The Evolution of Meme Coins: The Three-Stage Transformation from Internet Jokes to Phenomenal Assets

##The Development History of Meme Coin: From Joke to Phenomenon Asset

This article systematically sorts out the development process of meme coins, analyzes typical cases, and reveals their unique value logic: unlike traditional financial assets, the core value of meme coins is expressed as "cultural dissemination power × community consensus," rather than relying solely on technology or practical value. Based on their evolutionary characteristics, they can be divided into three key development stages:

###1. Breaking Ground/Expanding the Foundation (2013-2016) - Barbaric Growth, Waves of Elimination

This period witnessed the original innovative journey of meme coins from zero to one, presenting a unique ecology of both wild growth and natural selection. Marked by the birth of DOGE in December 2013 and culminating with the maturity of Ethereum smart contract technology in 2016, it constitutes the purest and most authentic "Genesis Era" in the development history of meme coins.

####1.1 Ephemeral

#####Mooncoin - An unfinished "moon landing" dream

As an entertainment-type meme coin with the slogan "登月(To the Moon)", its somewhat brief life has failed to bear the ambitions of this grand narrative. It set a record for a single-day increase of over 300% in its first year, but after the highlight, it was a long silence. In 2015, the removal from mainstream exchanges caused its market value to drop by over 90%, and the following year, members of the anonymous development team announced an "indefinite hibernation".

#####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"( and the "keyboard warrior") subculture group 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 potential limitations in its subsequent development.

#####Nyancoin - A brief "rainbow" light and shadow

As the second meme coin after DOGE, Nyancoin was released on January 6, 2014, and within a month, it gained the unique identity of "the first officially licensed cryptocurrency in history," but it lags far behind in market influence compared to the former. Nyancoin lacks some breadth and depth compared to DOGE. DOGE has built a multidimensional application ecosystem that includes payments, tipping, charity, and more, whereas the application scenarios for Nyancoin are relatively singular, mainly used for trading.

####1.2 Generalissimo Type

#####Dogecoin(DOGE) - An unexpected "grassroots carnival"

Dogecoin, which was born on December 6, 2013, was initially just a parody of the Bitcoin craze 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-profile internet IP allowed it to quickly gain popularity on platforms like Reddit.

Even when the entire meme coin market is struggling in 2025, DOGE still maintains a daily trading volume of over 1 billion dollars, and its market capitalization remains firmly in the top ten. Moreover, its community activity still possesses an astonishing vitality, and it is believed that this advantage can always be converted into market momentum at critical moments, which in turn feeds back to create a virtuous cycle.

###2. Hibernation/Outbreak ( 2017-2021) - In the era of smart contracts, meme coin is undergoing a qualitative change.

In the past five years, the market has witnessed the transformation of meme coins from a fringe subculture to a mainstream financial asset. With the popularization of the ERC-20 standard in 2017 as a technical turning point, and the historical market value set by SHIB in 2021 as a landmark, meme coins have completed a qualitative change from "internet joke" to "phenomenal investment target."

####2.1 Meteor Shining Type

#####Useless Ethereum Token(UET,2017)

As the most honest scam in the history of cryptocurrency, UET was launched anonymously by the developer "UselessEthereumToken" on June 17, 2017, during the most frenzied period of the ICO( bubble, directly stating on its official website: "This is a worthless token, buying it is a waste of money."

Despite its "uselessness" being so blatant, UET raised 310 ETH) in 48 hours, approximately $93,000( at the time, making it one of the most absurd ICO cases in history.

)##Hoge Finance(HOGE,2021) - A community-driven deflationary experiment

HOGE, which was born on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021, does not aim to disrupt new technologies but rather to build a unique token economy through a deflationary model and community governance. Each transaction automatically destroys 1% of the tokens while distributing 1% to token 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.

####2.2 Stellar Lingming Type

(##Shiba Inu)SHIB,2020####- A transformation from meme frenzy to ecological ambition

Born in August 2020, Shiba Inu was initially just a meme coin parodying DOGE on the Ethereum chain, with a circulation of up to 1 trillion coins, and its near-zero value made it regarded as a "joke coin." However, in May 2021, a tweet from Musk about "looking for Shiba Inu" ignited the market, and SHIB surged 1200% in a single day.

SHIB's success in reaching its current status is not solely reliant on its popularity; what sets it apart from other meme coin projects at this historic crossroads and gives it long-term value is the gradually constructed "Shib ecosystem" by the team: the decentralized exchange ShibaSwap, the Layer2 network Shibarium, and the token burning mechanism, among others. This strategy of "meme shell + practical core" has allowed it to successfully navigate the common traps and challenges faced by meme coins.

