According to the Coingecko 2023 Annual Report, the Meme sector ranks as the third most favored narrative among investors, trailing only behind AI and GameFi, constituting 8.3% of the overall interest in cryptocurrency narratives.

As of the end of 2023, the total market capitalization of the Meme sector approaches 22 billion USD, accounting for approximately 1.22% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. This surpasses the market capitalization of many mainstream sectors with significant capital and institutional involvement, such as DePIN ($14 billion), Layer2 ($21 billion), Zero-Knowledge ($18 billion), and DEX ($15.7 billion). Furthermore, it exceeds the total market capitalization of most mainstream public chain ecosystems.

In 2023, the entire cryptocurrency industry underwent a series of ups and downs, including a deep bear market, despair, developer and investor exodus from the AI sector, ETF spot expectations, renewed hope, market recovery, and the initiation of a bull market. Throughout these fluctuations, the Meme sector consistently demonstrated limitless potential and led market sentiment, providing endless imaginative possibilities.

From the emergence of $PEPE in May, followed by the attention garnered by HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu in July, to $BONK reaching a peak market value of over 2 billion USD in just over a month from a starting point of a little over a million, and the two flagship projects from the BRC20 ecosystem, $ORDI and $SATS, both surpassing 1 billion USD market value after landing on Binance. Meme culture played a significant role in the era of mobile internet, and now, in the Web3 era, it has become one of the most essential components of crypto culture.

The power of Memes lies in their unique ability to convey information and ideas in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Through creative images, text, and videos, Memes serve as powerful tools for users to share viewpoints, mock phenomena, and express emotions. They capture current hot topics and societal trends in a unique way, using humor for satire, irony, or mockery.

However, the influence of Memes goes beyond mere entertainment. They can disrupt traditional methods of information dissemination, rapidly spread across social media, and spark widespread discussions and engagement. When a Meme quickly circulates on the internet, it can gather the attention and resonance of users, stimulating discussions and reflections on specific topics. This collective participation and interaction provide opportunities to form new consensus and, in some cases, act as a driving force for societal change.

For the entire cryptocurrency industry, Memes have become a gateway to attract more crypto users. Through Meme tokens and communities, users can quickly grasp the culture of the crypto community, understand cryptocurrency investment methods, and embrace the crypto ecosystem.

For exchanges and public blockchains, Memes have become a crucial weapon for cold starts and promoting the thriving development of ecosystems. Examples include the recent surge of Meme projects on Solana, such as Silly Dragon, Analos, Bork, as well as projects like COQ on Avalanche and Pory on Polygon.

For users, Memes serve as a medium embodying an anti-VC, anti-conventional spirit and attitude, acting as a means to create new consensus, much like the repeated dramas of the GameStop defense battles. For users, Memes are not only a vessel for an anti-VC, anti-conventional spirit and attitude but also a medium of social expression, capable of resonating, generating new consensus, and becoming a force for changing the real world. Similar to the recurring GameStop defense battles, Memes play a crucial role. When a group of ordinary investors collectively acts through social media and Memes, they have the ability to alter the landscape and rules of the market. The demonstration of this power has prompted a reevaluation of the financial system and posed a challenge to traditional institutions and authorities.

Therefore, Memes are not just a form of entertainment; they have become symbols of a cultural phenomenon and social movement. As users engage in the creation and sharing of Memes, it means participating in a decentralized cultural creation process, enabling the expression of personal viewpoints, shaping public opinion, and influencing society. The power of Memes lies in their ubiquity and speed of dissemination, providing everyone with the opportunity to participate and impact societal discussions.

Next, we will review the top 5 meme projects worth paying attention to in 2023.

Silly Dragon $Silly

Official website:sillydragon.io

Keywords: Year of the Dragon; Solana founder and official Solana platforms and interactions.

Project Introduction: Silly Dragon is a delightful character within the Solana blockchain realm, symbolizing innovation, community, and a playful spirit.

Basic data (as of January 25, 2024)

● First Mint Time: 12-04-2123

● Chain: Solana

● FDV/MKT CAP: $68M

● NEXT: $165M

● Supply: 999.97M

● Holders: 17600+

● Top 10 Holders: 29.68%

● Liquidity Pool: $2.2M

● Transaction: 15K

● 24 Hours Trading Volumn: $5.5M

● 24 Hours Traders:2.5K

● X Followers: 22.3K

● Telegram Followers: 6.6K

● Exchange Listed: Kucoin; LBank; Bitget; HTX; BitMart; CoinW；

● Community activity score: 90

● Liquidity Pool Score: 92

● Information transparency score: 90

● Trading activity score: 80

● Contract security score: 95

● Chip structure score: 90

● Overall score: 89 points

Follow-up focus:

● China’s Year of the Dragon is coming soon, will it further ferment among the Chinese community?

