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InfoFi Trinity "Mouth-Looting" Guide: Kaito, Cookie, and Galxe
Over the past week, the cryptocurrency market has been sluggish, but "mouth-looting" has gained attention as a new way to participate. This article focuses on the three major "mouth-looting" projects: Kaito, Cookie, and Galxe. In the past week, the market has been in a tug-of-war, with the overall cryptocurrency market falling into a slump. Both price performance and community discussion热度 have been as stagnant as a dead pool. However, in this silence, a new way of participation has increasin...
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An era has quietly come to an end. Wallets, as standalone products, seem to have reached their twilight. Struggling with profitability, they are increasingly being acquired or integrated by centralized exchanges (CEXs) or traditional fintech giants, becoming mere components of larger ecosystems—such as stablecoin payments—rather than the focal point of industry development.The Decline of Standalone WalletsFor entrepreneurs in the space, persistence has become a virtue in itself. The goal? Sur...
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From SynFutures to AI Agents: A New Era for DeFAI The product form of AI Agents is more suited to appear as embedded service middleware, which helps to bring the trading experience back to the simplicity and intuitiveness of Web2. The revival of the AI Agent track will not be driven by "CA engineers" who excel in performance, but by "product engineers" who focus on practical implementation. In the midst of a market sentiment storm caused by the collective failure of on-chain PVP leaders and t...
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Introduction
Over the past week, the most talked-about topics in the industry, aside from the sudden plunge in the Crypto market, have been the numerous margin calls. Although BTC has dropped from its peak of $100,000 to below $80,000, representing a 20% decline, this seems relatively mild compared to the over 80% drop seen in many Memecoins.
The chart below provides a clear picture of the current state of the Memecoin market. The trading volume on Pump.fun, the main battleground, has plummeted from a peak of over $3 billion per day to around $144 million, a decline of over 95%. Naturally, this corresponds to a significant market downturn.
Has the Meme Hype Truly Ended?
It's hard to imagine such a rapid decline, especially considering that only a month has passed since the peak of the Meme frenzy, which had been raging for half a year. The market has been filled with mockery of Memes and taunts directed at those once-arrogant PVP players. So, does this mean that the Meme narrative, which began as an anti-VC movement, has come to a dead end?
Let's briefly review the "rags-to-riches" story of Memes and examine their inherent value.
The Origins and Evolution of Memes
Memes are not a recent phenomenon in the Crypto world. They have existed since the inception of Bitcoin and the early days of the internet, where various quirky memes and internet slang became popular. The first Memecoin to enter the Crypto market was DOGE in 2013, which still holds a market cap of over $30 billion and has been popular for more than a decade. Initially, Memes were mentioned in the Crypto industry as single assets without forming a cultural narrative like on the internet. It wasn't until last year, when Memes became a symbol of the anti-VC movement, that they grew into a widely-discussed and industry-wide topic.
The involvement of celebrities and traffic-generating organizations (especially the significant profit-making effects) led to the "Meme Summer," during which Memes evolved from a single asset category into the largest and most popular narrative in the industry.
The chart below shows the market cap changes of Memecoins over the past year, illustrating the tremendous impact of this narrative. In just three months, the total market cap soared from $36 billion to a peak of $137 billion, a terrifying growth rate, although the decline has also been swift.
The Shift from Pure Traffic to Functional Memes
By the end of 2024, the Meme narrative began to shift from pure traffic-driven stories to more functional Memes related to Agent, DeFAI, and Desci. Memes themselves transitioned from being seen as valueless to becoming a means of issuance with specific functions.
The climax of the Meme frenzy—and its subsequent downfall—came with the Trump-related political Memes, which have now become a source of widespread criticism. With this, the grand Meme narrative began to fade.
Reflections on the Meme Frenzy
The Meme movement began as an anti-VC movement but ultimately fell victim to it. We experienced extravagance and stepped into numerous pitfalls, only to be harvested by another form of VC. Despite this, the underlying sentiment against VC and respect for industry traffic remains. From this perspective, the "fertile ground" for Memes has not changed, and they will continue to exist, at least not vanish entirely.
Moreover, since the end of last year, some Memes have transcended pure storytelling or traffic logic and have become a means of value transmission. Whether through IP topics, celebrity effects, or issuance methods, this asset class will not disappear and may even evolve into new forms. After all, what Memes carry has been gradually changing, transitioning from mere hype to innovative directions such as "Meme+Agent," "Meme+Desci," and "Meme+DeFAI."
