Memecoin Global Market Profile: Users, Narratives, and Community Culture Deconstruction

Author: JE Labs

1. Overview

The Memecoin market has rapidly developed globally in recent years, with distinct ecosystems emerging in regions such as the United States, China, South Korea, and Europe. In these markets, KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) have a significant impact on community activity, market sentiment, and trading trends. This article will focus on the United States, China, South Korea, Europe, Japan, and Russia, identifying the most representative Memecoin KOLs in each region and analyzing their trading activity, dissemination methods, and community influence. By studying the characteristics of KOLs in different markets, we can better understand the dissemination logic and trading patterns of Memecoins globally.

1.1 Research Objectives

• Compare the development of Memecoins in different regions------ Compare their trading volumes, regulatory policies, KOL influence, etc.

• Select representative KOLs from various regions------ Identify the most influential KOLs in the Memecoin markets of the United States, China, South Korea, and Europe. Study the discourse power, dissemination methods, and audience preferences of KOLs in different regions to identify market differences.

• Summarize the characteristics of active community KOLs------ Analyze the social media strategies, community interaction methods, and their impact on trading trends, providing references for projects looking to enter the respective markets.

1.2 Logic for Selecting Research Areas

In the global cryptocurrency market, Memecoins, as a unique crypto ecosystem, exhibit significant regional differences due to their community-driven nature, cultural influence, and market speculation. This report selects China, the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan, and Russia as the main analysis targets for the following reasons:

• United States: As the core region for global cryptocurrency trading, it has long dominated the liquidity and trading volume of Memecoins. Many well-known Memecoins (such as $DOGE and $SHIB) originated in the United States and have formed a large ecosystem globally.

• China: With a large investor base and highly active community, despite regulatory restrictions, users remain enthusiastic about trading Memecoins through DeFi and CEX. The speculative nature of the Chinese market often drives short-term trends and even spawns locally distinctive meme tokens.

• South Korea: Historically one of the most active cryptocurrency markets globally, especially excelling in short-term trading and community operations. South Korean investors tend to engage in high-frequency trading and exhibit a FOMO mentality, leading to extreme market fluctuations for local Memecoins. Additionally, K-Pop culture in South Korea provides a rich source of creative inspiration for Memecoin narratives.

• Europe: Compared to the more speculative Asian markets, European users tend to prefer cultural identity and long-term value investments. Many local Memecoins incorporate elements of political satire and social movements, forming a unique market style.

• Japan: The Memecoin market is significantly influenced by ACG (Anime, Comic, Game) culture and the effects of two-dimensional branding, with project content often themed around anime characters, internet memes, and VTubers, creating a local meme model distinct from other countries.

• Russia: Influenced by international sanctions and the local social environment, the Russian Memecoin market exhibits distinct closed and speculative characteristics. High inflation and ruble depreciation drive demand for safe-haven assets, making cryptocurrencies an alternative investment tool for speculation and hedging against asset depreciation.

2. Global Memecoin Market Overview

2.1 Memecoin VS Traditional Crypto Projects

Although Memecoins and traditional crypto projects (such as public chains, DeFi protocols, Dapps, etc.) both belong to the cryptocurrency field, they exhibit significant differences in core values, driving forces, and the ways the market understands and reacts.

Comparison of Memecoins and Traditional Crypto Projects

2.2 Comparison of Market Characteristics in Different Regions

The development of Memecoins in different regions is influenced by culture, regulation, and market preferences, leading to significant differences in market characteristics:

Comparison of Market Characteristics in Different Regions

• United States: The U.S. has a large base of cryptocurrency investors, but the investor structure is diverse, including institutional and individual investors. Institutional investors tend to invest in mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH); however, individual investors, especially the younger generation, show strong interest in Memecoins.

• China: Due to the strict regulation of cryptocurrency trading by the Chinese government, domestic exchanges have been shut down, and investors primarily participate through OTC or overseas platforms. Chinese investors remain interested in high-risk, high-return investment opportunities.

• South Korea: According to a survey by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), the number of cryptocurrency investors in South Korea is estimated to exceed 6 million, accounting for over 10% of the total population. Trading is mainly conducted through centralized exchanges (CEX), with Upbit holding about 80% market share in South Korea. South Korean investors show strong interest in high-yield potential altcoins and tend to accept related high risks. This is also considered one of the reasons for the high proportion of altcoin trading in the South Korean market.

