The second life of meme coins: from nihilism to value infrastructure

In the fluctuations of the crypto market, meme coins are often dismissed as mere hype tools. However, MoonPay President Keith A. Grossman offers a different perspective — the true value of meme coins goes far beyond their surface, and their underlying technology is rewriting the rules of the internet economy.

Meme Coins Are Essentially a Attention Revolution

Meme coins, in essence, transcend the definitions of “jokes” and “financial nihilism.” Grossman points out that the core innovation of meme coins lies in a long-overlooked issue: how to tokenize attention.

Through blockchain technology, individuals can convert their attention into tradable value certificates in unprecedented ways. This means ordinary people now have the opportunity to genuinely participate in the attention economy, rather than being passive spectators. This design concept completely disrupts the traditional internet ecosystem.

Market Adjustment Is Just the Beginning; Meme Coins Are Far From Over

Although meme coins have seen a decline in volume and face narrative challenges during market downturns, this is not the end. Grossman believes that meme coins will re-emerge in a more mature form, with their embedded technological capabilities and economic mechanisms still possessing strong vitality.

The key issue is not whether meme coins still hold value, but how this value should circulate.

The Value Dilemma: Who Truly Benefits from the Attention Economy?

There is a deep paradox here. When attention is successfully tokenized, most of the generated value does not flow back to the genuine participants but is instead monopolized and locked in by large centralized platforms. In other words, the wealth effect of the attention economy remains in the hands of a few giants.

This is precisely where the next stage of meme coins needs to break through — how to design more comprehensive mechanisms to ensure that value creators receive their rightful rewards. When this problem is truly solved, meme coins may appear in a completely new identity, becoming the infrastructure for the next generation of value transfer.