####2.3 Transformation Breakthrough Type

(##Floki Inu)FLOKI,2021###

Floki Inu emerged in June 2021, inspired directly by a tweet from Musk - he named his Shiba Inu "Floki". This chance naming gave birth to a dog-themed meme coin, quickly sparking a frenzy on platforms like Reddit and Telegram, with numerous fans and supporters. What's more noteworthy is that, unlike most fleeting meme coins, FLOKI's ambitions go far beyond simple hype; it aims to undertake further brand reformation, building a vast ecosystem that encompasses DeFi###FlokiFi(, NFT, the metaverse)Valhalla metaverse game(, Floki Trading Bot, a crypto education platform)University Of Floki(, TokenFi, Floki Staking, and even physical charity.

)##SAMO(Samoyedcoin,2021) - A "mascot" of the Solana ecosystem

Born in 2021 during the explosion of the Solana ecosystem, Samoyedcoin quickly became popular with its adorable Samoyed dog image. Unlike other meme coins with grassroots origins, SAMO has carried the "official mascot of Solana" halo since its inception, and this special positioning sets it apart among many canine tokens.

###3. Precipitation/Reconstruction ####2022-2025 ( - The Rise of New Narratives, the Market Begins to Shuffle

Starting from 2022, the meme coin market began a deep adjustment from frenzy to rationality. Marked by the collapse of Terra in May 2022, and transitioning to the rise of the BRC-20 standard in 2023, the meme coin ecosystem is undergoing a brutal yet necessary value re-evaluation.

) 3.1 Short-term Speculation Type

(##Trump)TRUMP,2025####- A ridiculous marriage of politics and crypto

On January 17, 2025, then-President Donald Trump announced the launch of his personal meme coin $TRUMP on Truth Social and X. The token's design is based on his iconic image of raising a fist during the assassination attempt in 2024, with the slogan "Join my Trump Community ####Trump Community (." This politically themed token featuring President Trump cleverly combines election fervor with crypto speculation, creating stunning market performance in a very short time.

) 3.2 eco-driven

(##Dogwifhat)WIF,2023####- A "absurdism" carnival of meme coin

On December 13, 2023, as yet another dog-themed meme coin on the Solana chain, WIF, wearing a cute pink knitted hat, sparked an almost absurd frenzy in the Solana ecosystem and cryptocurrency market.

The price trajectory of this Meme coin, which initially had no technical backing and relied solely on community memes for propagation, is anything but ordinary, even dramatic. After its launch in 2023, WIF's market value skyrocketed to 3 billion dollars by March 26 of the following year, taking only 104 days. In contrast, DOGE took over seven years to achieve this; according to coingecko data, DOGE's market value surpassed 3 billion at the end of January 2021.

#####BONK - A "market-saving dog" from the Solana ecosystem

On December 25, 2022, as the Solana ecosystem was on the brink of collapse due to the FTX crisis, an anonymous team launched $BONK, characterized by the Shiba Inu image, and announced the so-called "airdrop rescue plan": airdropping 50% of the total token supply to active users on the Solana chain. At the same time, BONK has an anti-VC narrative, directly challenging the "institution-led" crypto model, and its official website claims "this is a meme coin for retail investors."

( 3.3 Narrative Innovation Type

)##Goatseus Maximus(GOAT,2024) - an AI frenzy "packaging" of cryptocurrency

This meme coin, born in October 2024, originated from a bizarre prophecy by an AI chatbot called "Truth Terminal" regarding the "Goatse Singularity," but it evolved into a frenzy on the Solana chain worth over $700 million in just two weeks. Its rise perfectly illustrates the crazy logic of "narrative equals value" in the crypto market, cleverly combining AI hype, subcultural memes, and VC glamour, creating a stunning wealth effect, and writing the first biography for the brand new field of AI memes.

####3.4 cultural symbol type

#####MOODENG###2024( - A celebrity hippo that has entered the crypto world

Unlike previous dog and cat meme coins, MOODENG is inspired by a young pygmy hippopotamus named MooDeng), which means "lively pig," from the Khao Kheow Zoo in Thailand. After the zookeepers posted videos of it on social media, MooDeng quickly rose to fame, becoming a global internet phenomenon.

On September 10, 2024, at the peak of the popularity of the Little Hippo, the first MooDeng-themed Meme coin $MOODENG on the Solana chain was born, quickly completing its initial liquidity accumulation on Pump.fun. Just 20 days after its launch, MOODENG's market cap surpassed $270 million, successfully entering the Top 10 Meme coins on the Solana chain, setting a new record for projects on Pump.fun.

###Conclusion

Meme coin