The cruel truth behind the MEME wave, a speculative game driven by desperation

Author: Jason Choi, TANGENT Co-creation source: X, @mrjasonchoi Translation: Shan Oppa, Golden Finance

Recently , I read some VC blog posts about Memecoin. The angles of these articles are novel and the authors are respectable, but I can’t help but think that the analysis itself is one of the reasons why people trade memes.

Here’s the truth: Memes are not Trojan horses for cultural penetration (at least not yet), and I don’t even think they are the most effective marketing strategy. I understand that VCs need to package memes in a way that is acceptable to limited partners (LPs). After all, I used to be one of the LPs.

But let’s be realistic. Most people, myself included, engage in meme trading for one simple reason: because “what the hell.”

The reason is simple.

The meme craze is just one more symptom of a larger trend unfolding in developed countries: The future promised to younger generations by older generations is now out of reach for young people.

For my parents’ generation, the dream was a stable job, a house and raising a family. My generation, on the other hand, dreamed of becoming billionaire tech founders after graduating from college.

Why? Part of this is due to the influence of Mark Zuckerberg, who was idolized in the movie "The Social Network" (of course, we completely misunderstood what the movie was about), just like Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street" (But this is a topic worthy of another long article).

But there is a deeper reason. Since 1985, the median home price has soared 80% (adjusted for inflation), and the home price-to-income ratio is more than double what it was in my grandparents’ era. Today, 50% of people earn less than their parents by age 30, up from 90% in 1940.

The world looks richer than ever, yet younger generations inherit less than half the wealth of their predecessors. Hard work and dedication do not guarantee the same opportunities as your parents.

Since you can't climb up the social ladder and are destined to be a "wage earner" all your life, then why not flip a coin and see if you can become the next one? What about the billionaire entrepreneur who dropped out of school?

The emergence of cryptocurrencies is like injecting Hercules into this trend. Today, nearly two-thirds of young people believe that the stock market is a good way to build wealth...

However, due to the rising cost of living, 90% of young people simply cannot afford capital Invest even if you get an average return of 7% per year.

Cryptocurrency The huge volatility and mythical stories of getting rich overnight make it an unsolved gambling game - as long as you join early enough, be smart enough, and maybe have a bit of an adventurous spirit, you may have a chance at a better life.

It was slightly more respectable to the outside world than a casino, and more intellectually stimulating for the bright young people among us.

You might be saying, "Well, actually... Ever since the Tulip Mania in the Netherlands in the 17th century, humans have been seduced by the speculative game of get-rich-quick! You should read "Left Behind" Get beat!"

Yes, but my point is that what has historically been driven by greed is now increasingly driven by desperation. Want to feel this emotion? Talk to anyone in their 20s, whether in Hong Kong, South Korea, the US, etc.

In order to live a comfortable life, young people must make increasingly risky decisions. They think, or they know, that this is largely due to financial decisions made by previous generations.

Now, this generation also wants to take the cryptocurrency game out of their hands through complex regulations.

They canceled the ICO “to protect you,” so when these tokens finally come to market, you can only buy them at 500x the seed price.

They call it "rat poison" while charging exorbitant fees from customers buying cryptocurrencies.

Oh, these customers? Yes, it's the same people - they're pouring billions into venture capital funds to try to take more and more games private.

This is why people trade memes.

Yes, there is an element of greed and the idea of ​​“buying tokens without huge VC holdings”, which for a generation with ADHD who grew up in the smartphone age, this is Like a gambling game.

But it’s also a “what the hell, nothing else will work” mentality.

More importantly, it is a "revolt" against a generation they feel has failed them - the same generation that is now trying to survive through incomprehensible regulation and increasing privatization. Opportunities, taking away what seemed like the only way they could get ahead.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe memes really are the next great marketing strategy for startups.