MEME Coin 2023 Annual Research Report: MEME, a Vehicle of Anti-VC, Anti-Establishment Spirit and Attitude
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MEME Coin 2023 Annual Research Report: MEME, a Vehicle of Anti-VC, Anti-Establishment Spirit and Attitude
This article will review the 5 most noteworthy MEME projects of 2023.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: WatchMEMEDAO
According to CoinGecko's 2023 Annual Report, the MEME sector is the third most favored narrative among investors, ranking behind only AI and GameFi, accounting for 8.3% of interest in crypto narratives.
By the end of 2023, the total market capitalization of the MEME sector approached $22 billion, representing approximately 1.22% of the overall crypto market cap. This surpasses the market caps of many well-capitalized, institutionally backed mainstream sectors such as DePIN ($14 billion), Layer2 ($21 billion), Zero-Knowledge ($18 billion), and DEX ($15.7 billion), as well as exceeding the total market cap of most major public blockchain ecosystems.
Throughout 2023, the entire cryptocurrency industry experienced a deep bear market, despair, developer and investor migration toward AI, anticipation around spot ETF approvals, renewed hope, market recovery, and the beginning of a bull run—a rollercoaster of emotions and developments. Throughout all these phases, the MEME sector consistently demonstrated boundless potential, driving market sentiment and sparking endless imagination.
From PePe’s emergence in May, to HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu (BITCOIN) gaining attention in July, followed by Bonk skyrocketing from a market cap of just over one million to a peak exceeding $2 billion within just over a month, to two leading projects from the BRC-20 ecosystem—Ordi and Sats—listing on Binance and each surpassing a $1 billion market cap. MEME culture, already highly influential during the mobile internet era, has become even more prominent in the Web3 era, solidifying its role as one of the most essential components of crypto culture.
The power of MEMEs lies in their unique ability to convey information and ideas through lighthearted humor. Through creative images, text, and videos, MEMEs have become powerful tools for users to share opinions, mock phenomena, and express emotions. They uniquely capture current hot topics and social trends, reinterpreting them with humor, parody, satire, or jest.
However, the influence of MEMEs extends far beyond this. They break traditional modes of information dissemination, rapidly spreading across social media and triggering widespread discussion and engagement. When a MEME goes viral online, it concentrates user attention and resonance, stimulating discussions and reflections on specific themes. This collective participation and interaction create opportunities for forming new consensus—even acting as catalysts for societal change.
For the broader crypto industry, MEMEs have become a key traffic gateway attracting more users into the ecosystem. Through MEME tokens and communities, users can quickly understand crypto community culture, learn investment methods, and embrace the crypto ecosystem.
For exchanges and public blockchains, MEMEs have become a vital tool for cold starts and fostering ecological prosperity. Examples include the recent explosion of MEME projects on Solana (such as Silly Dragon, Analos, Bork), COQ on Avalanche, and Pory on Polygon.
For users, MEMEs serve as carriers of anti-VC, anti-establishment spirit and attitudes—mediums for creating new consensus, akin to repeated reenactments of the GameStop battle. For users, MEMEs are not merely expressions of anti-VC or anti-conventional sentiment; they are also vehicles for social expression capable of generating resonance, forging new consensus, and becoming forces that change the real world. Much like the repeated GameStop battles, MEMEs play a pivotal role. When ordinary investors collectively act via social media and MEMEs, they can reshape market dynamics and rules. This display of power prompts a reevaluation of financial systems and challenges traditional institutions and authority.
Therefore, MEMEs are more than just a form of entertainment—they symbolize a cultural phenomenon and social movement. As users, participating in MEME creation and sharing means engaging in a decentralized cultural creation process, enabling us to express our views, shape public opinion, and influence society. The power of MEMEs lies in their universality and speed of dissemination, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in and influence social discourse.
Next, we will review the five most noteworthy MEME projects of 2023.
Silly Dragon $SILLY
Website: sillydragon.io
Keywords: Year of the Dragon; Endorsed and actively engaged by Solana founder and official Solana accounts;
Project Introduction: Silly Dragon: A fun-loving character in the Solana blockchain world, embodying innovation, community, and playfulness.
