Meme Coin Development History: From Joke to Billion Market Capitalization

1. Overview

The development of meme coin can be divided into three key stages:

1. Breaking Ground/Establishing Foundations (2013-2016): Wild Growth, the Strong Survive
2. Hibernation/Outbreak (2017-2021): The era of smart contracts sees a qualitative change for meme coins
3. Precipitation/Reconstruction (2022-2025): New narratives rise, the market begins to reshuffle.

The core value of meme coins is expressed as "cultural dissemination power × community consensus," rather than relying solely on technology or practical value. They will continue to face the challenge of balancing "hype and substance," but as a typical product of the attention economy, they will still maintain their unique position and influence in the cryptocurrency space.

2. Breaking Ground/Expanding Foundation (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.

2.1 Ephemeral Type

Mooncoin (MOON)

• Launched in 2014 with the theme of "Moon Landing"
• The initial performance is stunning, but it lacks practical applications.
• In 2015, mainstream exchanges delisted, leading to a significant drop in market capitalization.
• The project essentially ceased to exist in 2018.

Fedoracoin (TIPS)

• Launched in December 2013, targeting the Reddit subculture community.
• Adopts the Scrypt algorithm, supports GPU mining
• The community was once very active, but lacked practical application scenarios.
• Since 2015, mainstream exchanges have gradually delisted, leading to a cliff-like drop in liquidity.

Nyancoin (NYAN)

• Launched in January 2014, based on the "Rainbow Cat" meme.
• Officially authorized, but with limited cultural influence.
• The application scenario is single, mainly used for trading.
• Low community activity, mainstream platforms stopped updating data after 2019.

2.2 Invincible General Type

Dogecoin (DOGE)

• Launched in December 2013, based on the "Doge" meme.
• Community-driven, quickly gaining popularity
• Multiple market capitalization peaks, consistently maintaining a top ten ranking
• Built a multi-dimensional application ecosystem for payments, tipping, charity, and more.

3. Dormancy/Outburst (2017-2021)

The technology of smart contracts has matured, and meme coins have transitioned from niche subcultures to mainstream financial assets.

3.1 Meteor Shining Type

Useless Ethereum Token (UET)

• Launched in June 2017, claiming to be the "most honest scam"
• Raised 310 ETH in 48 hours, becoming an absurd ICO case
• The price surged 800% in the short term, but quickly collapsed.
• Marked as "defunct project" in 2020

Hoge Finance (HOGE)

• Launched in 2021, utilizing a deflationary model and community governance.
• Become an active community token in the short term
• Lack of practical application scenarios, significant price fluctuations.
• The market capitalization in 2022 fell by more than 90% from its peak.

3.2 Stellar Bright Type

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

• Launched in August 2020, originally mimicking DOGE
• In May 2021, it surged by 1200%, becoming the king of annual growth.
• Build the "Shib ecosystem", including DEX, Layer 2 networks, etc.
• Maintain a leading position in market capitalization for the long term.

3.3 transformation breakthrough type

Floki Inu (FLOKI)

• Launched in June 2021, inspired by Elon Musk's pet dog.
• Try to build an ecosystem that includes DeFi, NFT, and the metaverse.
• The market capitalization once entered the top 50, but has never been able to surpass the status of SHIB and DOGE.
• Facing the dilemma of ecological implementation

Samoyedcoin (SAMO)

• Launched in 2021, positioned as the "official mascot of Solana"
• Market capitalization once exceeded 500 million USD
• Severely affected by the Solana chain outage incident.
• Tried to transform into a "Solana ecosystem ambassador," but the effect was limited.

4. Precipitation/Reconstruction (2022-2025)

The meme coin market is starting to shift from frenzy to rationality, with new narratives constantly emerging.

4.1 Short-term Speculative

Trump (TRUMP)

• Launching in January 2025, themed around President Donald Trump.
• Market capitalization once surpassed 10 billion USD, becoming one of the top three meme coins.
• Highly dependent on political sentiment, price fluctuations are severe.
• Facing regulatory risks and trust crisis

4.2 eco-driven

Dogwifhat (WIF)

• Launching on the Solana chain in December 2023
• Market capitalization soared to 3 billion USD in 104 days
• The community is highly active, deriving the "WIF Legion" culture.
• Facing challenges of dependence on public chains and lack of practical applications

BONK

• Launched in December 2022, positioned as the "market-saving dog" of the Solana ecosystem.
• Promote a significant increase in active addresses on the Solana chain
• Promote developer return and NFT ecosystem revival
• Facing regulatory challenges, actively promoting technological upgrades and ecological expansion.

4.3 narrative innovation type

Goatseus Maximus (GOAT)

• Launching in October 2024, based on AI chatbot predictions
• Combine AI hype, subculture memes, and VC halo
• Market capitalization exceeded $700 million within two weeks, but soon revealed signs of manipulation.
• Raise doubts about the authenticity of "AI meme"

4.4 cultural symbol type

MOODENG

• Launched in September 2024, based on the Thai influencer Hippo IP
• The market capitalization exceeded 270 million USD within 20 days.
• Supported by Ethereum founder Vitalik
• Facing the issues of chip concentration and lack of practical application

5. Future Outlook

• Technological innovation: New concepts such as AI+meme, DeFAI, etc. continue to emerge.
• Community Building: The celebrity effect and social media dissemination remain key.
• Regulatory challenges: Regulatory agencies such as the SEC are intensifying scrutiny, and projects are facing survival tests.
• Market landscape: From barbaric growth to rational development, high-quality projects will stand out.

The meme coin market is experiencing a shift from frenzy to rationality. In the future, projects that can balance hype with substance are more likely to survive in this challenging and opportunity-filled space in the long term.