Analysis of the Development Process and Value Logic of Meme Coin

Meme coin is one of the most unique existences in the cryptocurrency field, combining cultural attributes and financial characteristics. Looking back at the history of meme coins is also to look back at the collision history of internet culture and financial speculation.

From the initially ironic jokes to the virtual currencies that now occupy a place in the market, meme coins are telling us through their experiences - in today's era, cultural resonance and community belief may drive value creation more than technical white papers. While the traditional financial world is still trying to create new value, meme coins have already reshaped people's perception of "value" itself.

In the era dominated by social media, the speed and manner of information dissemination have undergone fundamental changes. A meme that goes viral on Reddit or Twitter can achieve hundreds of millions of exposures worldwide within hours, and this viral power has now been directly converted into financial value. Meme coins, as the perfect vehicle for this conversion, have written their own stories and legends on the time-axis.

1. Breaking Ground/Foundational Work(2013-2016)

This period witnessed the original innovative journey of meme coins from zero to one, presenting a unique ecology where barbaric growth coexists with natural selection. Marked by the birth of DOGE in December 2013 and culminating in the maturity of Ethereum's smart contract technology in 2016, it constitutes the most pure and authentic "Genesis Era" in the history of meme coin development.

On the technical level, with a few exceptions, almost all meme coins at this stage are based on code forks of Bitcoin or Litecoin.

In terms of market performance, the average active cycle of meme coins born during this period is only 11.7 months, but survivors like DOGE show remarkable vitality.

In terms of historical status, the foundational significance of this stage cannot be underestimated. True innovation often arises when rules have not yet been established, and the experimental field from 2013 to 2016, which had not yet formed a system, preserved the most precious rebellious genes and innovative spirit for the world of cryptocurrency.

1.1 Ephemeral Type

Mooncoin

As an entertainment meme coin with the slogan "Moon Landing", its relatively short life could not bear the ambition of this grand narrative. It set a record for a single-day increase of over 300% in its first year, but after the highlight, there was a long silence. In 2015, it was delisted from mainstream exchanges, leading to a market value drop of over 90%; the following year, the anonymous development team members announced an "indefinite hibernation".

Fedoracoin(TIPS)

FedoraCoin(TIPS) was born on December 22, 2013, and its core is not aimed at the mass market, but rather precisely targets the "Fedora-wearing neckbeard" subculture on Reddit. This highly vertical positioning allowed it to quickly gain popularity within a specific community in its early days, but it also planted the seeds for limited development in the future.

Since 2015, as mainstream exchanges such as Cryptsy and Bittrex gradually delisted TIPS, its liquidity experienced a catastrophic decline. By the end of 2018, the TIPS GitHub repository stopped at version v1.8.0, and the last on-chain transaction record remained in November. In 2019, this once-prominent project was officially listed on the "dead list."

Nyancoin

As the second meme coin following DOGE, Nyancoin was released on January 6, 2014. Despite once having the unique identity of "the first officially licensed cryptocurrency in history," it lags far behind DOGE in market influence.

The "Rainbow Cat" meme that Nyancoin is based on has far less reach and cultural penetration compared to DOGE's "Shiba Inu" meme. In terms of application scenarios and development direction, Nyancoin lacks some breadth and depth compared to DOGE.

After 2019, mainstream data platforms stopped updating the real-time data for Nyancoin. At that time, its 24-hour trading volume had long been below $10,000, and the depletion of liquidity gradually led to its delisting from exchanges.

1.2 Constant Champion Type

Dogecoin(DOGE)

Launched on December 6, 2013, Dogecoin was originally just a parody of the Bitcoin craze created by programmers, but it unexpectedly evolved into one of the most enduring phenomenon meme coins in the history of cryptocurrency. Its iconic Shiba Inu image comes from the "Doge" meme that went viral on the internet in 2013, and this inherent high-profile internet IP quickly made it popular on social media platforms.

The development of DOGE perfectly showcases the duality of meme coins: on one hand, it has created a financial miracle driven by ordinary internet users; on the other hand, it has exposed the risks of such coins easily becoming speculative instruments.

Even when the entire meme coin market is sluggish in 2025, DOGE still maintains a trading volume of over 1 billion dollars daily, with its market capitalization firmly ranked in the top ten. Its community's activity level possesses astonishing vitality, and this advantage can always be transformed into market momentum at critical moments, creating a virtuous cycle.

2. Dormancy/Outburst ( 2017-2021)

Over the past five years, the market has witnessed the transformation of meme coins from a fringe subculture to a mainstream financial asset. Marked by the technological turning point of the widespread adoption of the ERC-20 standard in 2017, and culminating in 2021 when SHIB reached a historic market value, meme coins have completed a qualitative change from "internet jokes" to "phenomenal investment targets."

From a technical perspective, the maturity of smart contracts has completely restructured the issuance logic of meme coins. According to data on the Ethereum chain, most meme coins born between 2017 and 2021 chose to adopt the ERC-20 standard or rely on other protocols, reducing the issuance cost to less than one-thousandth.

