Yo sippers, this is sakeinu right here.
Sei v2 has finally launched and we are about to witness the start of another epoch. The community is already excited how v2 can rejuvenate the ecosystem with more dapps and hopefully, liquidity. We want to talk about how memes can play a role in bringing liquidity to the ecosystem and how Sakeinu can make the journey more festive and hopefully lucrative.
The Meme Debate: Dogshit or Dogwifhat?
As degens were max long every memecoin they could get hands on during this historic run of meme trading, the most infamous duck on X (@CryptoDonAlt) woke up and chose violence on a tranquil morning of May 14th. The duck stated that players were “forcing the memecoin supercycle narrative” (Figure 1) which triggered so many people that it summoned the main character of this cycle: the almighty Ansem.
Ansem justifiably argued that memecoins have experienced exceptionally high trading volumes in recent months and have been the top performers of this cycle (Figure 2).
To which the duck answered that he was shorting $WIF (Figures 3,4): the crown prince of the supposed “memecoin supercycle”. In response, the $WIF army fiercely attacked the duck igniting one of the liveliest debates on X about the merits of the memecoins, whether they will go up more, whether it’s over etc.
We did not bring up this episode to argue for either side, but to attempt to deconstruct this phenomenon behind memes and meme coin trading. Why did we end up buying memes?
1/ it’s fun(ny)
As outlined well in 1KX’s report, memecoins are at the intersection of crypto and internet culture.
So whatever the internet deems valuable can be turned into a memecoin. Typically, a meme is something humorous or provocative that lingers in your mind. As one proverb in this industry goes, “the harder you laugh, the more you buy.” One of the more successful memecoins of the recent generation is $BODEN, which humorously satirizes President Biden and his occasional TV gaffes, as well as his general public persona. It is witty, entertaining, and has rapidly amassed a dedicated following.
Here is also a picture of the main character behind the $PEPE memecoin. I guess you can call it the “Gatsby Pepe”. Crypto degens often use this fantastic meme to celebrate a successful trade, a successful launch, or any other victory in the crypto world. We cannot be Gatsby nor be Great but we can post a meme and buy the coin.
ENOUGH SAID.
However, it is not only the content of the meme that attracts traders. It’s the entire experience of trading, posting memes on social media, and socializing with the other holders that make it so appealing. Obviously, it is even better if price goes up, but there is something special about the act of meme trading. It’s an extension of the existing internet meme culture, adding a new layer of engagement and dopamine. It is just made more fun due to a permissionless trading platform.
There are now deeper analyses on the attention economy, revealing how memes have become its dominant force. Both Multicoin’s “attention theory of value” and Delphi Digital’s article “attention is all you need” argue that crypto trading is essentially a game of attention. Multicoin’s Shayon further delves deep into how crypto tokens are not valued on multi-factor models around risk premiums or cash flows but rather the
“perceived amount of time, energy and money that a community around an asset devotes to it.”
It is the game of attention which is fundamentally fun — it is almost like social trading with funny pictures and vibrant communities.
So how is Sakeinu funny?
For meme itself, you tell me. (no point in self-appeal)
How is it gonna be fun?
For other fun aspects, my intoxicated team is preparing some features that can juice up the community activities. I will elaborate on these in a separate article but let me just share a couple of concepts here for sneak peek.
- Gacha: sakeinu memecoins ($SAKE) will not be just for trading but when you buy a certain number of tokens, you will get a chance to win a freakin awesome rare NFT, which then you can sell it at more than the face value at NFT marketplaces.
- Dragon Ball Quest: there will be 7 super super rare NFTs of sakeinus that hold a Dragon Ball. If a person or a group alliance of persons collect all 7, there will be freakin HUGE rewards. If you know Dragon Ball, you know what I mean. Be prepared to make a wish.
2/ it’s fair — memetic justice
Another key reason memes have garnered so much attention is that they are typically fair launches, with no presales or insider advantages.
Cobie recently wrote an article highlighting how private valuations have become absurd and suggesting that retail investors are often just used as exit liquidity. As shown below, in the case of $ETH (Figure 8), it was relatively easy to capture value and get in early. In contrast, for more recent tokens like $OP and $STRK (Figures 9,10), valuations are already very high before they are publicly listed making it extremely difficult for retail investors to achieve significant returns.
