The History of meme coin: From Frenzy to Settling

meme coin is one of the most unique entities in the field of crypto coin, combining cultural attributes and financial characteristics. Looking back on its journey, it can be divided into three key stages:

1. Break ground / Tuoji (2013-2016)

This period witnessed the original innovation process of meme coin from zero to one, presenting a unique ecological environment of savage growth and coexistence of natural selection. From the birth of DOGE in December 2013 as a landmark starting point to the maturity of Ethereum smart contract technology in 2016, it constituted the most pure and authentic "genesis era" in the history of meme coin.

Main representative projects:

• Mooncoin: An entertainment meme coin with the slogan "moon landing", which had an impressive initial performance but did not survive for long.
• Fedoracoin(TIPS): Precisely targeting the "Fedora-wearing neckbeard" subculture on Reddit, but limited by its niche positioning.
• Nyancoin: The first officially authorized encrypted currency, but its cultural influence is not as strong as DOGE.
• Dogecoin(DOGE): The most representative meme coin, which quickly became popular and has survived long-term with the image of a Shiba Inu.

2. Lurking/Explosive(2017-2021)

These five years have witnessed the transformation of meme coin from a fringe subculture to a mainstream financial asset. With the popularization of the ERC-20 standard in 2017 as a technological turning point, and SHIB setting a historical market value record in 2021, meme coin has completed the qualitative change from a 'internet joke' to a 'phenomenal investment target'.

Main Representative Projects:

• Useless Ethereum Token(UET): The most honest 'scam' in the history of cryptography, satirizing the ICO bubble.
• Hoge Finance(HOGE):Build a unique coin economy through deflationary models and community governance.
• Shiba Inu(SHIB): Transformation from DOGE imitator to ecosystem builder.
• Floki Inu(FLOKI): Trying to build a massive ecosystem covering DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse.
• Samoyedcoin(SAMO): Known as the meme coin "Solana Ecological Mascot".

3. Precipitation/Reconstruction (2022-2025)

The meme coin market is moving from frenzy to rational deep adjustment. Taking the Terra crash in May 2022 as a watershed, and the rise of the BRC-20 standard until 2023 as a turning point, the meme coin ecosystem is undergoing a brutal and necessary value reassessment.

Main representative projects:

• Trump(TRUMP): Political theme meme coin, cleverly combining election frenzy and crypto speculation.
• Dogwifhat(WIF): The image of a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat is causing a frenzy in the Solana ecosystem.
• BONK: Known as the 'market-saving dog' in the Solana ecosystem.
• Goatseus Maximus(GOAT): A meme coin that combines AI gimmicks, subcultural memes, and VC aura.
• MOODENG: From the internet celebrity hippo MooDeng, showing strong IP influence.

Despite the adjustment in the meme coin market, as a typical product of attention economy, they will still maintain a unique position in the field of cryptocurrency coins. Future trends may include:

1. Technological innovation: The combination of AI+meme may bring new opportunities.
2. Community-driven: Community support and engagement are still the key to the survival of meme coins.
3. Regulatory Challenges: Facing increasingly stringent regulatory scrutiny, the survival environment is becoming increasingly severe.
4. Practical Exploration: Some projects are trying to transform into practical-type coins, building a broader range of application scenarios.

The meme coin is going through the necessary journey from savage growth to rationality, and in the end, perhaps the survivor is not the craziest meme, but the one that can best balance speculation and substance.