Basic Data (as of January 25, 2024)
● First Mint Time: 12-04-2023
● Chain: Solana
● FDV/Market Cap: $68M
● ATH: $165M
● Supply: 999.97M
● Holders: 17,600+
● Top 10 Holders: 29.68%
● Liquidity Pool: $2.2M
● Transactions: 15K
● 24-Hour Trading Volume: $5.5M
● 24-Hour Traders: 2.5K
● X Followers: 22.3K
● Telegram Followers: 6.6K
● Exchanges Listed: KuCoin, LBank, Bitget, HTX, BitMart, CoinW;
● Community Engagement Score: 90
● Liquidity Pool Score: 92
● Transparency Score: 90
● Trading Activity Score: 80
● Contract Security Score: 95
● Token Distribution Score: 90
● Overall Score: 89
Points to Watch:
● The upcoming Chinese Year of the Dragon—will it gain further traction within Chinese-speaking communities?
● Development of the community ecosystem: Quality of upcoming NFTs, level of community participation and recognition—used to evaluate the team’s
execution and operational capabilities;
● Whether Solana’s official channels and founder continue interacting with Silly Dragon;
● Listing progress on top-tier exchanges;
● Growth trajectory of English-speaking followers in the next phase;
COQ Inu $COQ
Website: coqinu.com
Keywords: Leading MEME on Avalanche; Avalanche established an ecosystem fund supporting MEME projects
Project Introduction: COQ is the #1 MEME coin on AVAX. Founded by well-respected members of the community. They took no distribution and put the entire supply of the coin with 150 AVAX in initial liquidity. The contract has been fully renounced and liquidity burned.
Basic Data (as of January 25, 2024)
● First Mint Time: 12-08-2023
● Chain: Avalanche
● FDV/Market Cap: $76.3M
● ATH: $266M
● Supply: 69T
● Holders: 55K
● Top 10 Holders: 26%
● Liquidity Pool: $3.3M
● Transactions: —
● 24-Hour Trading Volume: $1.4M
● 24-Hour Traders: 1.2K
● X Followers: 42.3K
● Telegram Followers: 9.5K
● Exchanges Listed: KuCoin, Bybit, Bitget, HTX, BitMart, CoinEx
● Community Engagement Score: 85
● Liquidity Pool Score: 95
● Transparency Score: 90
● Trading Activity Score: 80
● Contract Security Score: 95
● Token Distribution Score: 95
● Overall Score: 90
Points to Watch:
● COQ holds a relatively stable position as the leading MEME project on Avalanche. Focus should remain on the team’s future operations and breakout initiatives;
● As a native MEME on Avalanche, its success remains tied to platform growth—specifically, the overall development of the Avalanche ecosystem. Since embracing the inscription trend, Avalanche has attracted significant traffic and attention. Whether it can sustain momentum, differentiate itself, and regain former glory is worth watching.
TROLL PORTAL $TROLL
Website: https://larrythellama.vip/
Keywords: Musk-themed—Chief Troll Officer; Resurgence of Ethereum ecosystem; Ethereum’s next PePe;
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: Ethereum
● FDV/Market Cap: $45M
● ATH: $58M
● Supply: 960.42T
● Holders: 6.21K
● Top 10 Holders: 25%
● Liquidity Pool: $1.8M
● Transactions: 7.8K
● 24-Hour Trading Volume: $25M
● X Followers: 4.45K
● Telegram Followers: 4.9K
● Exchanges Listed: BingX, LBank, XT.COM, Poloniex
● Community Engagement Score: 75
● Liquidity Pool Score: 95
● Transparency Score: 90
● Trading Activity Score: 98
● Contract Security Score: 95
● Token Distribution Score: 95
● Overall Score: 92
Points to Watch:
● Musk-themed narrative resurfaces—the biggest expectation now is whether Elon Musk will retweet or promote $TROLL;
● Ethereum’s ecosystem is regaining spotlight status, with signs of revived MEME enthusiasm. Currently, $TROLL leads in热度 and trading activity. Monitor community and Twitter discussion热度 closely.
Rats Ordinals $RATS
Website: https://www.rats.group/
Keywords: 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.
