Let memecoin be more than just speculation

Vitalik Buterin - founder of Ethereum - has proposed a way to create value for memecoins: use them for charitable purposes, or better yet, create crypto-based games designed to help low-income gamers.

Memecoin has no value, why are people still flocking to it?

Last month, the value of Coinye West, a less than two-month-old memecoin on Coinbase's Base network, increased 115-fold.

Two months ago, the value of SWIFTIES, the Solana memecoin named after pop star Taylor Swift, skyrocketed 200 times in a matter of hours.

On March 3, another memecoin, Jeo Boden - which basically resembles a strange drawing of the current US president - saw its price skyrocket 1,000 times since its launch.

Let's go back to 2015, the birth of the first memecoin - Dogecoin. It was created as a joke to mock the speculative fever in crypto.

It is not a digital currency or digital gold like Bitcoin. It does not represent governance in a digital cooperative, like Ethereum's Ether. It is not tied to any fixed assets, nor can you stake it to receive profits.

Yet in 2021, during the bull market season, Dogecoin's value increased to more than $88 billion. At the same time, it paved the way for other memecoins that were equally useless and silly.

Last year, we had PEPE taking Ethereum by storm. This year, Dogwifat took Solana by storm. Overall, according to CoinGecko, the memecoin market is worth about $58 billion.

However, most of these memecoins have no intrinsic value and their value depends entirely on community fever and investors' profits and losses at the time they "exit".

But perhaps memecoins are just another form of crypto expression, some humorous, others offensive.

It is difficult for traditional investors to understand the idea behind memecoin's creation of wealth at the click of a button. However, whether we like it or not, memecoin is becoming a part of the blockchain ecosystem.

“Memecoin is based on identity and community,” said Juan Bruce, co-founder of social networking platform DSCVR on Solana. “They are actually similar to NFTs, real-world collectibles, and fashion accessories that emphasize community, branding, and a sense of belonging.”

‘At least, create more good memecoins than bad memecoins’

In addition to the above factors, there is another way to make memecoin not just used for speculative activities.

On his blog, Vitalik Buterin - founder of Ethereum - proposed a way to create value for memecoins: use them for charitable purposes, or better yet, create a crypto-based game designed to help players earn money. low input.

Vitalik Buterin wants more memecoins to serve the public good.

“If people value a fun experience and games with financial elements can provide that, even if only a little, is there another version of this idea that would create a positive sum?”, Buterin wrote.

With that, he proposed: some percentage of newly issued memecoins or the transaction fees they generate should be given to charity.

According to Buterin, the most successful example of this idea can be Dogelon Mars, an Elon Musk-themed token.

In 2021, Buterin transferred $145 million worth of Dogelon (ELON) to the Methuselah Foundation, a space travel and anti-aging nonprofit.

The "change of hands" of 43% of Dogelon's circulating supply has caused confusion among other investors, who fear that Methuselah will sell off tokens, causing Dogelon's value to plummet. But this organization has promised to manage the tokens well.

“We will take a common-sense approach with our Dogelon Mars stake, as we understand the value of crypto depends on maintaining public trust and capturing their imagination, just like tokens. baseball or other collectibles,” David Gobel, co-founder and CEO of the organization stated at the time.

“We want ELON to continue to accumulate value over the long term.”

Later that year, Dogelon holders voted to fund an experiment led by Methuselah.

“The community raised funds to send award-winning sieve cell research to the International Space Station (ISS). Here experiments can continue to be conducted, beyond Earth's gravity,” the non-profit organization said on the blog.

Although the value of the token has decreased since the early days of 2021, Buterin believes the organization has made good on its promises.

“The Methuselah Foundation and the Dogelon Mars community appear to have developed a mutually beneficial relationship, turning ELON into a charity coin,” he said.

Other charity-related memecoins have been less successful.

GiveWell Inu, named after the memecoin Shiba Inu, donated its profits to the nonprofit organization GiveWell. There is also Fable of the Dragon Tyrant which mainly supports cultural projects related to anti-aging research.

However, according to Buterin, GiveWell Inu seems to no longer be active, while some core members of the Fable of the Dragon Tyrant community are constantly bothering him to get attention.

At the very least, there should be more good memecoins than bad memecoins, and ideally memecoins that support the public good instead of just enriching insiders and creators

Buterin is more optimistic about the impact of crypto-based gaming.

Although some people criticize the play-to-earn model used in crypto-based games like Axie Infinity, Buterin hopes to see “Robin Hood games” - new crypto-based games available. can benefit low-income players.

“If the goal is to satisfy people's desire for entertainment, we should not create simple copy-paste coins but more complex and interesting games,” he said.

“Games that make low-income players gain economically have the potential to help that community of gamers get better over time.”

Many in the crypto community consider memecoin entertaining, and Buterin doesn't take that lightly. He thinks the crypto space should swim with the memecoin current to leverage their power rather than fight against it.

“I want to see fun, quality projects that contribute positively to the ecosystem and the world around them (not simply 'engaging users') receive more attention,” he said . “At the very least, there should be more good memecoins than bad memecoins, and ideally memecoins that support the public good instead of just enriching insiders and creators.”