● Development of the community ecosystem: Evaluation of the upcoming NFT quality, community participation, and recognition to assess the team’s execution and operational capabilities.

● Continuous interaction of the official Solana team and Solana founder with Silly Dragon.

● Monitoring the listing status on Top Tier exchanges.

● Tracking the growth of followers in the English-speaking community.

COQ In $COQ

Official website:coqinu.com

Keywords: Avalanche Leading Meme; Avalanche Establishing Ecosystem Fund to Support Meme Projects.

Project Introduction: COQ is the leading meme coin on the AVAX network. It was founded by highly esteemed members of the community who chose not to distribute the coin and instead placed the entire supply, consisting of 150 AVAX, in the initial liquidity pool. The contract has been fully renounced, and the liquidity has been burned.

Basic data (as of January 25, 2024)

● First Mint Time: 12-08-2023

● Chain: Avalanche

● FDV/MKT CAP: $76.3M

● OTHER: $266M

● Supply:69T

● Holders: 55K

● Top 10 Holders: 26%

● Liquidity Pool: $3.3M

● Transaction:

● 24 Hours Trading Volumn: $1.4M

● 24 Hours Traders:1.2K

● X Followers: 42.3K

● Telegram Followers: 9.5K

● Exchange Listed: KuCoin, Bybit, Bitget, HTX, BitMart, CoinEx

● Community activity score: 85

● Liquidity Pool Score: 95

● Information transparency score: 90

● Transaction activity score: 80

● Contract security score: 95

● Chip structure score: 95

● Overall score: 90

Follow-up focus:

● The status of Avalanche’s leading MEME project is relatively stable, and the focus is on the project party’s subsequent operational trends and actions to break through the circle;

● Because it is the native MEME on Avalanche after all, it still depends on the development space of the platform, that is, the development of the overall ecology of Avalanche; Avalanche has gained a lot of traffic and attention since embracing the inscription track, and whether it can continue to develop in the overall ecology in the future. Strength, differentiation, and renewed glory are worth looking forward to.

TROLL PORTAL $TROLL

Official website:https://larrythellama.vip/

Keywords: Musk Concept — Chief Troll Officer; Ethereum Ecosystem Resurging, Next PePe on Ethereum.

Project Introduction: Troll is just a meme coin that is run by the community. Troll was created by a group of degens and have slowly worked in building a community.

Basic data (as of January 25, 2024)

● First Mint Time: 03-19-2023

● Chain: Etheruem

● FDV/MKT CAP: $45M

● ATH: $58M

● Supply: 960.42T

● Holders: 6.21K

● Top 10 Holders: 25%

● Liquidity Pool: $1.8M

● Transaction: 7.8K

● 24 Hours Trading Volumn:$25M

● X Followers: 4.45K

● Telegram Followers: 4.9K

● Exchange Listed: BingX, LBank, XT.COM, Poloniex

● Community activity score: 75

● Liquidity Pool Score: 95

● Information transparency score: 90

● Trading activity score: 98

● Contract security score: 95

● Chip structure score: 95

● Overall score: 92

Follow-up focus:

● Musk’s concept is back on the scene, and the biggest expectation at present is whether Musk will retweet and call for orders.

● The Ethereum ecosystem is returning to the forefront of the market. There are signs of a resurgence in the Meme trend on Ethereum. Currently, $TROLL has the highest heat and transaction activity. Pay attention to more community discussion and Twitter discussions around it.

Rats Ordinal $RATS

Official website:https://www.rats.group/

Key words: Next SATS&ORDI;

Project Introduction: $RATS is an animal meme coin created on the Bitcoin blockchain under the BRC-20 protocol, with a total issuance amount of 1 trillion and it is 100% in circulation.

It is named after the most populous mammal on Earth, the rat, and is highly sought after by a large number of users due to its ironic take on the traditional trading market’s front running.

Basic data (as of January 25, 2024)

● First Mint Time: 11-21-2023

● Chain: BTC

● FDV/MKT CAP:$220M

● ATH: $62.7M

● Supply:1T

● Holders:None

● Top 10 Holders: 13.16%

● Liquidity Pool: None

● Transaction: None

● 24 Hours Trading Volume:$84.5M

● 24 Hours Traders:None

● X Followers: 35K

● Telegram Followers: 18.6K

● Exchange Listed: Gate.io. Kucoin, HTX, Bitget, OKX-Ordinals, MEXC, BingX

● Community activity score: 98

● Liquidity Pool score: 100

● Information transparency score: 98

● Trading activity score: 99

● Contract security score: 95

● Chip structure score: 95

● Overall score: 97

Follow-up focus:

● Although the project team firmly asserts that they are not the same as SATS and ORDI and they want to establish their own identity, it cannot be denied that if RATS can replicate the development trajectory of SATS and ORDI in aspects such as user base, listing path, and community consensus, there is still a growth potential of 5–8 times. This is also a key point we can focus on.