Basic Data (as of January 25, 2024)
● First Mint Time: 11-21-2023
● Chain: BTC
● FDV/Market Cap: $220M
● ATH: $62.7M
● Supply: 1T
● Holders: None
● Top 10 Holders: 13.16%
● Liquidity Pool: None
● Transactions: None
● 24-Hour Trading Volume: $84.5M
● 24-Hour Traders: None
● X Followers: 35K
● Telegram Followers: 18.6K
● Exchanges Listed: Gate.io, KuCoin, HTX, Bitget, OKX-Ordinals, MEXC, BingX
● Community Engagement Score: 98
● Liquidity Pool Score: 100
● Transparency Score: 98
● Trading Activity Score: 99
● Contract Security Score: 95
● Token Distribution Score: 95
● Overall Score: 97
Points to Watch:
● Although the team insists they’re different from SATS and ORDI, if RATS replicates their development path—user base growth, listing strategy, community consensus formation—it could still achieve 5–8x upside, which remains a key area to monitor;
● Widely recognized as the third pillar of the BRC-20 ecosystem, offering beta returns within the space while providing substantial alpha relative to SATS and ORDI. If Binance Wallet adds BRC-20 support, RATS stands to benefit significantly;
$LFG
Website: lessfeesandgas.org
Keywords: Explicit endorsement by Solana founder; Vampire attack on ETH; ETH whales getting pig rice bowls;
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/Market Cap: $5.9M
● ATH: $88M
● Supply: 1T
● Holders: 21.69K
● Top 10 Holders: 78.53%
● Liquidity Pool: $750K
● Transactions: 1K
● 24-Hour Trading Volume: $445K
● X Followers: 23.6K
● Telegram Followers: 2.8K
● Exchanges Listed: CoinW, LBank, BitMart
● Community Engagement Score: 80
● Liquidity Pool Score: 70
● Transparency Score: 90
● Trading Activity Score: 68
● Contract Security Score: 95
● Token Distribution Score: 60
● Overall Score: 75
Points to Watch:
● $LFG represents a relatively novel MEME concept. Emerging blockchains can leverage this model to attract new users, making it favorable to chain officials who may offer ongoing support;
● Currently, Solana’s overall ecosystem is in a volatile phase. Such MEMEs, which primarily promote chain ideology, are highly dependent on ecosystem growth (similar to Analos). Therefore, the next wave of opportunity hinges on another resurgence of the Solana ecosystem;
Why MEME?
Remember drawing icons in class and declaring yourself part of a faction as a kid? Yes—that’s the seed of MEME existing naturally within many people. The cryptocurrency world provides fertile ground for this seed to take root, grow, and gain liquidity. A blog post published last year titled “MEME Coins, Social Infrastructure For Crypto” analyzed seven characteristics of MEMEs. I’ve distilled a few key ones below:
1. Use easily understandable language and imagery to build cultural resonance and consensus.
2. Simple to operate, low barrier to entry, enabling rapid community building and social value creation.
3. On top of social attributes, provide financial utility and speculative opportunities.
In short: simplicity, resonance, social connection, speculation.
Yet beneath these phenomena and traits—what is the true significance of MEMEs?
What do we see whenever a new historical phase or cultural movement begins? Totems, symbols, flags, badges. Especially after a long period of cultural stagnation, these simple yet striking symbols bring enlightenment, breaking norms and leading transformative change. This is actually one of the simplest and most effective ways to retell culture. From Gothic styles in the Middle Ages to Baroque and Rococo during the Renaissance, then from mid-19th century academic realism to Impressionism—each transition shares similar characteristics.
New civilizations and cultural consensus often require breaking entrenched mindsets—an inherently difficult task. Established cultures usually hold greater authority, power,话语权, capital, and resources. Under such conditions, humor, relaxation, simplicity, fun—and even some bizarre leaps—not only effectively bypass numbed nerves but also rapidly凝聚 energy non-verbally to form new consensus.
This process persists throughout every era and transformative environment. We always need this kind of humorous, relaxed, simple, fun, absurd, and leaping process to break, shape, and rebuild consensus. In the world of cryptocurrency and Web3, this is exactly the role of MEMEs! Beyond the visible traits of simplicity, resonance, social connection, and speculation, MEMEs also represent: disruption, reinvention, new gameplay, and new hope.
In the crypto and Web3 world, MEMEs are pioneering trailblazers. They differ from technical tracks like DePIN and ZKP, and also from infrastructure and finance. While bridges are being built, MEMEs break rigid consensus and add human warmth to consensus formation. Community联动 and social structures are essential environments for creating consensus, but ultimately, emotional resonance between people must be forged. Infrastructure cannot achieve this, nor can finance fully deliver—but MEMEs can! We are thrilled to have seen a vibrant bloom of diverse MEME coins in 2023, and we look forward to MEME coins continuing to drive progress in crypto and Web3 in 2024, bringing more exciting breakthroughs. At every level—technology, community building, and cultural resonance—MEME coins will continue to play a unique and vital role.
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