Unchained
Why Memecoins Have Been 2024's Most Profitable Crypto Trade: Ansem and Kelxyz
Tue May 07 2024
crypto marketmeme coinsviralitycommunity engagementBitcoinEthereumSolanawealth generationregulationracist meme coinsWIP meme coincryptocurrency successmemes and NFTsfinancialization of memessocial tokens
Description
This episode explores the impact of memes on the crypto market, focusing on meme coins. It discusses the value of memes in driving success and wealth generation, factors influencing meme coin success, virality and community engagement, types of meme coins and their evaluation, comparison of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, wealth generation and regulation of meme coins, response to racist meme coins, success story of WIP meme coin, factors influencing cryptocurrency success, future applications and convergence of memes and NFTs, financialization of memes and social tokens. The episode concludes with additional information about the guests and the Unchained podcast.
Insights
Memes and internet culture hold significant value, as seen in the success of influencers on social media platforms like TikTok.
Attention and memes play a crucial role in driving value and success in the online space, including within the crypto market.
Memes have unbounded upside and downside, driven by people's interest and self-fulfilling valuation
Simplicity and relatability are key factors in the success of meme coins
Virality is crucial for a meme's success, often achieved through influencers with large followings.
Community engagement and social media presence play a significant role in meme coin popularity.
There are two types of meme coins: fair launch coins driven by the community and orchestrated coins with a team holding a portion of the supply.
Different chains like Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin host different meme coin communities with varying characteristics and advantages.
Bitcoin attracts old crypto money and has a massive wealth effect compared to Ethereum.
There are criticisms of meme coins, with some viewing them as vehicles to transfer wealth.
Meme coins have generated significant wealth for many individuals, with examples like Dogecoin showing substantial returns.
Efforts are being made to regulate meme coins to prevent scams and provide a framework for their creation.
Racist meme coins are a common occurrence on the internet and not surprising to the speakers.
To prevent the proliferation of racist meme coins, it is suggested that the community should ignore them to remove their incentive for creators.
WIP, a meme coin on Solana, gained popularity through community and Twitter memes.
The WIP meme coin went from 100k to 3 billion market cap within two weeks in December.
The success of a cryptocurrency is influenced by factors like Reliability, Virality, and community coordination.
Bitcoin is considered the original meme coin due to its value being derived from the community and its early holders' strong conviction.
NFT projects are evolving to include fractionalized versions of JPEGs as coins, expanding community and creativity.
Friend.tech distributed 100% of its token supply to the community, akin to meme coin distribution models.
Chapters
- Favorite Memes and Their Impact on Crypto Market
- Memes and Internet Culture
- Factors Influencing Meme Coin Success
- Virality and Community Engagement
- Types of Meme Coins and Evaluation
- Comparison of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
- Wealth Generation and Regulation of Meme Coins
- Racist Meme Coins and Community Response
- Success Story of WIP Meme Coin
- Factors Influencing Cryptocurrency Success
- Future Applications and Convergence of Memes and NFTs
- Financialization of Memes and Social Tokens
- Additional Information
Summary
Transcript
Favorite Memes and Their Impact on Crypto Market
00:00 - 06:49
- Discussion about favorite memes and their impact on crypto market
- Exploration of meme coins as a significant trend in the current crypto market, with discussions on value and potential
Memes and Internet Culture
06:30 - 13:13
- Memes and internet culture hold significant value, as seen in the success of influencers on social media platforms like TikTok.
- Attention and memes play a crucial role in driving value and success in the online space, including within the crypto market.
- Memes are considered a core engine of the Internet and have the potential to generate substantial wealth, exemplified by past viral trends like the Drake meme.
- Certain cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin have consistently reappeared over different market cycles due to their popularity among crypto natives.
Factors Influencing Meme Coin Success
12:51 - 19:27
- Investors can be upset when meme coins outperform their researched investments
- Memes have unbounded upside and downside, driven by people's interest and self-fulfilling valuation
- Simplicity and relatability are key factors in the success of meme coins
- Wide distribution without a concentration of ownership is crucial for meme coin success
- Virality plays a significant role in the success of meme coins, often driven by influencers
Virality and Community Engagement
19:07 - 26:06
- Virality is crucial for a meme's success, often achieved through influencers with large followings.
- Community engagement and social media presence play a significant role in meme coin popularity.
