For a few years now, memecoins have been all the rage. Funnily enough, they started with a joke.
In 2013, two software engineers ++launched Dogecoin++ to make fun of the silly but serious cryptocurrency projects launching at the time. Unexpectedly, Dogecoin took off as the market ate it up. To date, it’s one of the most successful memecoins. In 2019, Elon Musk, the world’s richest billionaire, ++pumped Dogecoin++, driving it into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Since then, other memecoins have ++skyrocketed to stardom++, the latest being TRUMP, a memecoin ++launched in January 2025++ by then-President-elect Donald Trump.
In less than 24 hours, TRUMP’s price increased by 18,000 percent. Today, one month after its launch, the president’s memecoin is ranked No. 35 in market cap among tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies. Who benefits from that?
The Birth of Hawk Tuah Girl’s Memecoin
What makes a memecoin so special in the world of cryptocurrencies? One thing:
It’s a shitcoin based on a meme.
In other words, the token has no intrinsic value and is based on a popular meme that precedes it. In the case of TRUMP, and a few other outliers, the launch of the memecoin is the meme. Isn’t that meta?
To demonstrate, the once obscure ++Haliey Welch++ rose to Internet fame after a video of her circulated online where she stated the secret to making a man happy in bed is to “++spit on that thang++”. She subsequently became known as the “Hawk Tuah” Girl, and in December 2024, she launched a cryptocurrency commemorating her newfound fame called ++HAWK++. She has since been accused of running a ++pump-and-dump scheme++ and insider trading.
Three People Who Benefit from Memecoin Launches
There are three people, generally, who benefit from memecoins. I’m singling out memecoins because a cryptocurrency with intrinsic value can benefit anyone who owns it. That’s not necessarily so with memecoins.
These are the three people who will always benefit from a memecoin launch:
- Founders
- Promoters
- Early investors
With few exceptions, memecoins rise in value quickly and, even more quickly, lose their value. But why?
The phenomenon relies on hyping the memecoin to generate quick buzz. Once excitement surges to the heights of a hot air balloon, those who get in early sell their positions and, before the rest of the market can respond, the value built up from FOMO (fear of missing out) dissipates into nothing.
When that happens, founders, promoters, and early investors are the true benefactors of fictionalized value while everyone else is left holding an empty bag.
Allen Taylor is the author of ++Web3 Social: How Creators Are Changing the World Wide Web (And You Can Too!)++.
This post is not financial advice. Before investing in any cryptocurrency, do your own research (DYOR). Above all, don’t buy the hype. Please consult a financial advisor before you throw your hard-earned money at any cryptocurrency, especially memecoins.
From AI to Web3 With Chris Berlin
Chris Berlin invited me onto his podcast ++RARE BITS++ (on Spotify), where we discussed artificial intelligence, Web3 social media, decentralization, and more. Check out our discussion below:
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This post was first published at Substack. Image is a screenshot.
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