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How Memecoins Become Popular — an Investigation

by Serge BaloyanNovember 7th, 2024

Too Long; Didn't Read

I'm starting a series of articles on the topic of Memecoins. In this article, we'll touch base on what makes memecoins popular in general. This will be useful for both people trading these coins and for funders who want to bring their memecoin to the market.

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I'm starting a series of articles on the topic of Memecoins, in which we will investigate why and how they are becoming popular.

Memecoins are a phenomenon of our time. I've been working with crypto projects since 2016, and I can confidently say that memecoins are in many ways a squeeze of different crypto trends from different years.

They have something of the ICO excitement, mania like during the NFT hype, silliness and reflection of the zeitgeist, which memes themselves are.

And of course, a lot of psychological and economic manipulation.

These are what I want to get into - why memes are so popular, how FOMO is born, and how market makers manipulate traders who are trying to capitalize on this trend. Follow me for the next articles of this investigation (to get the updates first - follow me on X). And if you run a memecoin or any other Web3 project and need an advice on how to make it viral - you can message me directly.

In this article, we'll touch base. What makes memecoins popular in general? This will be useful for both people trading these coins and for funders who want to bring their memecoin to the market.

Memecoins have gained popularity due to a combination of factors that leverage internet culture, community dynamics, and speculative investment behavior. Let’s check the basics of it.

Internet Culture

Many think that memecoins are just the creation of Internet Culture. Of course, it’s true.

Memecoins often gather and unite the popular internet memes and appeal them to a broad audience. This brings more attention and attract different types of audience that is more engaged, feeling that they are a part of meme culture.

Speculative Asset

But the main factor behind the popularity of memecoins is Speculative Interest. Basically, it’s the main factor for the crypto industry overall.

We saw this during every cycle and every trend. But in memecoins the price volatility is extreme. It attracts speculative investors that are looking for quick profits. And low initial price allows inventors to buy large quantities, hoping for huge returns if the coins gain popularity.

This narrative is also highlighted by many media and KOLs, often making it seem an easy way to get rich. We will discuss this topic deeply in one of my next articles.

Easy Start

Memecoins create an easy entrance for a wide audience. You don’t have to read White Papers and complicated Tokenomics. You don’t need to understand the utility of the project.

It’s easy to purchase and sell. Usually the cost is low, so memecoins are also accessible to small-scale investors and newcomers to the market.

Community

Memecoins are all about its communities. And being involved in a community is in the human genes. The bigger and the louder the community - the more interest and investment is driven.

Often it also fueled by influencers and celebrities that shill this or that project.

Viral Marketing

Memecoins relies on viral marketing strategies with memes, discussions, jokes and buzz spreading rapidly across X (Twitter), Telegram, Reddit and other platforms.

I will speak on how to make any memecoin viral in one of my next articles. It's a big and very interesting topic.