Livestream: Why MEMEcoins are not stupid

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Livestream: Why MEMEcoins are not stupid

AI Analysis

This video takes a surprising stance on meme coins, arguing that they are not just a silly trend but a necessary response to the current state of the crypto market. It delves into the problematic tokenomics of many traditional altcoins, highlighting how they are engineered to benefit venture capitalists (VCs) at the expense of retail investors. In contrast, meme coins like Pepe are presented as a community-driven phenomenon that avoids these pitfalls, offering a "breath of fresh air" and a form of defiance against the establishment.

Here’s a breakdown of the key discussions:

* Meme Coins as a Market Response:
* Meme coins, despite their volatile nature, are considered a "necessity" and a "much-needed change of air" in the crypto space. They are seen as a direct response to the "dumpamentals" inherent in many other coins, where projects are designed with abusive tokenomics that lead to massive price dumps.
* The traditional crypto space is filled with "dumplementals" – reasons why coin prices will inevitably plummet. These are often due to poorly structured token release schedules that heavily favor early investors and VCs.
* There's a strong sentiment that the crypto community is "tired" of these exploitative practices.
* It's felt that meme coins are not a fleeting trend but will likely "stay for a little bit longer" due to the underlying issues in the broader market not being resolved.

* Pepe's Unique Tokenomics:
* Pepe stands out because it lacks the "insane dumpamentals" found in many VC-backed projects. Its token distribution is radically different: 93.1% of the supply went directly to the liquidity pool, and only 6% was held for future exchange listings.
* Crucially, Pepe has no VC allocation, meaning there are no large institutions or early investors holding vast quantities of cheap tokens ready to dump on the market.
* This contrasts sharply with many other coins (like PlaysApp, Sui, Aptos), which have significant portions of their supply locked up for VCs and early contributors, vesting over time. These projects are engineered to allow VCs to exit with a 10x or 15x profit, causing "death spirals" for retail investors who buy in later.
* Pepe is seen as empowering the "little guy" retail investor, offering a tokenomics structure that isn't inherently broken or designed to front-run the public. It moves up because the community builds it.
* The presenter believes Pepe's meme status also carries "pumpamentals" – it's a "meme of defiance," symbolizing the forgotten small investor standing up against abusive VC practices.

* Meme Coins: Gambling and Market Dynamics:
* It's acknowledged that meme coins are "basically gambling" and lack fundamental technology. There's no in-depth research to do; it's often 50/50, or more like an "80-20 load of dice" that can quickly turn.
* Despite the risks, people are actively trading them, leading to "insane" trading volumes.
* The high activity on meme coins, particularly on Ethereum, has led to extremely high gas fees. Transactions can cost anywhere from $5-10 for a simple transfer, and $30-50 for a purchase, pricing out many potential participants.
* Ethereum remains the preferred chain for meme coins due to its strong network effect and the highest concentration of "rich people" willing to pay high fees, despite its broken and expensive transaction model.
* Past meme coin trends like Bonk on Solana didn't last long, but Pepe's three-week longevity suggests a deeper market appetite for this type of play.
* CZ, Binance CEO, famously noted Doge's "auto self-marketing" capability, highlighting how some meme coins inherently generate buzz and engagement without traditional marketing efforts. This applies to Pepe, Wojak, and Dino.

* US Regulatory Landscape: A "Mess":
* The US regulatory space is seeing significant advancements, with a sense that Gary Gensler's (SEC Chairman) power might be "capped" soon.
* The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled two crucial hearings, one specifically on "Measuring The Regulatory Gaps In The Digital Assets Market," which is sorely needed as regulatory unclarity has pushed many crypto projects and exchanges out of the US.
* Patrick McHenry (a US Congressman) is reportedly pushing for a comprehensive crypto bill within the next couple of months, though the timeline is questioned as overly ambitious.
* Coinbase and Ripple, both facing lawsuits from the SEC, have reportedly met, hinting at a potential collaboration to fight the SEC's overreach.
* The SEC has been ordered by the court to respond to Coinbase's allocation in 10 days, a critical development. It's noted that Gary Gensler himself, when first appointed, stated that the SEC lacked authority to regulate crypto exchanges.
* New York, previously very strict, is now backing new legislation to impose stricter regulations, requiring audits and financial statements from crypto exchanges to prevent future FTX-like incidents.
* A cynical view is expressed that regulators are not primarily acting in the best interest of investors but rather "following the money" – looking for ways to generate tax revenue or personal gain. The regulatory "hell" crypto has been in for over a decade suggests a lack of genuine care from those in power.
* The US regulatory situation is likely to remain a "mess" for at least the next two years.

* The Rise of the Asia Narrative:
* While the US remains in regulatory limbo, the "Asia narrative" for crypto is becoming increasingly strong, particularly in Hong Kong, which is actively encouraging banks to provide Web3 services.
* This push is still in its early stages, primarily involving industry players, with retail adoption yet to fully kick in. It's an infrastructure build-out that could take "six to eight months" to fully materialize.
* A related "Crypto Squad" channel is highlighted, which focuses on influential, often very rich, early Chinese crypto investors and miners, many of whom hold substantial amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum and move significant markets.

* Legitimate Tech and High Fees:
* Even projects with "good tech" like Spool Finance, a farming platform allowing users to design their own yield farms, are impacted by the high Ethereum gas fees.
* Interacting with such platforms, even for deposits or moving funds between vaults, can cost upwards of $160 per transaction, making it prohibitive for smaller investors and highlighting the persistent problem of Ethereum's scalability and cost.
* This reinforces the idea that current Ethereum network conditions can be a barrier even for legitimate, well-designed decentralized finance applications.

In essence, the video argues that meme coins have filled a void left by an abusive VC-driven crypto market, offering a simpler, community-led, albeit risky, alternative for retail investors fed up with being "dumped on." This phenomenon is occurring amidst a chaotic and unclear US regulatory environment, while Asia is quietly building out its crypto infrastructure.

Transcript

So welcome welcome all to that's going on so today's live streams gonna be very interesting because meme coins completely blew up over the last Month or so all right, but I think it's gonna be interesting as a discussion because Normally when something blows up like this and I'll just face palm like this is stupid All right, that's why you should response to stuff usually that that's my character. It's a trade if you if you if you go and ask around The office you know what what I say most of th...