The Future of Memecoins
Looking at the prices, many Memecoins have already experienced or are currently experiencing their troughs. In the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet, they face only two paths: "To be, or not to be" (to survive or to perish). The fate of these Memes lies in the hands of their communities and the teams (including funding) that lead them. As long as they have the courage to continue fighting, these fallen Memes can hope for a rebirth, much like DOGE did years ago. After all, what does not kill them will make them stronger. This is the spirit of Crypto and the true value. So, let's see which Memes are still building; that's where the answer lies.
Epilogue
The evening after this article was written (March 2), Trump announced on social media that the "presidential working group is advancing a strategic reserve of Crypto assets, including XRP, SOL, and ADA." This move reversed the market's week-long slump. Could this be a turning point? Even in the trough, one must remain hopeful; who knows when the market might experience a sudden upturn?
Introduction
Over the past week, the most talked-about topics in the industry, aside from the sudden plunge in the Crypto market, have been the numerous margin calls. Although BTC has dropped from its peak of $100,000 to below $80,000, representing a 20% decline, this seems relatively mild compared to the over 80% drop seen in many Memecoins.
The chart below provides a clear picture of the current state of the Memecoin market. The trading volume on Pump.fun, the main battleground, has plummeted from a peak of over $3 billion per day to around $144 million, a decline of over 95%. Naturally, this corresponds to a significant market downturn.
Has the Meme Hype Truly Ended?
It's hard to imagine such a rapid decline, especially considering that only a month has passed since the peak of the Meme frenzy, which had been raging for half a year. The market has been filled with mockery of Memes and taunts directed at those once-arrogant PVP players. So, does this mean that the Meme narrative, which began as an anti-VC movement, has come to a dead end?
Let's briefly review the "rags-to-riches" story of Memes and examine their inherent value.
The Origins and Evolution of Memes
Memes are not a recent phenomenon in the Crypto world. They have existed since the inception of Bitcoin and the early days of the internet, where various quirky memes and internet slang became popular. The first Memecoin to enter the Crypto market was DOGE in 2013, which still holds a market cap of over $30 billion and has been popular for more than a decade. Initially, Memes were mentioned in the Crypto industry as single assets without forming a cultural narrative like on the internet. It wasn't until last year, when Memes became a symbol of the anti-VC movement, that they grew into a widely-discussed and industry-wide topic.
The involvement of celebrities and traffic-generating organizations (especially the significant profit-making effects) led to the "Meme Summer," during which Memes evolved from a single asset category into the largest and most popular narrative in the industry.
The chart below shows the market cap changes of Memecoins over the past year, illustrating the tremendous impact of this narrative. In just three months, the total market cap soared from $36 billion to a peak of $137 billion, a terrifying growth rate, although the decline has also been swift.
The Shift from Pure Traffic to Functional Memes
By the end of 2024, the Meme narrative began to shift from pure traffic-driven stories to more functional Memes related to Agent, DeFAI, and Desci. Memes themselves transitioned from being seen as valueless to becoming a means of issuance with specific functions.
The climax of the Meme frenzy—and its subsequent downfall—came with the Trump-related political Memes, which have now become a source of widespread criticism. With this, the grand Meme narrative began to fade.
Reflections on the Meme Frenzy
The Meme movement began as an anti-VC movement but ultimately fell victim to it. We experienced extravagance and stepped into numerous pitfalls, only to be harvested by another form of VC. Despite this, the underlying sentiment against VC and respect for industry traffic remains. From this perspective, the "fertile ground" for Memes has not changed, and they will continue to exist, at least not vanish entirely.
Moreover, since the end of last year, some Memes have transcended pure storytelling or traffic logic and have become a means of value transmission. Whether through IP topics, celebrity effects, or issuance methods, this asset class will not disappear and may even evolve into new forms. After all, what Memes carry has been gradually changing, transitioning from mere hype to innovative directions such as "Meme+Agent," "Meme+Desci," and "Meme+DeFAI."
The Future of Memecoins
Looking at the prices, many Memecoins have already experienced or are currently experiencing their troughs. In the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet, they face only two paths: "To be, or not to be" (to survive or to perish). The fate of these Memes lies in the hands of their communities and the teams (including funding) that lead them. As long as they have the courage to continue fighting, these fallen Memes can hope for a rebirth, much like DOGE did years ago. After all, what does not kill them will make them stronger. This is the spirit of Crypto and the true value. So, let's see which Memes are still building; that's where the answer lies.
Epilogue
The evening after this article was written (March 2), Trump announced on social media that the "presidential working group is advancing a strategic reserve of Crypto assets, including XRP, SOL, and ADA." This move reversed the market's week-long slump. Could this be a turning point? Even in the trough, one must remain hopeful; who knows when the market might experience a sudden upturn?
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