Crypto and macro researcher TradeTheFlow presented a compelling thesis on the rise of meme coins in the current crypto cycle.
What Happened: In an April 12 X (formerly Twitter) thread, Flow argues that meme coins are not just a passing trend but a reflection of a broader societal shift towards financial nihilism and high-risk, high-reward investment strategies.
The researcher suggests that we are entering a new generation of meme coins, where they are emerging as a new asset class within crypto rather than isolated runs of one or two coins over an entire cycle.
THE MEME COIN SUPERCYCLE It seems that we are now entering the next generation of meme coins. Here, it is not about some isolated runs of 1 or 2 meme coins over an entire cycle. Instead, it is about the emergence of memes as a new asset class within crypto. pic.twitter.com/yAK6KYruzf
— flow (@tradetheflow_) April 12, 2024
Flow points to the recent success of several meme coins, such as Dogwifhat (CRYPTO: WIF), Bonk (CRYPTO: BONK), Slerf (CRYPTO: SLERF), and Book Of Meme (CRYPTO: BOME), as evidence of this trend.
Flow also shares his top picks for meme coins with significant upside potential, categorizing them into three groups:
Original (OG) memes: Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) and Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE)
Solana memes: Bonk, Dogwifhat and Wenn (WEN)
Base memes: doginme (DOGINME), Toshi (TOSHI) and Normie (NORMIE).
Also Read: Hold On To Your Dogecoin: It'll Be The 'First Meme Coin To Reach $100B Market Cap,' Says Trader
Why It Matters: According to Flow, the widening wealth gap and the increasing difficulty for the average worker to achieve financial stability have led to a "propensity to take bigger risks" in the hopes of breaking out of the vicious cycle of economic hardship.
This has attracted many people to crypto, particularly meme coins, which have generated numerous rags-to-riches stories.
Flow highlights several reasons why meme coins have gained so much traction, including their ability to generate attention, their simple narratives, and their appeal as a form of rebellion against traditional crypto projects with high valuations pushed by venture capitalists.
He points to Dogecoin in the last bull run when it generated hype due to Elon Musk's tweets. Despite no fundamental value, it became popular.
What's Next: The influence of meme coins and Bitcoin as an institutional asset class are topics expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