Binance also recently published a report highlighting a similar issue of tokens launching with high fully diluted valuations (FDV) / low float structures. The market cap to FDV ratio has steadily declined over time (Figure 11), while most newly launched tokens have a low float (Figure 12). As is well known, this makes it easier to “pump” the tokens to a very high valuation and then “dump” them later on.
These predatory market structures naturally push traders away from infrastructure or other high-valuation projects. In contrast, memes are typically fully in circulation and often have fair launches, making it harder to “dump” them.
Additionally, many of these tokens are “governance” tokens, which, without strict cash flows, can be as worthless as shitcoins.
Consequently, traders prefer to trade humorous memes and engage with meme communities rather than hold onto worthless governance tokens with inflated valuations. After all, this is a game of “attention.” It’s no wonder memecoins are the best-performing sector year-to-date (Figure 13) — it’s almost “memetic justice.”
How is sakeinu fair?
We want everyone to start fair so no presale before the listing and will distribute the tokens ($SAKE) to the community members who actually contribute to the growth of our project through airdrops.
3/ tokenization of culture
While some theorize that memes are the ultimate tool for the “attention game,” others argue that memes enable the tokenization of various cultural aspects. I’ve already mentioned $BODEN (because it’s so good), but the existence of both $BODEN and $TREMP allows traders to express their political values on-chain. These political memes could also serve as a fun prediction market for the US presidential election. Such political memes are only likely to proliferate, especially with the support of a permissionless blockchain trading system.
Another notable manifestation of this trend is the rise of country coins. Coins like $USA and $CHINA have recently gained popularity, reflecting national pride and geopolitical interests. These coins enable traders to express their support or critique of a country’s policies and culture through a digital asset, adding a new dimension to both the crypto market and global culture.
A good example of a “culture-coin” is $MOUTAI. This coin was created by fans of the popular traditional Chinese liquor, Maotai. According to their website, the creators have a mission of “bridging East to West and West to East,” aiming to foster cultural exchange and global unity. Meme coin trading had indeed been dominated by the West, making the success of $MOUTAI resonate differently with the audience.
Whether it’s politics, culture, or humor, these memecoins offer a unique way for people to engage and express their views on-chain and within the crypto community.
What is the sakeinu culture?
Culture is something we all build together. We just want everyone to feel the intoxicated vibe of “let loose.”
but what does this all mean in the context of Sei? Here is why we made drunk dog memecoin $SAKE for the sippers. 👇
Memes matter
Firstly, we just want to have a bit of fun. As mentioned earlier, many of us in the Sei ecosystem are thrilled about the launch of v2, and we wanted to create a memecoin to celebrate this milestone. Our goal is to incorporate all the aspects we’ve discussed — fun, fairness, and culture — into this memecoin.
It’s not just about trading; it’s about celebrating the achievements and potential of the fastest blockchain on earth. By creating this memecoin, we also aim to bring the community together in a joyful and engaging way. Hopefully, y’all can feel this vibe and join the celebration.
But more importantly, we want to bring increased liquidity and new users to the Sei ecosystem. Sei V2 is often described as “EVM with the speed of Solana,” combining the best of both worlds. Solana has nurtured a unique and vibrant ecosystem of memes due to its speed and low fees. The statistics speak for themselves: Solana DEX volumes and users have soared since the meme coin frenzy took off around December 2023. The number of traders, which likely includes bots, is currently around 1 million.
We are confident that a successful memecoin and the resulting ecosystem will bring more liquidity and users. We tend to agree with Ansem, for all the reasons outlined above, that memes have become an almost unstoppable trend.
We want to make the fastest blockchain on earth fun too.
References
- A Brief History of Memecoins: Their Past and Future / 1KX’s Hamza
- The Memecoin Revolution: How Digital Culture is Shaping the Future of Cryptocurrency / Natasha Sha
- Publisher-Exchanges: Consumer Applications and the Attention Theory of Value / Multicoin’s Shayon Sengupta
- Attention Is All You Need / Delphi Digital’s Michael Rinko
- New launches (part 1) — private capture, phantom pricing / Cobie
- Low Float & High FDV: How Did We Get Here? / Binance Research
- Crypto VC sees a ‘new class’ of profitable memecoins this cycle / Cointelegraph
- Solana Dex Metrics / @ilemi
