Stop urging the pump, the true market maker of the Meme coin is actually yourself.

In the summer of 2021, something quite magical happened in the crypto world.

A token featuring a dog head meme has surprisingly squeezed its way into the global top 10 cryptocurrency market cap. Many people's first reaction is confusion: how can this thing be worth hundreds of billions?

How a Joke Became a Cultural Phenomenon

The story dates back to 2013. Two programmers, Billy and Jackson, saw the rampant speculation in the crypto world at the time and thought it was quite ridiculous, so they created a parody project—using the most popular Shiba Inu meme as the logo, with an unlimited issuance.

Logically, this reverse design should have flopped, right? However, unexpectedly, a group of people on Reddit found it interesting. They started using this coin to tip entertaining posts, organize charitable donations, and even crowdfunded sponsorships for a race car driver and the Jamaican bobsled team.

Without a technical white paper and innovative algorithms, Dogecoin has managed to endure several rounds of bear markets purely through grassroots enthusiasm. By 2021, the coin price peaked at $0.74, and its market capitalization once exceeded 85 billion.

Musk's tweets indeed added fuel to the fire, but what truly keeps it alive today? It's those holders who have been creating memes and organizing online events. Other altcoins have long disappeared into the annals of history, while the Dogecoin community is still having fun.

Can Memes Become Hard Currency?

Dogecoin can be seen as a case of accidental success, but later entrants have been much more savvy.

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) that emerged in 2020 directly proclaimed itself as the “Dogecoin killer.” With the same Shiba Inu image and similar community engagement, it even gave its fans a catchy name – the “SHIB Army.” As a result, in 2021, the coin price skyrocketed by 120,000 times, peaking at a market cap of 36 billion dollars.

What’s even more outrageous is the PEPE of 2023. A “sad frog” meme, with no team, no roadmap, just relying on netizens to crazily share the meme, saw its market value soar to 7 billion dollars in two weeks.

Did you see the pattern? The prices of these coins are not determined by code, but by the dissemination of cultural symbols. Just like Disney makes money with Mickey Mouse, Meme coins have turned memes into tradable cultural assets. When a symbol is recognized, used, and spread by more and more people, its value naturally rises.

Don't just focus on the project team; the real speculator is yourself.

Many newcomers buy Meme coins and then keep催 in the group: “When will the project team pump?”

But if you really understand how Meme coins work, you will find that this idea is completely wrong.

Traditional stocks have company financial reports behind them, Bitcoin has blockchain technology. So what is behind Meme coins? The answer is: community consensus + cultural dissemination power. The project party is at most just a spark; the real energy comes from every coin holder.

PEPE is the best example - no founder, no team, completely relying on netizens to crazily create memes on social platforms. When you share a PEPE meme and discuss with your friends how funny this frog is, you are actually “recharging” it. Each time it spreads, it increases the market recognition of this cultural symbol.

On the contrary, if the entire community just sits and waits for the project team to pump it up, it's like a group of people surrounding a stagnant pond waiting for fish to jump out by themselves – sooner or later, they will starve. You see hundreds of new Meme coins popping up daily on Pump.fun, but 99% don't survive a week. Why? Because they only have a code framework, no cultural core, and no community willing to actively spread the word.

Attention is the real mine

What is the most valuable in this era? Attention.

Meme coins are essentially turning attention into a tradable asset—monetizing the focus, discussions, and shares of netizens.

What kind of content does the platform algorithm prefer? Interesting content that can provoke interaction. And Meme coins are naturally suitable for spreading on social media. A funny meme spreads a hundred times faster than ten pages of a white paper, and a phrase like “To the Moon” can evoke emotions more than complex technical parameters.

When you post SHIB memes in your friend circle, you are actually helping it seize others' attention resources. And this attention will eventually translate into buying pressure.

Meme coins on Solana and Base chains are particularly active because these chains offer fast transactions and low fees, making them suitable for retail investors' high-frequency trading and rapid dissemination. Technology is just the infrastructure; what truly drives the price is the “social currency” created by the community.

If you want to play, these three points are more important than looking at K-lines.

If you plan to participate in this cultural game, keep these points in mind:

Choose the symbol you truly like

Don't buy Meme coins that you find boring yourself. If you feel embarrassed looking at a certain meme, don't expect others to help spread it. Most PEPE holders are young people who grew up with this frog; they share it because they genuinely like it, not just to make money.

Be a communicator, not a speculator

Instead of asking “When will it rise?” every day, why not think about how to let more people know about this Meme? Create an interesting meme, write a joke, or leave a clever comment under related topics. Every creative output you make adds value to the coin in your hands.

Play with an entertainment mindset

Meme coins are essentially “cultural lotteries”. Although they have a bit more cultural value support than pure gambling, the risks are still very high. Never invest more than you can afford to lose; think of it as buying a ticket to an amusement park — having fun is the most important thing, and making money is just a bonus.

Final Thoughts

When memes turn into cryptocurrencies, it is actually the internet culture doing its own “IPO”. The surge of each Meme coin is a shock from grassroots culture to the traditional financial system.

But remember one thing: without dissemination, there is no value.

The promises made by project teams and the trades called out by influencers can't compare to the power of that Meme you're about to post on your social media.

Instead of waiting for others to pump the market, why not open your phone now and create financial cultural symbols that belong to this era? After all, in today's attention economy, everyone can be their own market maker.