From DOGE, PEPE, to ORDI, exploring the never-ending MEME myth
Meme is a unique cultural phenomenon on the internet, characterized by its simplicity, humor, and ease of dissemination. It expresses opinions, emotions, or humor through imitation and transformation. The concept originated in the 1970s, proposed by Richard Dawkins, describing a cultural unit similar to a gene. With the rise of the internet, memes have become an important part of online culture, evolving and spreading globally, resulting in countless classic and popular memes. In the cryptocurrency field, MEME is even associated with "financial freedom." The "meme season" triggered by hundredfold and thousandfold coins can spark a wave of MEME frenzy. The story of "trading memes for freedom" has deeply resonated with people. From the original DOGE, to the later PEPE, and now ORDI, the MEME myth never fades.
What exactly sustains MEME? Do these mythical MEMEs have a fixed outbreak process? This article will explore the background, content, and popularity of these MEMEs, delving into the myth and hype surrounding MEMEs.
DOGE
Doge is a meme featuring a Shiba Inu as the main character. It typically consists of an image of the Shiba Inu accompanied by colorful text that expresses the dog's inner thoughts, with deliberately incorrect grammar and a humorous, cute style. The origin of doge can be traced back to 2010 when a Japanese kindergarten teacher posted a photo of her Shiba Inu, Kabosu, on her personal blog. The photo showed Kabosu's side profile with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.
The popularity of doge did not happen overnight; it underwent several years of fermentation and evolution before gradually becoming a global internet phenomenon. In 2013, doge began to gain popularity on social media platforms like Reddit, attracting a large number of creators and viewers, forming a massive doge community. In 2014, doge was selected as Time magazine's Meme of the Year and appeared in various mainstream cultural products such as TV shows, movies, games, and music.
The heat of doge also radiated into the cryptocurrency industry. In 2015, doge became the name and symbol of a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. One of its founders, Jackson Palmer, stated that he was inspired by the doge meme to create a fun and friendly digital currency. In 2021, the popularity of doge peaked, largely thanks to the promotion by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who frequently mentioned and praised Dogecoin on Twitter, causing its price to soar and bringing the doge meme back into the spotlight.
Thanks to the origin of Dogecoin, doge's status in the crypto industry can be seen as a unique phenomenon. It showcases the diversity and inclusiveness of cryptocurrencies and reflects people's interest and optimism about them. The success of doge can also be attributed to the power of its community and fans, who continuously create and spread doge memes, keeping doge highly relevant and topical. The future of doge may hold more surprises and challenges; many people hope for doge to reach the $1 target, while some doubt whether doge can maintain its status and value. Regardless, doge has become a legend in the cryptocurrency industry, bringing more fun and possibilities to the field.
PEPE
Pepe is a digital asset based on the popular meme character Pepe the Frog. Pepe was originally introduced by cartoonist Matt Furie in his "Boy's Club" comic series in 2005. In 2008, the image of Pepe the Frog spread rapidly online, characterized by humor, creativity, and satire. The cryptocurrency community quickly embraced this character, making it one of the legends of cryptocurrency culture.
The Pepe token was launched on April 14, 2023, and within just 23 days, its market value reached $1 billion, with 107,000 holders. Pepe harnessed the power of memes to attract widespread attention, employing innovative tokenomics, such as a tax-free policy, meaning users do not have to pay transaction fees when trading Pepe. Additionally, Pepe implemented a redistribution system, redistributing 5% of each transaction to all holders, rewarding long-term stakers. Finally, Pepe introduced a burn mechanism, where 5% of each transaction is permanently destroyed, maintaining Pepe's scarcity.
Pepe has an active and loyal community that communicates and interacts through channels like Twitter, Telegram, and Discord. Community members not only share and discuss Pepe-related information but also create and trade various digital art and memes, enhancing Pepe's visibility and value.
ORDI
The Ordinals Protocol created the native on-chain token ORDI, which is a Bitcoin contract token based on the Ordinals protocol. Ordi has become the first inscribed token on Bitcoin and the first meme token on the Bitcoin chain, uniquely speculative. Its fair distribution method avoids the issue of "pump and dump," as ORDI does not require VC intervention and has no so-called project parties. Its inscribed issuance method incorporates the token into the inscription, giving it value.
The hype surrounding ORDI is also very unique and interesting. It utilizes various channels such as social media, online forums, blogs, videos, and podcasts to showcase and promote ORDI's features and advantages, attracting more attention and participation. The meme content of ORDI is rich and diverse, including various humorous, satirical, innovative, and artistic images, videos, and audio that reflect ORDI's spirit and philosophy, as well as its value and potential. The meme content of ORDI is continuously updated and innovated to adapt to different occasions and topics, keeping ORDI fresh and active.
The timing of ORDI's outbreak is also very clever and appropriate, coinciding with the surge of Bitcoin spot ETFs. As a Bitcoin ecosystem project, ORDI benefits from the promotion of Bitcoin ETFs, showcasing the diversity and creativity of Bitcoin while attracting more investors and users, resulting in a leap in ORDI's price and market value: ORDI's historical low price was $2.86, occurring on September 11, 2023. Currently, ORDI's price is $25.10, representing a 777.62% increase from its historical low. ORDI has also leveraged the topic of Bitcoin ETFs to create numerous related meme contents, increasing ORDI's exposure and influence, allowing more people to understand and recognize ORDI.
From DOGE to PEPE to ORDI, the success of these MEME tokens lies not only in their unique memes and speculative methods but also in the community power and innovative tokenomics behind them. They fully utilize the power of memes, forming an active and loyal community through social media dissemination and user participation. The successful outbreak of these tokens is closely related to market hotspots, such as the promotion of Bitcoin ETFs, providing more exposure and recognition for these MEME tokens. The legacy of the MEME myth is not just the success of digital assets but also a unique interpretation of the spirit of the times and social culture in the cryptocurrency field.