• Europe: The acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Europe is gradually increasing, with a relatively relaxed regulatory environment. However, investors tend to prefer stable investments, focusing on mainstream cryptocurrencies. Although Memecoins are traded in the European market, their overall proportion may be relatively low.

• Japan: Influenced by ACG culture, anime-themed tokens are popular, but overall trading activity is low to moderate. Strict regulatory requirements mandate that exchanges hold licenses, and discussions mainly occur on platforms like 5ch and X.

• Russia: The market is driven by sanctions, with active DEX and P2P trading. Telegram communities exhibit strong speculation on Memecoins, but long-term sustainability is low, with occasional political-related tokens emerging.

3. Analysis of Memecoin Ecosystems in Various Regions

3.1 United States

• Top Narrative Drivers------Trump and Musk: The top narratives of U.S. Memecoins revolve around two core figures, Trump and Musk. Traders delve into their social media dynamics, seeking potential narrative opportunities from profile pictures, signatures, retweets, and tweet content to create and hype corresponding Memecoins. Changes in Musk's profile picture, Trump's campaign statements, or even a brief tweet can ignite the birth of new meme tokens. For instance, when Trump’s X signature was "45th President of America," many predicted he would change it to "45th & 47th President of America" upon running for president again, leading to the emergence of many tokens like $47 and $4547 on the Solana chain.

• Political, Economic, and Social Events Drive Secondary Narratives: Secondary Memecoin topics also involve influential figures from politics, technology, and other fields, such as Steam founder Gabe Newell and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. Additionally, the U.S. Memecoin ecosystem is closely tied to economic policies, political events, and social news. For example, Trump's promise to pardon Ross (Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht) sparked the $FreeRoss market; similarly, Trump's claim to release the "Lolita Island" list made related tokens a hot topic for speculation. In social news, the trial of Luigi triggered a surge in $LUIGI, making it a top celebrity coin.

• Positive and Uplifting Narrative Core: A significant portion of U.S. Memecoins carries a positive and uplifting narrative core, evoking universal resonance. For example, Trump's shout of "FIGHT" during a shooting evolved into the similarly named Memecoin $FIGHT, symbolizing an indomitable spirit of resistance; $FAFO (Fuck Around and Find Out) stems from a critique of the corruption and inefficiency of the U.S. government; the squirrel coin $PNUT features a mascot that symbolizes justice and perseverance in religion, gaining high recognition in Western culture.

• Community-Driven, Long-Term Holding: Compared to other regions, U.S. Memecoin traders are more inclined toward long-term community building rather than just short-term speculation. The $FAFO token, based on Trump's policy statements, has fostered a strong community, with many holders being steadfast "diamond hands" for the long term. This narrative-driven consensus and community-supported value model give the U.S. Memecoin ecosystem strong durability and influence.

3.2 China

• Dominated by Western Trends, Lacking Local Narratives: The Chinese Memecoin market primarily follows Western trends, with traders inclined to invest based on overseas market trends and lacking localized narratives. However, many popular meme images from the West lack recognition in the Chinese market, making it difficult for local users to resonate. For example, the meme token $PEPE, which exploded in the Western market, was not well understood by Chinese traders due to cultural differences and language barriers, resulting in relatively low participation during its early development. Additionally, as information in the crypto market primarily circulates in English, many Chinese retail investors struggle to access timely information, leading to delayed entry. Furthermore, the vast majority of tokens are named in English, making it challenging for many local narratives to form a global consensus, further limiting the development of local Memecoins in China.

• Weak Local Memecoin Ecosystem, Short-Lived Hotspot Effects: Although there are localized Memecoins in China, their overall popularity is limited, often lacking long-term narrative support and relying more on transient hotspot effects, resulting in short lifecycles. For instance, when Shen Teng mentioned $DogeKing in a Spring Festival gala skit, a token with the same name on a CEX experienced a short-term surge in market capitalization. Each year, a Spring Festival segment for Memecoins is initiated, where retail traders look for angles to trade during the gala. Additionally, domestic IPs like Nezha, when released in North America, spawned tokens like $NEZHA and $AOBING, attracting attention in a short time. Some early Chinese derivative tokens had meme attributes but failed to survive due to regulatory restrictions and market conditions, such as Pangu Coin, which was defined as a pyramid scheme by the government and ultimately disappeared due to regulatory issues.

