#Over 100 Companies Hold Over 830,000 BTC#
According to reports as of June 19, more than 100 companies collectively hold over 830,000 BTC, worth about $86.476 billion.
💬 Do you think Bitcoin will become a new norm for corporate asset allocation? How might this impact Bitcoin’s price? What’s your recent BTC trading strategy? Post to share your price predictions, market analysis, and strategies with us using the topic tag!
🎁 Meanwhile, Gate’s BTC Staking event is in full swing! Simply stake your BTC and earn up to 3% APY. Click the link to start staking and enjoy your earnings: https://ww
The Evolution of Meme Coins: From Internet Jokes to Cultural Phenomena Worth Billions of Dollars
Evolution of Meme Coins: From Internet Jokes to Digital Cultural Assets
This article systematically reviews the development history of meme coins, revealing their unique value logic through typical case analyses: unlike traditional financial assets, the core value of meme coins is expressed as "cultural dissemination power × community consensus," rather than solely relying on technology or practical value. Based on their evolutionary characteristics, they can be divided into three key development stages:
1. Overview of Value Characteristics
The core value of meme coin is expressed as "cultural dissemination power × community consensus," rather than relying entirely on technology or practical value. Based on its evolutionary characteristics, it can be divided into three key development stages:
1.1. Groundbreaking/Foundation (2013-2016) — Barbaric Growth, Sifting the Sands
1.2. Dormancy/Outburst (2017-2021) — In the era of smart contracts, meme coins have undergone a qualitative change.
1.3. Precipitation/Reconstruction (2022-2025) — The Rise of New Narratives, Market Begins to Restructure
Meme coins will continue to face the balance test between "speculation and substance," while technological innovation (such as AI, DeFAI) and community building will become key factors. Although the market is undergoing adjustment, as a typical product of the attention economy, meme coins will still maintain their unique position and influence in the cryptocurrency space.
2. Historical Review
As one of the most unique existences in the cryptocurrency field, meme coins possess both cultural attributes and financial characteristics. Reflecting on the history of meme coins is also a reflection on the collision between internet culture and financial speculation.
From the ironic joke it started as to the virtual currency that now holds a place in the market, meme coins are telling us through their experiences — in today's era, perhaps cultural resonance and community belief drive value creation more than technical white papers. While the traditional financial world is still trying to create new value, meme coins have reshaped people's understanding of "value" itself.
In an era dominated by social media, the speed and methods of information dissemination have fundamentally changed. A meme that becomes popular on Reddit or Twitter can achieve hundreds of millions of exposures globally within a few hours, and the power of this viral spread has now been directly converted into financial value. Meme coins, as the perfect vehicle for this conversion, have inscribed their own stories and legends along the axis of time.
2.1. Breaking Ground/Foundation (2013-2016) — In an era of rapid growth, the pioneers bravely stand at the forefront; amidst the tumultuous waves, the disheartened quietly exit the stage.
This period witnessed the original innovation journey of meme coins from zero to one, showcasing a unique ecology of both barbaric growth and natural selection. Marked by the birth of DOGE in December 2013 and culminating in the maturity of Ethereum's smart contract technology in 2016, it constitutes the purest and most authentic "Genesis Era" in the history of meme coin development.
On the technical level, almost all meme coins at this stage are based on code forks of Bitcoin or Litecoin, with a few exceptions.
In terms of market performance, historical data shows that the average active cycle of meme coins born during this period is only 11.7 months, but survivors like DOGE have demonstrated incredible vitality.
In terms of historical significance, the foundational meaning of this stage cannot be underestimated. In fact, history tells us that true innovation often emerges when rules are not yet established. The experimental field from 2013 to 2016, which had not yet formed a system, preserved the most precious rebellious genes and innovative spirit for the world of cryptocurrency.
2.2. Dormancy/Outbreak (2017-2021) — Amid the ebb and flow of tides, the wise seize the opportunity; in the midst of changing fortunes, the strong fall in battle.
