme coin with a value of $0.3272 per token. Just at the beginning of this year, PONKE was trading at $0.00928, and since then, it has rallied 3,424%. And despite such movement, PONKE’s market cap is still just $177.7 million, with a maximum supply of 555,555,555 tokens.
These metrics make meme coins a lucrative option for small investors, who can easily access these tokens. One doesn’t need to be an accredited investor or have an investment size big enough to make any decent profits.
Meme tokens can easily be found on major centralized exchanges (CEX), and even if top-tier trading platforms do not provide support, one can just use one's wallet to buy them.
So, as seen, meme coins are unique in their ability to monetize internet culture, creating a new asset class that combines cultural influence with financial speculation.
This category of digital assets has added fun, excitement, and novelty to cryptocurrencies, offering an equal dose of entertainment and investment opportunities. However, it’s important to note that meme coins are highly volatile, even more so than the general crypto assets, which calls for caution and thorough research.
But while starting as speculative bubbles, meme coins are now at the forefront of a shift in how we deal with money and investments, and with time, they have the potential to become significant players in the broader digital currency and financial landscape.