• Focus on AI and Technology Sectors: Chinese traders show interest in the latest trends in the AI and technology sectors when selecting Memecoins, preferring to invest in line with technological developments. AI-related Memecoins have garnered significant attention in the Chinese market, such as the local AI token DeepSeek and AI Goku developed by the University of Hong Kong, with multiple Memecoins of the same name appearing in the market. Many overseas on-chain platforms or AI tools issue tokens through official teams for TGE on exchanges, enhancing the project's long-term value and credibility. This difference makes AI-themed Memecoins in the Chinese market more speculative, requiring investors to be more cautious in discerning to avoid falling into the trap of short-term hype.

3.3 South Korea

• High-Risk Investments: South Korean society has a rigid class structure, leading investors to prefer high-risk, high-return investment methods to quickly accumulate wealth. This mentality drives South Korean investors, especially young people in their 20s and 30s, to be interested in VC-style investments, making Memecoin trading one of their primary choices. The fast-paced, highly volatile nature of Memecoin trading in South Korea, combined with high community enthusiasm, results in extremely short profit windows, with market operation models leaning more toward short-term speculation rather than long-term value investment.

• Strong Association with Pop Culture: South Korean Memecoin traders often combine K-pop idol culture, film works, and internet memes to drive market speculation. For example, the film "Crypto Man," released earlier this year and based on the $LUNA cryptocurrency theme, sparked a frenzy due to the mention of the fictional token $MOMMY, with the concept being speculated upon, leading to a peak market capitalization of $5 million for the token. Additionally, rumors that the second season of "Squid Game" would involve a certain cryptocurrency name also triggered a speculative frenzy for altcoins on-chain. However, such phenomena are often accompanied by extreme short-term speculation, with market participants relying on information asymmetry to rapidly drive up prices, creating a "wealth effect," but the subsequent sell-offs can be equally severe, leaving non-core traders as the ones left holding the bag.

• Highly Volatile Market with High Turnover Rates: Due to South Korean investors' preference for short-term speculation, the turnover rate of Memecoins in the South Korean market is usually much higher than in Western markets. The rapid flow of funds leads to significant short-term price fluctuations, which is one of the main characteristics of Memecoin trading in South Korea. The trading volume of South Korean Memecoins is often highly correlated with social media trends, where investors frequently share trading strategies, market sentiment, and hot discussions in Telegram, Twitter, Naver Café, and KakaoTalk groups, creating a strong network effect. When a certain meme topic becomes popular in the community, the corresponding Memecoin trading volume typically surges within hours. Conversely, if market attention on a project declines, its trading volume can quickly dry up, entering a prolonged state of stagnation.

3.4 Europe

• Diverse Cultural Narratives with Strong Regional Meme Influence: The Memecoin ecosystem in Europe is more noticeably influenced by regional cultures. For example, the French and Belgian markets show some acceptance of Memecoins featuring comic characters like Asterix and Obelix, while the German market prefers memes with political satire, such as tokens related to EU policies, energy crises, and inflation. Additionally, the football culture is prevalent in various European countries, leading to the emergence of numerous football-related Memecoins during events like the World Cup and UEFA Champions League, such as $RONALDO, $MBAPPE, and $MESSI, which often exhibit short-lived but explosive market trends.

• Driven by Political and Social Issues: Compared to the U.S. market's focus on personal cults (like Musk and Trump), the European Memecoin ecosystem leans more towards political issues, social issues, and collectivist sentiments. For instance, during the 2023 retirement reform controversy in France, a token named $MACRON briefly gained popularity, mocking President Macron's reform policies. Furthermore, the strong anti-establishment sentiment in Europe has led to investment booms for tokens like $EUBUREAU, which satirizes the EU bureaucracy, and $GRETA (featuring environmental activist Greta Thunberg), which mocks carbon tax policies.

