Similar to the recently launched $TRUMP Token of the President, Memecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that originates from internet culture, and its development is inseparable from the high participation of the community. They usually gain attention through humor and rapid dissemination.
This article will delve into the recent QUANT Memecoin incident, and analyze the human nature and cultural logic behind the Memecoin phenomenon by combining it with other well-known cases.
The peculiarity and high volatility of Memecoin actually reflects the wonderful irrational side of human behavior.
If there is something that seems to be directly taken from a satirical news, it is the fact that President Trump launched his own Memecoin - $TRUMP. This Token was launched just three days before his inauguration, promising "huge" returns and a "bright" future - after all, in his dictionary, everything he touches is "the best". Leveraging a series of patriotic Memes, his iconic facial expressions as NFTs, and the slogan of "the most stable Token ever", $TRUMP has already sparked a frenzy in the cryptocurrency community. Currently, the price of this Token has soared over 10,000%, with a fully diluted valuation reaching $71 billion, a staggering achievement that even confused Binance co-founder CZ. Just two days later, Trump's wife Melania also launched her own $MELANIA Memecoin.
Whether these Tokens will become the next financial phenomenon or just a joke remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: when the first couple of a superpower are involved, Memecoin is clearly no longer a niche curiosity, but a full-blown cultural phenomenon.
Memecoin of the 45th President of the United States
Source: X
Today is the best time to delve into Memecoin. This article will use QUANT Memecoin as an example to explore its successful logic and cultural significance.
QUANT: How a 13-year-old boy sparked a mini financial revolution online
The beginning of the story, like the origin of most Memecoins, stems from a joke.
On a regular night in November 2024, a 13-year-old Gen Z streamer sat at his desk, broadcasting to a small but loyal audience. His "weapons" included: a sarcastic sense of humor, keen insights into crypto trends, and a deep interest in Memes. His "grand plan"? To launch a Memecoin called QUANT on the Solana-based platform Pump.fun, where the process of creating a cryptocurrency is almost as simple as registering an Instagram account.
In just a few minutes, QUANT was officially launched. The young creator demonstrated his full talent as a savvy crypto prankster. When a group of Token holders were attracted by the hype of "the next Memecoin hot project" and rushed to buy QUANT, he quickly executed a classic crypto move - a "Rug Pull" (i.e., absconding with the funds). He sold 51 million Tokens for $30,000 worth of SOL. Afterwards, he grinned smugly at the audience, nonchalantly closing his laptop like a villain in a low-budget heist movie.
Source: Chaincatcher.com
This little guy even defiantly flipped the middle finger before the Rug Pull
Source: Chaincatcher.com
Rug Pull is nothing new in the world of Memecoin. However, what happened next turned QUANT from a brief joke into an unprecedented mini financial and cultural revolution.
The Rug Pull did not go unnoticed as the young man might have expected, but instead sparked outrage in the community. Angry traders decided to "take revenge" in a typical Memecoin style: they worked together to push the Token's value to new heights.
The QUANT community, through collective action, managed to push the Token's market cap to $22.6 million in just 15 hours. The Tokens that the teenager had sold for $30,000 suddenly skyrocketed to nearly $4 million in value. Ironically, the young mastermind behind the Rug Pull could only watch helplessly as his Token became the hottest Memecoin of the moment, without being able to profit from it.
At the same time, the crypto social circles - Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram - were instantly flooded with all kinds of jokes, Memes, and conspiracy theories. On that day, #QUANT became a trending hashtag, perfectly showcasing all the characteristics of the Memecoin market: absurdity, community-driven, and extreme unpredictability.
As QUANT's popularity continued to soar, crypto enthusiasts quickly took action, doing what the internet is best at: they exposed the young man's real identity. His personal information, including his family's details, was leaked online. What started as a joke-like financial prank had evolved into a cautionary tale about the dark side of Memecoin's reputation.
However, even faced with such a strong backlash, the 13-year-old boy was not intimidated. He not only did not stop, but instead doubled down, launching subsequent Tokens, such as $Lucy named after his dog and a Token called $Sorry, continuing to profit from the speculative Memecoin craze. By the end of 2024, this young man had become a classic anti-hero in the Memecoin world: smart and daring, both admired and despised.
In that brief period of November 2024, QUANT seemed unstoppable. But like all Memecoins, its value fluctuations and the enthusiasm of the underlying community were unpredictable. After a brief period of glory, QUANT's price began to plummet sharply. From its all-time high of $0.0633, it has now crashed to $0.00075, a staggering 98.8% decline in value.
Ultimately, the rise and fall of Memecoin entirely depends on the attention of the community. Once the outrage and hype around the Rug Pull subsided, the market's interest also cooled. Those who cashed out during the QUANT frenzy made a killing, while latecomers had to bear the consequences of the crash. Today, QUANT has become a piece of digital history - showcasing both the potential and the risks of Memecoin.
Navigating the Memecoin Jungle
In this chaotic and Meme-filled internet world, Memecoin has become one of the most fascinating social phenomena. Unlike traditional currencies that symbolize economics, stability, and rules, Memecoin thrives on humor, viral dissemination, and community-driven chaos.