In the past five years, the market has witnessed the transformation of meme coins from a fringe subculture to mainstream financial assets. With the popularization of the ERC-20 standard in 2017 as a technological turning point, and the historical market value of SHIB set in 2021 as a landmark, meme coins have completed a qualitative change from "internet jokes" to "phenomenal investment targets."
In terms of technology, the maturity of smart contracts has completely reconstructed the issuance logic of meme coins. According to Ethereum on-chain data, most of the meme coins born between 2017 and 2021 chose to adopt the ERC-20 standard or rely on other protocols, and the issuance cost was reduced to less than one thousandth (compared to tens of thousands of dollars developed by independent chains). This kind of double-edged sword democratization has given birth to the frenzy of "everything can be meme", but it has also buried the hidden danger of homogeneous competition.
At the same time, on the market narrative level, data shows that in December 2017, the market value of DOGE first broke 1 billion USD, while during the peak period in 2021, the overall meme coin sector's daily trading volume exceeded 30 billion USD, accounting for 12.3% of the entire cryptocurrency market. It is worth noting that the meme coins born during this phase have seen a significant improvement in their lifecycle compared to the previous period.
However, it should be noted that not all meme coins have a higher survival rate and longer lifespan. According to market research data, meme coin projects experienced an average monthly death rate in 2020.
Throughout the entire history of cryptocurrency, the most profound transformation during this period is the reconstruction of value perception. When DOGE was included in mainstream exchanges in 2021, and the SHIB founder managed to leverage a market value of hundreds of billions anonymously, traditional finance had to reevaluate the essence of meme coins — as revealed in the digital currency research report: "The value capture mechanism of assets like Dogecoin essentially converts network attention into liquidity premium." This shift in perception laid a crucial foundation for subsequent social finance experiments in the Web3 era.
2.3. Precipitation/Reconstruction (2022-2025) - When the great waves crash down, the true gold begins to show its color; in an era of great contention, the pattern finally becomes clear.
Since 2022, the meme coin market has begun a deep adjustment from frenzy to rationality. Marked by the collapse of Terra in May 2022, and the rise of the BRC-20 standard in 2023 as a turning point, the meme coin ecosystem is undergoing a brutal yet necessary value reassessment.
According to market statistics, the overall market value of meme coins shrank by 82% in 2022, but leading projects DOGE and SHIB still maintained a ranking in the top 20 by market value. A new report released by the market data center pointed out that "97% of meme coins have died." The report further indicated: "Different blockchain platforms exhibit different meme coin death rates. Base leads with a death rate of 66.91%, followed by Solana at 54.03% and Ethereum at 36.59%."
Nevertheless, it is still unwise to underestimate or speculate whether meme coins have reached the end of their story. The cryptocurrency market has always been full of variables, and meme coins, as a particularly unique category within it, are even harder to assess with conventional perspectives.
As the head of a financial institution stated: "Meme projects that can still obtain financing after 2023 must prove their ability to capture long-term value beyond simple speculation." Similarly, as pointed out by venture capital researchers: "This winter is filtering out speculative bubbles, leaving behind digital assets that truly possess cultural durability." The future landscape may prove that meme coins capable of crossing cycles will ultimately become a key bridge connecting the crypto world with mainstream culture.
3. Key Case Analysis
3.1. Breaking Ground/Foundational Phase (2013-2016)
3.1.1. Ephemeral Case Study
3.1.1.1. Mooncoin——an unfinished "moon landing" dream
As an entertainment meme coin with the slogan "To the Moon," its somewhat brief life has not been able to bear the ambition of this grand narrative. Aside from its name, Mooncoin has no actual use cases related to space or moon landing.
Looking back at its development trajectory from 2014 to 2018 (with its last GitHub commit in 2018 (v1.8.0), almost marking the substantial demise of the project), mooncoin's early performance was quite remarkable: it set a record of over 300% single-day increase in its launch year; the community discussion volume exceeded 5000 posts in a single month; it collaborated with gaming platforms; and was even referred to by professional media as the "most serious joke coin."