• Integration of NFTs and Memecoins, Enhancing Artistic Attributes: Due to Europe's strong artistic and cultural traditions, the Memecoin ecosystem is more likely to integrate with NFTs, forming collectible NFT assets. For example, Web3 communities in France and Italy tend to launch meme tokens incorporating classic artistic elements, such as $MONA based on Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" or $VANGOGH based on Van Gogh's works. These tokens are often issued alongside NFTs to enhance market recognition and collectible value. Additionally, Europe's digital art market is relatively developed, making the combination of Memecoins and NFTs more acceptable in the market, leaning towards culture and art rather than mere speculative trading.

• Low-Risk Investment Preference with a Relatively Strict Regulatory Environment: European investors generally have a lower risk appetite, and Memecoin trading tends to be more cautious, typically avoiding large-scale FOMO-style speculation. The European Memecoin ecosystem is more robust, favoring low-volatility Memecoins and relying on community consensus for long-term holding.

• Lower Social Media Influence, Slower Market Dissemination: The dissemination of Memecoins in the European market primarily relies on Telegram, Reddit, and Discord, while the influence of X and TikTok is relatively low. This results in a slower dissemination speed for Memecoins, with less explosive growth compared to the U.S. and South Korean markets. For instance, some Memecoins that exploded in the U.S., like $PEPE, were accepted in Europe much later, only entering the sight of European investors after the market heat had passed. This slower dissemination model means that the European Memecoin market rarely experiences rapid surges and declines, instead favoring a community consensus and gradual accumulation development model.

3.5 Japan

• Incorporating Anime, Gaming, and Two-Dimensional Elements: The development of Memecoins in Japan is influenced by local culture, particularly anime, gaming, and light novels. Japan has the most mature ACG (Anime, Comic, Game) industry globally, with many Memecoin projects drawing on well-known IPs or popular internet memes. For example, there have been Memecoins themed around characters from "Attack on Titan" or "Neon Genesis Evangelion." However, due to Japan's strong copyright awareness, many such tokens face significant legal risks due to copyright issues, making it difficult to sustain long-term.

• Influence of Social Media and VTubers: In Japan, the VTuber culture is prevalent. Many traders pay attention to VTuber statements and live streams, and some well-known VTubers may inadvertently mention certain internet memes, triggering a Memecoin frenzy. For example, a VTuber from Hololive mentioned "kusa" (くさ/kusa) during a live stream, a Japanese internet term originating from "warai" (わらい/warai), leading to a brief surge in the $KUSA token. Additionally, platforms like X, Niconico, and the 5ch forum are major channels for Japanese Memecoin traders to obtain information.

• Seasonal Memes and Holiday-Specific Memes: The Japanese Memecoin market exhibits strong seasonal cultural characteristics, with corresponding themed Memecoins often emerging during specific holidays or events (such as cherry blossom season, Tanabata, Halloween, the Red and White Song Festival, and Comiket anime exhibitions). For example, during cherry blossom season, tokens like $SAKURA and $OHANAMI (お花见) saw explosive trading, combining real festive culture with virtual assets, creating a "short-term meme trading" phenomenon.

3.6 Russia

• Dominated by Local Social Platforms, Active TG Communities: Due to restrictions on Western social platforms like X and Instagram, the dissemination of Memecoins in Russia primarily relies on Telegram and VK (a Russian social platform) for information sharing and market manipulation. This community culture leads to a more closed-loop dissemination model for Russian Memecoins. Compared to Western markets, the diffusion speed is slower, but community consensus is stronger, and holders are more loyal.

• Liquidity Constraints Due to Sanctions: Due to international sanctions, many mainstream exchanges have imposed restrictions on Russian users, resulting in lower liquidity for local Memecoins and difficulty entering international markets. Therefore, Memecoin trading in Russia relies more on local CEXs like EXMO and YoBit. Additionally, due to payment system blockages, the trading costs for Russian users in overseas markets are higher, limiting the trading activity of some Memecoins and making it difficult to form a global consensus.

• Coexistence of Safe-Haven Demand and Speculative Psychology: Influenced by long-term high inflation, ruble depreciation, and international sanctions, the cryptocurrency market has become an alternative safe-haven asset for many investors to hedge against ruble depreciation and avoid asset shrinkage. Especially during periods of economic turmoil and currency exchange restrictions, trading volumes in the crypto market often surge, with users inclined to chase high-risk, high-return meme projects to compensate for losses caused by fiat currency asset depreciation.

