How did Musk become the Meme Godfather?
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How did Musk become the Meme Godfather?
Celebrities bring their own traffic.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Jessy, Jinse Finance
Elon Musk-related meme coins are surging again—this time it's "ClosedAI." On March 6, after Musk criticized OpenAI on Twitter and repeatedly mentioned "ClosedAI," the meme token surged over 2800% within three hours.
Musk has become a top influencer in the meme coin space, boosting tokens both intentionally and unintentionally. From Doge to ClosedAI, he is undoubtedly the godfather of memes—not only does he actively promote certain meme coins, but traders also closely monitor his tweets to spot or even launch new on-chain projects instantly. Below are some typical Elon Musk-themed meme coins.
Doge
Launched in 2013, Doge was initially used for small online tips. During the 2021 bull market, Musk frequently tweeted about Doge and even promoted it on TV shows. His most recent high-profile endorsement came in April 2023, when Twitter replaced its logo with a Shiba Inu dog—sending Doge’s price up 30% that day.
Today, Doge is deeply associated with Musk. Rumors swirl that he might use Doge as Twitter’s payment token or even as currency on Mars—keeping the coin consistently in the spotlight.
Currently, Doge has a market cap of $22 billion, ranking 9th.
FLOKI
Another member of the Doge family, FLOKI was named after Musk’s pet Shiba Inu, which he once shared on Twitter in 2021. A meme token with the same name was quickly created afterward. Today, FLOKI has evolved beyond just a meme—its team has launched NFTs, DeFi products, blockchain games, and even crypto education courses. Benefiting from the previous bull market’s “zoo season,” FLOKI ranks among the top meme coins by market cap and holder count. However, its non-meme projects haven’t gained nearly as much attention.
Its current market cap is $1.28 billion, ranking 82nd.
TROLL
On January 9, 2024, Musk changed his Twitter bio to (CTO) Chief Troll Officer, causing the TROLL token to spike.
TROLL had actually been deployed on Ethereum a year earlier but remained obscure until Musk updated his profile. After Musk removed the title, TROLL promptly dropped by 50%.
Still, during this latest meme wave, it more than doubled—making it more resilient than SMILEY.
It currently has a market cap of $68.36 million, ranking 2366th.
GROK
In December 2023, Musk announced his AI model GROK, prompting the creation of a namesake meme coin that surged fivefold in two days. However, after it was revealed that GROK was created by a known scam artist, the price plummeted.
GROK now has a market cap of $67 million, ranking 2401st.
SMILEY
On January 16, 2024, Musk posted a meme image containing smiley face elements, causing the pre-existing Ethereum-based SMILEY token to surge—up 895% in a single day.
Like most meme tokens, SMILEY saw a sharp crash following its spike. Despite the recent meme rally, it hasn’t regained momentum.
It currently has a market cap of $2.13 million, ranking 2619th.
Summary
Just a week ago, Musk tweeted: "Fine, I will get back on the meme grindstone!"
And meme markets roared back to life. Meme coins are inherently emotion-driven, and celebrities like Musk—with their massive reach—can significantly influence these markets. Other figures, such as Vitalik Buterin, have also seen related meme tokens skyrocket. However, these celebrity-linked tokens are highly volatile—entirely dependent on public statements. For instance, one offhand comment from Musk calling Doge a "scam" once triggered a major sell-off.
Moreover, most celebrity-themed meme coins have short lifespans—spiking quickly, then crashing into obscurity. Only those consistently promoted by Musk, like Doge, maintain lasting popularity. For investors, the key is identifying early opportunities, entering fast, and exiting before the hype peaks.
Here's hoping that Musk, with his full embrace of meme culture, helps spawn another wave of 100x or even 10,000x meme coins in this bull market.
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