However, after the spotlight comes a long silence: In 2015, the delisting by mainstream trading platforms led to a market value drop of over 90%; the following year, members of the anonymous development team announced an "indefinite hibernation"; it wasn't until 2018 that the project experienced a brief resurgence—but this was not due to its own breakthroughs, rather it benefited from two external factors: first, the overall recovery of the cryptocurrency market; second, related tech events reignited the "To the Moon" internet meme, and a parody video titled "Mooncoin Countdown to the Moon" created by the community unexpectedly brought traffic.
Unfortunately, Mooncoin failed to seize this last opportunity. The development team claimed to create a "Lunar Base" metaverse game, but in the end, the white paper could not be realized, and the so-called "metaverse game" was just a simple demo video. After that, as market enthusiasm waned, Mooncoin completely faded from the stage.
3.1.1.2. Fedoracoin (TIPS) - A niche "gentleman" recognition
FedoraCoin (TIPS) was born on December 22, 2013, and its core is not aimed at the mass market, but rather precisely targets the "Fedora-wearing neckbeard" subculture on Reddit. This highly vertical positioning allowed it to quickly gain popularity within specific communities in its early days, but it also laid the groundwork for limitations in its subsequent development.
Technically, TIPS adopted the relatively common Scrypt algorithm at the time, and its design supporting GPU mining made it quite user-friendly for ordinary users. This simple and practical architecture helped it quickly accumulate a group of loyal followers in the early stages.
At the same time, just two months after its launch, the r/Fedoracoin subreddit on Reddit set an astonishing record of over 2000 posts in a single day, making it one of the most active meme coin communities for a time.
However, the good times did not last long, and TIPS soon encountered a predicament similar to that of Mooncoin. Due to a lack of practical application scenarios, this project, which is built on subcultural meme images, has always struggled to break through the limitations of cultural symbols. Starting in 2015, as mainstream exchanges gradually delisted TIPS, its liquidity experienced a cliff-like decline. The product's initial positioning to serve a specific subcultural group is indicative; while this approach accurately matched the target users, its niche nature also made it difficult to expand into a broader market and subsequent marketing.
3.1.1.3. Nyancoin——a brief "rainbow" light and shadow
As the second meme coin following DOGE, Nyancoin was released on January 6, 2014, and within a month, it had acquired the unique status of "the first officially licensed cryptocurrency in history"; however, it lags far behind the former in market influence.
In essence of the project, this gap is primarily reflected in the differences in cultural genes: the "Rainbow Cat" meme on which Nyancoin is based has far less dissemination and cultural penetration compared to the DOGE meme of the "Shiba Inu". Before coming across these two cryptocurrencies, most people may have never seen the Rainbow Cat, but almost everyone has been inundated by the captivating expression of that Shiba Inu.
In addition, in the fields of application scenarios and development directions, the direct manifestation of this cultural awareness gap is that Nyancoin lacks some breadth and depth compared to DOGE. DOGE has built a multi-dimensional application ecosystem covering payments, tipping, charity, and more, while the application scenarios for Nyancoin mainly focus on trading, which are relatively singular.
In terms of external empowerment, the community activity and external traffic of Nyancoin are not ideal. This vicious cycle - weak community support leads to sluggish project development, and stagnation further weakens community enthusiasm - ultimately led Nyancoin to gradually decline.
The Nyancoin community only has 1.5k subscribers, and the last active post was two years ago. This community gap directly led mainstream data platforms to stop updating Nyancoin's real-time data after 2019—at that time, its 24-hour trading volume had long been below $10,000, and liquidity depletion gradually caused it to be delisted from exchanges. The case of Nyancoin is enough to illustrate a brutal market rule: in the era of attention economy, the endorsement of top IPs often has a more decisive role than the technical characteristics of the project itself.