4. Summary of Characteristics of Memecoin KOLs in Various Regions

4.1 Europe and the United States

Representative KOL in Europe and the U.S.------Murad @MustStopMurad

Murad's Insights on Memecoins: Memecoins have long been viewed as low-quality tokens due to their lack of technical support and practical applications, relying more on market sentiment and community consensus. However, Murad attributes a deeper value to the narratives of Memecoins. He believes that a good Memecoin serves to provide fun, reduce loneliness, foster identity recognition, and bring resonance, emotional connections, a sense of mission and meaning, entertainment, and happiness.

Murad's Insights on Memecoins

Murad's Criteria for Selecting Memecoins

Market Cap Range: Focus on mid-cap tokens with a market cap between $5 million and $200 million.

Chain Selection: Prefer projects on the Solana and Ethereum chains, excluding projects on chains like Base, Ton, and Sui.

• Project History: Choose tokens that have existed for at least six months and have experienced at least two 70% declines.

• Murad's Recent Investment Performance: Four months ago, he purchased 10.25 million $SPX tokens at a cost of about $98,000, which has now risen to approximately $7.89 million, yielding a return of about 7900%. However, his crypto asset portfolio recently shrank by about 45% in half a month, resulting in a net loss of $11.1 million, primarily due to the price of $SPX dropping from $0.72 to $0.40.

Characteristics of Memecoin KOLs in Europe and the U.S.

• Profile Pictures and Identity Positioning: KOLs often use unique visual symbols for their profile pictures to establish their identity. Profile pictures frequently feature Pepe, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Milady-related NFTs, or pixel-style cartoon images like CryptoPunks, indicating their deep involvement in the meme space, early participation in the crypto market, and a certain level of financial strength and industry influence. In their X bios, they typically include keywords such as Meme, Memecoin, gem, gem hunter/finder, 100X, degen, altcoin, and alpha to convey their focus and speculative style to the market.

• Content Operation and Promotion Strategies: European and U.S. Memecoin KOLs typically follow these operational models. Continuous Promotion: KOLs usually post about a Memecoin repeatedly over one to two weeks, rather than just posting multiple new projects daily. Multi-Angle Marketing: They not only issue simple "buy" signals but also combine market sentiment, KOL dynamics, and relevant news to create more engaging narratives. If a Memecoin is related to Elon Musk or Trump, they amplify the connection to enhance the FOMO effect. Guiding Market Sentiment: When a Memecoin enters a critical upward phase, KOLs hint that prices may skyrocket, influencing the FOMO crowd. Conversely, when market caps retract, they shift to phrases like "long-term holding" and "community consensus" to maintain investor confidence.

• Tweet Interaction: In terms of tweet operations, in addition to directly recommending projects, they often interact with fans. For example, they might post open-ended questions like What is the next 100x Memecoin? along with relevant hashtags like #Memecoin #100x #crypto. Such tweets encourage fans to recommend tokens in the comments, creating a highly interactive discussion atmosphere. This approach attracts traffic, enhances community stickiness, and helps KOLs identify market hotspots.

Community Management Model: European and U.S. KOLs build their private domains on TG and Discord, with a relatively centralized community management style, forming a KOL-led dissemination model, specifically manifested as follows:

1. Fixed News Push: Community operators (KOLs or assistants) post daily news related to Memecoins, market dynamics, KOL opinions, etc.

2. Mute Mode: Many European and U.S. TG communities adopt semi-closed management, where ordinary members cannot freely chat and interact but primarily express support through likes, hearts, and retweets instead of open discussions.

3. Creating FOMO Within the Group: KOLs send market sentiment information within the community, including large purchases, celebrity attention, and tokens about to be listed on CEX, to improve conversion rates. Overall, the operational model of European and U.S. Memecoin KOLs is more stable, emphasizing brand building and long-term holding rather than solely relying on short-term hype to attract market attention.

4.2 China

Representative KOL in China------0xWizard @0xcryptowizard

Narrative View on Meme Coins: 0xWizard believes that the AI sector combined with Meme narratives is a new trend in the future of the crypto market. He emphasizes that the value of Memecoins is not just a reflection of market sentiment but also includes community resonance, emotional connections, and a sense of mission. He views AI Meme projects like $ACT, $GOAT, and $BMT as a renaissance of AI, believing that future AI will no longer be simple assistants but free souls with self-awareness.