Memecoin is a unique cryptocurrency, more of a crystallization of internet culture than a product of technological innovation. Unlike Bitcoin, hailed as "digital gold", or Ethereum that supports decentralized applications, Memecoin is essentially a digital joke that has been transformed into a financial Meme by the power of the community. Its value does not come from actual utility or scarcity, but from the shared sense of humor and trust in the joke within the community.
The story of QUANT is just a microcosm of this phenomenon. In this phenomenon, Tokens are initially created for the sole purpose of humor, but often undergo a transformation, becoming popular tools for speculative trading, thanks to the magical power of the community.
The core of every Memecoin is its community. From obscurity to "mooning" prices (more often "crashing into the dumpster"), the fate of a Memecoin is entirely dependent on the collective enthusiasm of its believers. Platforms like Pump.fun further lower the barrier to entry. Through their simple and user-friendly interfaces, anyone can create a Token, customize its branding, and share it with their social circles.
Here is the English translation, with the requested terms preserved and not translated:At the same time, the biggest craze is happening on X and Discord. On these platforms, Memecoin enthusiasts gather together, exchange interesting Memes, plan the next "moon landing" operation, and openly promote their new darlings. It is these platforms and their chaotic communities that have turned Memecoin into a force that is both absurd and undeniable: it is both a joke and an economic experiment, as well as a true reflection of internet culture.
The launch of the $TRUMP Memecoin can be considered a textbook case of cultural branding, perfectly demonstrating how Donald Trump has built himself into a symbol and phenomenon. He leveraged his global influence as a politician, celebrity, and businessman, and demonstrated a unique ability to maintain relevance in the era of viral internet propagation. This Memecoin may further consolidate his status as a cultural disruptor, adding a bold stroke to his legend in an era where influence is traded as currency.
Let's also take a look at another wildly popular Memecoin in 2024: FARTCOIN. This token was initially just a humorous jab at crypto culture, but unexpectedly became a real market player. Riding on a hilarious name, FARTCOIN attracted a loyal following, transforming the token into a cultural symbol. Its success once again proves the appeal of Memecoins: they don't need logic, they just need to make people laugh.
Another shining new star in 2024 is MOODENG, whose rise is inseparable from the large donation made by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin to wildlife conservation causes. This token is named after a pygmy hippopotamus that went viral online in Thailand, cleverly capitalizing on the online hype and the KOL's charitable act. This powerful combination deeply touched the hearts of the crypto community.
Speaking of Memecoins, we can't forget their "ancestor": Dogecoin. Initially just a humorous tribute to the Doge Meme, it has now developed into a crypto currency empire. Dogecoin's journey from an internet joke to a mainstream currency is the best digital embodiment of the power of community belief.
Dogecoin's most famous supporter, Elon Musk, has infused it with his signature unique style. From claiming that Dogecoin will be used as the currency on Mars, to proposing the establishment of an agency called the "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" to manage the federal budget, Musk's support has transformed Dogecoin from a simple internet joke into a cultural symbol of the digital age, a symbol of technological dreams.
The Golden Rules of Memecoins
For ordinary users, participating in Memecoins is more like a high-risk experiment about collective psychology. The first principle users need to remember is that these tokens completely overturn traditional investment logic. Their success does not depend on utility or intrinsic value, but on the hype of viral propagation. The success or failure of a Memecoin depends entirely on whether it can capture the imagination of the internet, riding on jokes, trends, and the moments that define internet culture.
The second principle is that the value of a Memecoin depends on the community that supports it. A group of passionate and loyal supporters can propel any Memecoin to rise, whether it is a sincere project or a semi-joking creation. Take QUANT as an example, its rapid rise was not due to technological innovation, but because of the collective outrage of the community. After the founder's Rug Pull, the community's determination drove the token's price, and this shared enthusiasm (sometimes even resentment) highlighted the core role of the community in Memecoin valuation. However, as QUANT's story reveals, this enthusiasm is often fleeting. Once the excitement subsides, the Token's value will also decline.
Finally, this highly volatile ecosystem perfectly illustrates the high-risk, high-return characteristics of Memecoins. Memecoins are known for their violent price fluctuations, and they can either make a small investment double overnight or cause investors to suffer massive losses in an instant. For example, PENGU, the native Token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT series, saw its price skyrocket 581% in the first 24 hours of trading, mainly due to the community's enthusiasm and a well-planned airdrop event. However, by mid-January 2025, PENGU's trading price was around $0.0316, down 54.8% from its all-time high of $0.06845 on December 17, 2024.
The chaotic nature of the Memecoin market inevitably raises some serious ethical issues. When a 13-year-old can freely issue tokens and profit from them, what does this mean for the crypto market? QUANT's story reveals that this field urgently needs clearer boundaries, whether from a regulatory perspective or in terms of discussing who has the qualifications to create and promote digital assets.
In the Memecoin market, every trader is like an observer, immersed in a world dominated by the unpredictable forces of viral propagation, humor, and collective action. Here, finance and internet culture intertwine, and the value of an asset does not depend on its actual function, but entirely on how strongly the public believes in it.
Through the lens of Memecoins, we can glimpse the power of collective belief, the far-reaching impact of viral culture, and the democratization of financial participation. The essence of these tokens is a microcosm of human behavior - full of uncertainty, cooperative spirit, and endless creativity.