3.1.2. Winning General Case
3.1.2.1. Dogecoin (DOGE) - An Unexpected "Grassroots Celebration"
Dogecoin, which was born on December 6, 2013, was initially just a parody of the Bitcoin craze culture created by programmers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, but it unexpectedly evolved into one of the most enduring phenomenon meme coins in the history of cryptocurrency. Its iconic Shiba Inu image originates from the "Doge" meme that became popular on the internet in 2013, and this inherently high-visibility internet IP helped it quickly gain fame on platforms like Reddit.
In terms of design philosophy and original intention, it does not emphasize complex technology like other cryptocurrencies, nor does it promote revolutionary blockchain technology or commit to grand visions. Instead, it uses a cute Shiba Inu meme as its logo, entering this increasingly fervent field in the most mocking way.
Looking back at the several peaks in DOGE's market capitalization, it soared to 10 billion USD in early 2021 due to a surge in retail investor enthusiasm and strong community support; in May of the same year, under the continuous promotion by its number one fan Elon Musk on social media platforms and the effects of television shows, DOGE's market capitalization reached 80 billion USD.
In the following years, although the popularity and price of DOGE have declined, and even entered a downward mode, the overall market trend is relatively stable, and it still maintains a certain influence and popularity in the cryptocurrency field. Until November 12, 2024, Trump announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would co-lead the newly created "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), with the aim of cutting government spending. But the official abbreviation of this new division, "DOGE", is exactly the same as the code name of Dogecoin, a coincidence that has sparked heated discussions in the crypto community.
Regarding this intriguing naming coincidence, there are various interpretations in the market: some speculate that it is Musk's clever arrangement to bridge the gap between the cryptocurrency market and the political stage; others believe it could be a foreshadowing for revitalizing the DOGE market's popularity; of course, it may also be, as he himself said, just an interesting coincidence.
The development of DOGE perfectly showcases the duality of meme coins: on one hand, it created a financial miracle driven by ordinary internet users; on the other hand, it exposed the risk of such coins easily becoming speculative tools.
However, what is impressive is that even when the entire meme coin market is not thriving in 2025, DOGE still maintains a daily trading volume of over 1 billion dollars, and its market capitalization remains firmly in the top ten. Additionally, its community activity still shows remarkable vitality, and I believe this advantage can always be transformed into market momentum at critical moments, which in turn feeds back and ultimately forms a virtuous cycle.
It must be admitted that this digital currency, which was originally created as a joke, has now become a unique and lasting presence in the world of cryptocurrency.
3.2. Dormant/Explosive Phase (2017-2021)
3.2.1. Meteor Shining Case
3.2.1.1. Useless Ethereum Token (UET, 2017)
As the most honest scam in cryptocurrency history, UET was launched on June 17, 2017, during the wildest period of the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) bubble, and its official website directly stated: "This is a worthless token, buying it is a waste of money."
Is this really a counterintuitive marketing strategy or a form of performance art financing? The project team of UET publicly admits that the coin has no functionality, no team, and no roadmap; even the FAQ on the official website states: "Why should I buy this coin? — You don't need to."
So unabashedly showcasing its "uselessness," UET still raised 310 ETH (about $93,000 at the time) within 48 hours, becoming one of the most absurd ICO cases in history.
When it comes to its token mechanism, it is a blatant "self-destruct" design. It can be said to implement 100% honest economics in practice, with a total supply of UET fixed at 1 billion, with no issuance or destruction. All the raised ETH is transferred to the developer's address, with no promised usage. At the same time, its zero-technical packaging and the Easter eggs on the official website constantly reinforce the absurdity of this dramatic performance: technically based on the most basic ERC-20 standard, with no smart contract functionality, and even no transfer restrictions opened.