0xWizard's Criteria for Selecting Memecoins:

1. Decentralized Chips: Prioritize tokens with decentralized fund distribution, avoiding community coins that are highly controlled by a single large holder or team.

2. New Narratives, New Sectors: He emphasizes that Memecoins should not merely be about emotional speculation but should possess innovative narratives and emerging market opportunities. For example, $ACT combines meme coins with the AI sector.

3. Active Community: 0xWizard values community building, believing that a successful Memecoin must rely on strong community consensus, prioritizing projects with high user stickiness, active interaction, and a strong sense of belonging.

4. Small Market Cap, High Growth Potential: Focus on projects with relatively small initial market caps, as these tokens can create greater wealth effects for investors in both primary and secondary markets under market sentiment.

• Timeliness: Prioritize projects that are currently trending, controversial, or experiencing explosive growth. For instance, $ACT combines the AI sector with meme culture, aligning perfectly with the heat in the AI field.

• 0xWizard's Influence: Wizard has pinned a Memecoin Beginner's Guide on Twitter, expanding his audience and being friendly to newcomers, encouraging more people to follow his investment ideas. Unlike typical high-frequency KOLs, Wizard shares his in-depth insights into the industry in his daily tweets, making his influence extend beyond just Memecoin investors to a broader audience of Web3 practitioners. After successfully promoting the Memecoin projects $ACT and $GOAT, his market influence and recommendation effectiveness have reached new heights. He entered these two tokens during their early small-cap stages and, through community marketing and precise recommendations, ultimately pushed them onto exchanges. These two successful cases not only validate his investment vision but also enhance market trust in his recommendations. Wizard has become a top KOL in the Chinese community due to his successful recommendations, deep insights, and strong community influence, combining trading and branding.

0xWizard's X Page

Characteristics of Memecoin KOLs in China

• Business Model: Compared to the content-driven and community-building KOL model in Western markets, many KOLs in the Chinese community collaborate with Trading Bots (GMGN, PEPE, UniversalX, PinkPig). KOLs also establish partnerships with CEXs (Binance, Bybit, OKX) to earn commissions by inviting new users to register and trade. This collaboration model provides KOLs with a stable source of income and sufficient leverage to participate in the market. KOLs in the Chinese community focus more on short-term gains and user growth, attracting users through high-frequency promotions, airdrop activities, and trading incentives.

• Content Operation and Promotion Strategies: The content operation strategy of Chinese Memecoin KOLs is traffic-oriented, tending to quickly capture market hotspots rather than deeply cultivating a single project for the long term, emphasizing "traffic capture" and "hotspot following." One of the main operational methods is to frequently publish multiple CA posts, utilizing Twitter's traffic mechanism to maximize short-term traffic benefits. When a popular Memecoin emerges in the market, KOLs quickly follow suit, adding tags (like #Token or $Token) to their tweets, allowing their posts to enter the traffic pool of that topic. This method can lead to higher views and exposure, enabling the tweets to be seen by more potential investors, thus rapidly increasing their follower count in a short time.

• Community Management Model: Telegram or WeChat communities operated by Chinese KOLs are usually very active. Unlike the "mute + information transmission" model adopted by Western KOLs, Chinese communities allow members to communicate freely, with chat content including not only trading shares but also gossip, fund movements, and even daily life matters. This high-interaction community atmosphere means that KOL influence is reflected not only in information dissemination but also in real-time discussions and emotional interactions among community members.

Community Structure typically presents a pyramid-like hierarchy:

1. Core Managers: Including the group owner or assistant managers, a few core members are responsible for managing the community, maintaining high-frequency interactions, and promptly posting newly discovered Memecoins or important market information.

2. Active Contributors: Including experienced traders and alpha information sharers, these users frequently monitor on-chain dynamics and promote tokens they have purchased, demonstrating strong sensitivity to market trends and a willingness to contribute continuously.

3. Ordinary Members: The largest group, including followers and observers, may not speak often but will trade in line with market sentiment at critical moments.

