How Memecoin went from being an internet joke to becoming a crypto culture engine

Author: Sasha Ivanov, founder of Waves and Units.Network, CoinTelegraph; Translated by Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

Not long ago, the idea that an online joke could become an asset class worth billions of dollars seemed laughable. Today, Meme coins are more than just mainstream. They are reshaping entire market cycles. The United States now has an official Meme coin associated with the president. What started as a niche community experiment has now become a financial force that cannot be ignored.

This is not just speculation. In November 2024, Meme coins accounted for 65% of the total trading volume on the decentralized exchange Raydium, a record high. These assets, once seen as Internet gimmicks, have become cultural engines of cryptocurrency. This phenomenon has caused a slight identity crisis for believers and skeptics alike, who need to reconsider their positions.

Whether it is seen as the next retail-driven market movement or an unsustainable craze, one thing is clear: Meme coins are no longer a joke.

Meme coins are more than just speculation

At their core, Memes thrive on community belief. Traditional financial assets derive their value from utility, institutional adoption, or revenue models. Memes, by contrast, are driven by social engagement, virality, and collective momentum.

This makes them one of the most effective onboarding tools for retail investors in cryptocurrency. Memecoins remove the complexity of blockchain technology, making digital assets approachable, familiar, and culturally relevant. For many, they are the first step into Web3, opening the door to decentralized trading, governance, and finance.

However, the same factors that make them accessible also make them volatile. The same market mechanisms that allowed memes to soar to $1 billion valuations overnight can just as easily cause them to crash in a matter of days. While one trader might turn $66 into a $3 million profit, thousands of other traders end up holding worthless tokens when the hype dies down.

No One Can Ignore the Volatility Problem

The numbers speak for themselves. When Elon Musk changed his X username and profile picture, the market cap of memes associated with him soared to $380 million. Once Musk reversed those changes, the token plummeted to $100 million and then plummeted further.

This was not an exception. This is the reality of the meme market. It is unpredictable, profit-driven, and driven by speculation. While some traders thrive in this environment, most do not. Skeptics argue that memes are little more than a casino with a blockchain — a game where few win and most lose.

To ignore memes completely ignores the larger reality. Regardless of the skepticism, memes are not going away. They are shaping market trends. The real question is: Can memes transition from hype-driven speculation to structured financial assets with governance and longevity?

Governance is key to long-term survival

If memes are to transcend short-term trading cycles, governance must take center stage. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) offer a model that allows holders to shape token supply, enforce transparency, and influence project direction, giving memes a real chance at sustainability.

Such a structure prevents centralized control by developers and whales, reducing the risk of insider manipulation, exit scams, and pump and dump schemes. It also ensures that memes can incorporate treasury management, staking incentives, and token supply models that promote long-term viability rather than short-term speculation.

A prime example is Floki Inu (FLOKI), a meme that has successfully built a functional ecosystem beyond meme-driven trading. Rather than relying on short-term speculation, Floki Inu integrates non-fungible token (NFT) gaming, payments, and educational initiatives, proving that memes can evolve into structured, community-driven assets.

Memes do not need to abandon their cultural origins, but to survive beyond the current hype cycle, they must adopt governance mechanisms that promote economic sustainability.

Memes at a Crossroads

Memes have divided the cryptocurrency space into two extreme camps. On one side, meme maximalists insist that this bull run will be dominated by memes, arguing that belief and virality alone are enough to sustain memes. On the other side, skeptics dismiss memes altogether, believing them to be pump-and-dump scams that will eventually fail.

Both perspectives miss the bigger picture. Memes have proven their ability to drive market activity, but the risk of ignoring them is just as reckless as dismissing them outright. The real challenge isn’t whether memes should exist. They already exist. The question is how to build them to ensure investor safety, market stability, and the industry’s long-term credibility.

Builders, regulators, and communities must collaborate to balance decentralization with responsible governance. Ignoring memes as a passing trend is shortsighted. The risk of not addressing them could be worse — potentially leading to a catastrophic collapse that undermines public trust in crypto as a whole.

Memes are here to stay. The real test is whether they will continue to be a speculative roller coaster or evolve into a legitimate digital economy sector. The answer lies not only with traders, but also with the builders, developers, and policymakers who will shape the future of blockchain.