● Recognized by the community as the third carriage in the BRC20 ecosystem, belonging to the Beta yield of the BRC20 ecosystem. However, compared to SATS and ORDI, it has a larger Alpha. If Binance Wallet supports BRC20, RATS stands to benefit even more.

$LFG

Official website:lessfeesandgas.org

Keywords: Solana Founder Transparently Takes the Stage; Vampire Attack ETH; ETH Whales Receive Pork Knuckle Rice;

Project Introduction: $LFG Token | Less Fees and Gas for Ethereum users, only possible on SOLANA

Basic data (as of January 25, 2024)

● First Mint Time: 02-01-2023

● Chain: Solana

● FDV/MKT CAP: $5.9M

● NEXT: $88M

● Supply: 1T

● Holders: 21.69K

● Top 10 Holders: 78.53%

● Liquidity Pool: $750K

● Transaction: 1K

● 24 Hours Trading Volumn: $445K

● X Followers: 23.6K

● Telegram Followers: 2.8K

● Exchange Listed: CoinW, LBank, BitMart

● Community activity score: 80

● Liquidity Pool Score: 70

● Information transparency score: 90

● Trading activity score: 68

● Contract security score: 95

● Chip structure score: 60

● Overall score: 75

Follow-up focus:

● “LFG’’ belongs to a relatively novel Meme concept. Emerging blockchains can leverage this pattern to attract new users, making it something that official blockchain entities welcome and are willing to provide sustained support for.

● Currently, the overall ecosystem of Solana is in a state of fluctuation. Meme concepts like these, because they primarily promote a preference for the ideological aspects of the blockchain, have their development trajectories closely tied to the overall ecological development (similar to Analogs). Therefore, the next opportunity will still depend on whether the Solana ecosystem experiences another surge.

Why MEME?

Do you still remember the scenes from childhood where you drew icons in class and declared yourself part of a faction? Yes, that’s the seed of Meme that naturally exists in many people’s hearts. The cryptocurrency world has provided fertile ground for this seed to take root and grow into a thriving entity. An article released last year titled “Meme Coins, Social Infrastructure For Crypto” analyzed and summarized seven characteristics of Meme. I will distill a few of these characteristics below:

1. Conveys cultural resonance and consensus through easily understandable language and imagery.

2. Simple to operate, with a low entry barrier, capable of quickly fostering community building and social value.

3. Builds financial attributes and speculative opportunities on a foundation of social characteristics.

In summary: simplicity, resonance, social, speculation.

However, behind these phenomena and characteristics, what is the true meaning of Meme in the cryptocurrency context?

Whenever a new historical era or culture is just beginning, what do we see? Totems, symbols, flags, and badges. Especially after a culture has been entrenched for a long time, these simple and vivid symbols bring revelations to civilization, breaking and leading new changes with a unique style. This is essentially retelling culture in the simplest and most effective way. From the Gothic style of the medieval era to the Baroque and Rococo styles of the Renaissance, and then the transition from Academic Realism in the mid-19th century to Impressionism, these processes share similar characteristics.

Creating new civilizations and cultural consensus often requires breaking through ingrained ways of thinking, which is inherently challenging. Established cultures typically wield greater authority, power, discourse, capital, and resources. In such situations, humor, relaxation, simplicity, fun, and even somewhat eccentric leaps can not only effectively diverge from the norm and stimulate everyone’s numb nerves but also rapidly consolidate energy in a non-verbal way, forming new consensus.

This process is consistently present in every era of transformation and development. We often need this humorous, relaxing, simple, fun, eccentric, and leaping process to break consensus, shape consensus, and rebuild consensus. In the world of cryptocurrency and Web3, this is the role of Meme! In addition to the apparent characteristics of simplicity, resonance, social interaction, and speculation, the significance and labels of Meme also encompass breaking, reshaping, new playstyles, and new hopes.

In the world of cryptocurrency and Web3, Meme stands out as a unique pioneer. It is different from technical tracks like DePIN and ZKP, as well as distinct from infrastructure and finance. In the process of building bridges, Meme breaks rigid consensus and gives consensus-building a more human touch. The collaborative nature of communities and the forms of social groups are essential for creating consensus, but fundamentally, it is about establishing emotional resonance among people. In this regard, infrastructure falls short, and finance has its limitations, but Meme can achieve it! We are delighted to see a variety of Meme coins flourishing in 2023, and we look forward to Meme coins continuing to drive the development of cryptocurrency and Web3 in 2024, bringing us more exciting progress and breakthroughs. Whether on the technical, community-building, or cultural resonance levels, Meme coins will continue to play a unique and important role.

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