- The ability to easily remix and repurpose a meme contributes to its virality and widespread adoption.
- Tokenomics, distribution strategy, and team involvement impact the success and price fluctuations of meme coins.
Types of Meme Coins and Evaluation
25:36 - 32:46
- There are two types of meme coins: fair launch coins driven by the community and orchestrated coins with a team holding a portion of the supply.
- The team ownership of the coin's supply plays a significant role in evaluating meme coins.
- Meme coins can be categorized into large cap, mid cap, and small cap based on their appeal and potential audience.
- Distinguishing between bot interest and genuine organic interest in meme communities is crucial, with bots often exhibiting repetitive behavior.
- Different chains like Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin host different meme coin communities with varying characteristics and advantages.
Comparison of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
32:25 - 39:24
- Bitcoin attracts old crypto money and has a massive wealth effect compared to Ethereum.
- Experienced traders are active on every chain in the crypto market.
- Solana is seen as a leading chain for meme coins, with Bitcoin still needing work on its UX for trading meme coins.
- There are criticisms of meme coins, with some viewing them as vehicles to transfer wealth.
Wealth Generation and Regulation of Meme Coins
38:57 - 45:25
- Meme coins have generated significant wealth for many individuals, with examples like Dogecoin showing substantial returns.
- Criticism of meme coins should focus more on the shady behavior of teams launching them rather than just looking at price fluctuations.
- There are proposals to make meme coins safer by implementing rules such as locking percentages of tokens and preventing rug pulls.
- Platforms like Pump.fund have gained popularity by offering a way to launch coins without the risk of rug pulls.
- Efforts are being made to regulate meme coins to prevent scams and provide a framework for their creation.
Racist Meme Coins and Community Response
45:07 - 51:38
- Racist meme coins are a common occurrence on the internet and not surprising to the speakers.
- The speakers find humor in the absurdity of people investing in these meme coins with their life savings.
- To prevent the proliferation of racist meme coins, it is suggested that the community should ignore them to remove their incentive for creators.
- Attention is a key factor in the success of meme coins, but withholding attention can lead to their natural decline.
Success Story of WIP Meme Coin
51:13 - 57:12
- WIP, a meme coin on Solana, gained popularity through community and Twitter memes.
- A mention of the meme 'dog with hat' during a live stream led to a significant increase in its market cap.
- The WIP meme coin went from 100k to 3 billion market cap within two weeks in December.
- The speaker's Telegram group has around 25,000 members discussing various crypto topics and trades.
- The speaker discusses the influence of Ansem's chat on meme coins and highlights the inability to manufacture viral memes.
Factors Influencing Cryptocurrency Success
56:53 - 1:04:04
- The success of a cryptocurrency is influenced by factors like Reliability, Virality, and community coordination.
- A woman's endorsement of a token on crypto Twitter can have a significant impact on its success.
- Bitcoin is considered the original meme coin due to its value being derived from the community and its early holders' strong conviction.
Future Applications and Convergence of Memes and NFTs
1:03:36 - 1:10:17
- Bitcoin's early perception was similar to how meme coins are viewed now, with skepticism about its value.
- The concept of memes and ideas is discussed in relation to Bitcoin and meme coins.
- Meme coins are seen as a way to engage communities and could have various future applications like charity or social good initiatives.
- Historical internet memes are being turned into coins, indicating a trend that may continue in the future.
- There is a comparison between NFTs and memes in terms of community engagement, suggesting potential convergence between the two.
Financialization of Memes and Social Tokens
1:10:06 - 1:17:02
- NFT projects are evolving to include fractionalized versions of JPEGs as coins, expanding community and creativity.
- There is a trend towards financializing memes, with the potential for all memes to become coins in the future.
- Communities on the internet will likely revolve around memes, leading to network states based on memes.
- Friend.tech is exploring social tokens by allowing trading of individuals' popularity and access, similar to Uniswap for social tokens.
- Friend.tech distributed 100% of its token supply to the community, akin to meme coin distribution models.
Additional Information
1:16:34 - 1:17:23
- Guests can be contacted via Twitter for further engagement.
- The guests express gratitude for being on the show.
- Listeners are encouraged to explore more about mean coins and ansem and kel in the show notes.
- Unchained podcast is produced by Laura Shin with a team of contributors.
- Unchained is now part of the CoinDesk Podcast Network.