At the same time, on the market narrative level, in December 2017, the market capitalization of DOGE first broke 1 billion USD, while in the peak period of 2021, the overall daily trading volume of the meme coin sector surpassed 30 billion USD, accounting for 12.3% of the entire cryptocurrency market.

2.1 Meteor Shining Type

Useless Ethereum Token(UET)

On June 17, 2017, during the peak of the ICO bubble, UET was launched. The project team openly admitted that the token had no functionality, no team, and no roadmap, and the official website even stated, "This is a worthless token, buying it is a waste of money."

However, UET raised 310 ETH( within 48 hours, which was about $93,000) at that time, becoming one of the most absurd ICO cases in history. In the early stages of its launch, some exchanges listed UET out of curiosity, causing the price to briefly surge by 800%.

However, after the brief speculative frenzy ended, UET also faced a crisis. In early 2018, security researchers discovered a fatal vulnerability in the UET smart contract, which was subsequently exploited, leading to a sharp decline in UET's price and a loss of market value. After the bear market of 2018, UET's liquidity dried up, and it was ultimately marked as a "failed project" in 2020.

Hoge Finance(HOGE)

HOGE, born on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021, is fundamentally positioned to build a unique token economy through a deflationary model and community governance. Each transaction automatically destroys 1% of the tokens while allocating 1% to the holders, attempting to drive value growth through scarcity.

HOGE emphasizes extreme communitarianism, allowing community members to vote on the project's development direction. At the same time, HOGE is also passionate about charity, committed to funding animal welfare projects, and has gained considerable popularity and support.

However, similar to other projects, the bottleneck of HOGE quickly became apparent: despite a promising start, the lack of actual application scenarios led to its long-term reliance on speculative sentiment, ultimately failing to break through the limitations of meme coins, resulting in a prolonged downturn after the price drop.

During the market winter of 2022, the price of HOGE fell over 90% from its peak, and liquidity gradually shrank. As of 2024, its GitHub updates have stagnated, and on-chain activity has significantly decreased, becoming another case of going from frenzy to silence.

2.2 Stellar Bright Type

Shiba Inu(SHIB)

Born in August 2020, Shiba Inu was initially just a meme coin parodying DOGE on the Ethereum chain, with a supply of up to 1 quadrillion coins. In May 2021, a tweet from Musk saying "Looking for Shiba Inu" ignited the market, causing SHIB to soar by 1200% in a single day. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin donated over 500 trillion SHIB tokens to the India COVID-Crypto Relief Fund, and then burned 45% of the SHIB coins, dramatically elevating it to a legendary status.

The success of SHIB in reaching its current status is largely attributed to the "Shib ecosystem" that the team has gradually built: the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, the Layer 2 network Shibarium, and the token burning mechanism, among others. This strategy of "meme exterior + practical core" has allowed it to successfully navigate the common pitfalls and challenges faced by meme coins.

2.3 Transformation Breakthrough Type

Floki Inu(FLOKI)

Floki Inu emerged in June 2021, inspired directly by Musk naming his Shiba Inu "Floki". Unlike most fleeting meme coins, FLOKI attempts to further rebrand itself, building a large ecosystem that encompasses DeFi, NFTs, the metaverse, trading bots, and cryptocurrency education platforms.

In terms of market performance, the price trajectory of FLOKI is a microcosm of the changes of the times: at the end of 2021, it surged to a historical high of $0.00034 during the bull market, and then plummeted over 90% during the bear market in 2022. In 2024, as the meme coin market warms up, FLOKI rebounds again, with its market value once again entering the top 50.

Despite the FLOKI team's efforts to downplay its meme origins and shift towards a "utility token" narrative, the slow progress of game projects and limited DeFi adoption have exposed the shortcomings of its ecological implementation. The future of FLOKI will be born between evolution and extinction, and how to balance the community enthusiasm for meme coins with the sustainable ecological construction of the project is the key challenge it faces.

SAMO(Samoyedcoin)

Born in 2021 during the explosive period of the Solana ecosystem, Samoyedcoin quickly rose to fame with its adorable Samoyed dog image. Unlike other meme coins with grassroots origins, SAMO has been adorned with the aura of "Solana's official mascot" from the very beginning.

SAMO attempts to find a balance between entertainment and practicality. In terms of technical architecture, SAMO fully leverages the low transaction fee advantage of the Solana chain, launching staking mining, NFT series, and other gameplay. By the end of 2021, with the explosion of the Solana ecosystem, SAMO's market capitalization once surpassed 500 million USD, becoming one of the most active meme coins on the chain.

However, the multiple outages of the Solana chain in 2022 dealt a heavy blow to SAMO. Although the team attempted to transform into "Solana Eco Ambassador" and launched plans like the "SAMO Visa Card", the advantages it once brought.