Although UET's blatant attitude is shocking, the market response has not been entirely negative. UET has found its "kindred spirit" in the market and gained a group of followers. In the early stages of its launch, some exchanges listed UET out of curiosity, causing the price to briefly surge by 800%. Even some netizens initiated the "UET Challenge" – to see who can convince others to take over with the most absurd reason.
But soon, after a brief speculative frenzy, UET also faced its own crisis. Security researchers discovered a fatal vulnerability in the UET smart contract, which was subsequently exploited, leading to a plummet in UET's price and a evaporation of its market value. During the market downturn, UET's liquidity dried up, and it was ultimately marked as a "failed project."
This absurd success seems to confirm the irrational characteristics of the cryptocurrency market — even though UET explicitly denies itself, the market will still pay for a void narrative. When "worthless" can become a selling point, the frenzy in this field is just getting started.
3.2.1.2. Hoge Finance (HOGE, 2021) - A community-driven deflationary experiment
HOGE, which was born on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021, is not positioned to achieve revolutionary new technology, but rather aims to build a unique token economy through a deflationary model and community governance. Each transaction automatically destroys 1% of the tokens, while allocating 1% to the holders, attempting to drive value growth through scarcity. This design has indeed attracted a large number of retail investors, making it one of the most active community tokens in a short period.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, HOGE emphasizes and implements the concept and method of "decentralization," allowing community members to vote on the direction of project development. This unique community-driven approach drives rapid growth in the community and has garnered enough attention for HOGE in the cryptocurrency market. At the same time, HOGE is also passionate about charity and is committed to funding animal welfare projects, which has once again gained it considerable popularity and support.
However, like other similar projects, the bottleneck of HOGE quickly became apparent: despite a strong start and positive feedback, the lack of actual application scenarios led to its long-term reliance on speculative sentiment, ultimately failing to break through the limitations of meme coins, resulting in a prolonged slump after the price decline.
During the market winter of 2022, the price of HOGE fell over 90% from its peak, and liquidity gradually shrank. Although the community attempted to boost interest with marketing gimmicks like the "Space Program," it ultimately failed to turn the tide. As of 2024, its GitHub updates have stagnated, and on-chain activity has significantly decreased, becoming another case of a rise from fervor to silence.
The rise and fall of HOGE reveals the core contradiction of deflationary Meme coins: the difficulty of transforming short-term speculative consensus into long-term value. Its historical significance lies in proving the potential of community autonomy, but it also exposes a fatal flaw of lacking a technological moat – when market sentiment recedes, relying solely on destruction mechanisms and slogan-like narratives cannot sustain fundamental vitality.
3.2.2. Stellar Long-lasting Case Study
3.2.2.1. Shiba Inu (SHIB, 2020) - A transformation from meme frenzy to ecological ambition.
Born in August 2020, Shiba Inu was originally just a meme coin imitating DOGE on the Ethereum chain, with a circulation of up to 1,000 trillion coins, and its near-zero value setting made it regarded as a "joke coin". However, in May 2021, a tweet by Musk "looking for Shiba Inu" detonated the market, and SHIB soared by 1,200% in a single day. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin dramatically catapulted it to the altar by donating more than 50 trillion SHIB tokens to India's COVID Relief Fund, followed by the destruction of 45% of SHIB coins. This "destruction storm" not only created a scarcity narrative, but also catapulted SHIB from a junk altcoin to the king of annual gains.
The early success of SHIB comes from its unique "rebel" persona - positioning itself as the "Dogecoin killer" and even naming its community the "SHIBArmy", which quickly garnered a large number of fans and supporters. As of May 2025, its community activity remains high.
However, for SHIB to reach its current status, relying solely on this hype is completely insufficient. What has allowed it to take a different path from other meme coin projects at this historic crossroads and possess its long-term value is the "Shib ecosystem" gradually built by the team: the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, the Layer 2 network Shibarium, and the token burning mechanism, among others. This strategy of "meme shell + practical core" has enabled it to smoothly navigate the common pitfalls of meme coins.