4.3 South Korea

Summary of KOL Characteristics in South Korea

• Small Population Base, Wide Content Distribution: Due to a relatively small population base, KOLs in South Korea have not formed clear vertical divisions in the crypto field like those in Europe or China. Most KOLs cover a wide range of content, often posting about airdrops, industry news, BTC trends, secondary market research, on-chain hot topics, and macroeconomic assessments all on one account. This "broad net" content strategy can attract diverse audiences and reflects the relatively concentrated yet diverse user demands in the South Korean market.

• Lack of Specialized Memecoin KOLs: Unlike Europe or China, South Korea has yet to develop leading KOLs focused specifically on the Memecoin sector. While some KOLs may mention meme-related projects, they do not delve deeply, follow up long-term, or establish dedicated meme communities.

• Multi-Platform Operations------TG, YouTube, Instagram: South Korean KOLs do not limit themselves to a single platform but enhance their exposure and influence through multi-platform content operations. For example, on YouTube, they primarily produce market analysis videos, often featuring candlestick charts and strong visual elements to induce high click-through rates; Instagram serves as a supplementary dissemination channel, frequently posting trading screenshots, summary opinions, and event previews. Many South Korean KOLs use a unified cover design style and brand visual identity system to enhance content recognition and professionalism, gradually establishing their brand image.

Page of a South Korean Crypto YouTuber

4.4 Japan

Representative KOL in Japan------LUCIAN|るしあん @lucianlampdefi

• Dominance of Two-Dimensional Elements: Japanese KOLs prefer using anime-style profile pictures. Their background images, AMA promotional posters, and brand promotion posters often adopt two-dimensional or cyberpunk styles to attract young Japanese audiences. Influenced by VTuber culture, some KOLs use virtual avatars instead of real photos for social interactions, a trend particularly evident in the NFT field, where many Japanese KOLs adopt anime-style PFPs or even AI-generated characters to enhance their personal brands.

• Content Style: The content style of Japanese KOLs is usually more delicate and aesthetically focused, avoiding overly flashy marketing. Instead, they tend to attract audiences through narrative and visual appeal. When promoting Memecoins or blockchain games, they often use immersive narratives with anime themes. Their fan base has a high recognition of two-dimensional culture, so KOLs cater to this by using anime emojis and two-dimensional memes in their content.

LUCIAN's X Page

4.5 Russia

Characteristics of the Russian Crypto Community:

• High Dependence on TG: The Russian Memecoin market is influenced by the country's restrictions on social media platforms, with Twitter being banned and local users unable to access it directly. This has led KOLs in Russia and CIS countries to turn to other social platforms (TG/Discord), forming an ecosystem different from the global mainstream market. Russian KOLs primarily disseminate and promote tokens through TG groups or channels, with community management taking a semi-closed form, making the dissemination method more discreet compared to Twitter. Some communities adopt a subscription model, requiring users to pay to access VIP groups for internal information. Overall, compared to Western markets, the promotional model of Russian KOLs is more low-key and decentralized.

• Content Curation and Interaction: KOLs typically curate trending content from Twitter, such as crypto news, new token listings, and airdrop information, and share it on their TG channels, accompanied by images and text. Community members can like, comment, and interact with the messages, forming an interactive ecosystem. Unlike KOLs on Twitter who focus on posting, Russian KOLs in TG channels rarely directly promote Memecoins but prefer to share market dynamics and investment information.

• Influence of YouTubers: Russian KOLs may collaborate with CTO communities to create YouTube videos for certain tokens, with the pricing for these videos typically low, around $300-500 each, making them more cost-effective compared to the Western market. Although Russian crypto users rely heavily on TG, the influence of YouTube videos is limited, yet it remains one of the promotional and revenue channels for KOLs.

Conclusion

From the United States, South Korea, Japan, China to Russia, the Memecoin markets in different countries and regions exhibit distinctly different cultural genes. Local narratives and trading logic are always key factors in whether Memecoins can quickly break through and sustain upward trends. For project teams, understanding the community culture, dissemination channels, and trending narratives in various regions is essential for formulating targeted marketing and community strategies.

In the future, Memecoins will no longer be mere speculative products but digital assets that combine entertainment, cultural identity, and community consensus. JE Labs will continue to monitor changes in the global Memecoin ecosystem, assisting more projects in achieving breakthrough growth in Asian and global markets.