Black Wukong hits a nerve with Web3 people
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Black Wukong hits a nerve with Web3 people
The divine monkey of Web2 is mocking the stray dog of Web3.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Viee, Core Contributor at Biteye
Editor: Crush, Core Contributor at Biteye
"Black Myth: Wukong" became an overnight sensation, topping Steam's concurrent player count on its first day and setting a record for single-player games.
The TON ecosystem meme coin DOGS made headlines by launching on Binance's Launchpool as project #57, soon to list on major exchanges including Binance, OKX, and Gate.io.
These two events may seem unrelated. One is a 3A masterpiece developed over seven years with a reported budget of 400 million RMB — "You play for one hour, they spend 20 million RMB." The other is a low-cost token relying purely on FOMO-driven airdrop distribution — "It has nothing, yet its market cap is now $1 billion."
This contrast makes the wooden staff in Wukong’s hand feel like a boomerang striking Web3 practitioners right in the chest. One can't help but ask: How far is Web3 from achieving a "Black Myth"? When will it finally return to its true essence?
01 DOGS at $1B Market Cap — What’s the Value?
DOGS is a meme token built on the Telegram platform, aiming to embody the spirit and culture of the Telegram community.
Inspired by Spotty, the mascot created by Telegram founder Pavel Durov, this black-and-white dog serves not only as the project's iconic image but also symbolizes the vitality and innovation of the Telegram community.
The project uses airdrops to engage Telegram users, hoping that DOGS will further spread Spotty’s image and ethos into broader domains, endowing it with unique cultural value.
Thanks to viral social media exposure, this little black-and-white dog quickly triggered widespread FOMO across the internet. Leveraging its combination of “meme” appeal and integration within the TON ecosystem, DOGS secured a listing on Binance. To date, DOGS has performed strongly in pre-market trading on Bitget, reaching a trading volume of $2.15 million, reflecting significant market interest and enthusiasm.
Low development cost combined with broad airdrop distribution — it’s hard to find any conventional notion of “value” in DOGS. If there’s a “secret to success,” it lies in memes, consensus, and the rise of the TON ecosystem…
Yet projects born similarly to DOGS have frequently risen to prominence in the crypto space. Short-term speculation seems to have become the norm — but how much of this high valuation actually reflects real value?
02 Wukong-Themed Meme Coins Surge 1000x, Sparking Debate
Meme coins remain legendary in the crypto world, and the launch of "Black Myth: Wukong" was no exception — this wave of Web2 traffic poured directly into the liquidity pools of meme coins in the crypto market.
MEME tokens saw astonishing gains. According to DexScreener data, $Wukong issued on Tron surged 3,980% within 24 hours. Multiple identically named MEME coins appeared across different blockchains with varying returns, while $WuKong on Ethereum also delivered strong performance.
Such explosive momentum once again wounds the hearts of Web3 builders. A market filled with value-deficient projects appears lifeless, needing only this mythical monkey to revive it. With genuine value investing absent, meme coins have become one of the few sources of liquidity — no wonder some KOLs lamented, “Crypto needs a 'Black Myth' moment too.”
Over the past six months, debates around meme coins versus VC-backed tokens have intensified. Some KOLs have bluntly called memes digital opium, distorting entrepreneurial directions in Eastern crypto communities. For instance, Jocy, founder of IOSG, argues that the obsession with short-term hype around memes could lead to market bubbles bursting.
Others point out that current market trends featuring “high FDV, low circulating supply” have raised concerns about the sustainability of crypto investments. Many believe these tokens are the root cause of market downturns, forcing retail investors into meme coin speculation. Discussions around high-FDV VC tokens continue to surge repeatedly.
Regardless of perspective, one thing is clear: value investing is rarely mentioned — it seems to have vanished entirely.
03 Crypto Investing Is a Game of Attention
In the crypto market, value investing often stumbles — fundamental analysis feels like guaranteed underperformance.
The traditional financial logic where “strong performance drives high stock prices” rarely holds in crypto. Many wait endlessly for their altcoins to be rediscovered by the market, only to realize their assets have turned into dust carried away by the wind.
When a sharp downturn hits, you face a brutal reality: blue-chips fall like altcoins, altcoins crash like shitcoins, and shitcoins vanish like air.
In an era where long-termism is celebrated, it keeps getting ridiculed in crypto.
Just fluctuating k-lines and human greed and fear — what exactly has changed?
The answer is simple: In crypto, “fundamentals” are being redefined.
Web2 projects emphasize technical strength, user metrics, and funding history — and so does crypto. Yet no matter how much we stress these indicators, they’re often overshadowed by trending topics, celebrity endorsements, or even negative publicity.
This leads to bizarre phenomena: when sectors like memes or AI go viral, even technically mediocre projects can easily attract massive capital if they ride the trend.
Likewise, if a project gets endorsed by a KOL, even with average fundamentals, it can rapidly gain followers through star power.
Even more extreme: after suffering a hack or negative news, some projects attract even more attention because people see them as “dramatic” and worth gambling on.
Ultimately, in this imaginative crypto world, traditional notions of “fundamentals” no longer apply. Attention is the new fundamental — the most overlooked form of value.
This explains why a low-cost project like DOGS can be valued at $1 billion, and why Wukong-themed meme coins achieve thousand-fold surges — a seemingly miraculous force of capital that simultaneously sparks controversy and reflection.
04 Conclusion
Despite ongoing controversies in the current crypto market, there's no need for excessive anxiety. Just as survival of the fittest dictates evolution, if the market rejects high-FDV game rules, VCs will inevitably adjust their strategies.
Similarly, the rise of meme coins is a result of natural market selection. They bring in vast numbers of new users. Good projects will survive the burst bubble, while disguised “air coins” masquerading as value tokens will eventually be eliminated.
Whether or not a “Black Myth: Wukong” arrives to cleanse Web3, market evolution will always follow the law of natural selection, ultimately ascending to higher ground.
We should maintain open minds and focus on truly valuable projects. As market participants reassess value and mechanisms improve, outstanding projects and teams will surely emerge victorious, leading the industry into a more prosperous future.
Risk Warning: Cryptocurrencies carry high risk. The above is for informational purposes only, not investment advice.
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