Social currencies are the future of memecoins

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The cryptocurrency market has been a roller coaster ride over the past 18 months, and in the midst of this chaos, we’ve witnessed the rise of meme coins. While meme coins are nothing new – in fact, they are one of the oldest forms of cryptocurrency – they have once again proven themselves to be the vehicle of choice for engaging in cryptocurrency’s most unique mechanism (speculation).

While Meme coins are pure and almost artistic in nature, they also have a dark side. No, the problem isn’t insiders or cliques – that’s a common problem that plagues the entire cryptocurrency space. The real problem, in my opinion, is the lack of effort, the failure to capitalize on the moment, and people’s insistence on building Meme coins. Maybe I’m naive, but I refuse to accept that Meme Coin stops there – at least I hope not.

I’m convinced that the Trojan horse for cryptocurrency popularity is intellectual property (IP) because it builds credibility in areas where the ladder of trust is lacking, and meme coins are a form of IP, just like NFT. meme coins have a huge opportunity to drive the crypto industry forward by penetrating into the hearts and minds of the average person. However, they have not pushed the boundaries of the potential of crypto’s native characters, and instead have become stagnant, unoriginal, and mediocre on the way to transcendence. I fear that if the status quo is maintained, they will do more harm than good. For the category to thrive, Meme Coin must evolve, and I firmly believe that the way to evolve is to become a social currency – a token that moves beyond lazy pulling and slamming to become a scalable, memorable, and beloved IP.

My proposition is not to replace Meme Coin with a social currency, but rather, to add a final stage to the roadmap for its growth. Meme Coin must graduate from being a meaningless image on the chain to a productive and perceptive social currency that drives the crypto industry. I believe there are already tokens that fall into this category. In this article, I will explore the current state of Meme Coin, why successful projects should evolve into social currencies, and the impact of social currencies on the crypto space.
First, what is social currency?

Social currencies are tokenized assets that represent value within a specific community, often used to incentivize participation, reward contributions, and enhance brand or community loyalty. It operates similarly to traditional currencies, but derives its value from social interaction, reputation and influence.

In layman’s terms, Social Currency is Meme Currency with fundamentals – it is progressive, perceptive, and focused on fostering communities that continue to create a viral effect, rather than extracting value from ephemeral hype.
Meme Coins vs Social Currencies

Meme coins don’t create virality – they monetize it and drain it until it fades. Social Currencies are perceptive, actively promoting their IP through multiple mediums, partnerships and integrations, and continue to generate virality.

Typical Life Cycle of Meme Coin:

• Idea → Token Issuance → Community Cultivation → Community Embracing Narrative → Narrative Demise → Community Demise

Life Cycle of Social Currency:

• Idea → Token Issuance → Community Cultivation → Community Embracing Narrative → Brand Creation → Brand Expansion → Eco-Build → Globally Adopted and Recognized Currency

In my opinion, all social currencies are initially Meme Coins, but with the accumulation of potential energy they must evolve into social currencies. In my opinion, all social currencies are initially meme coins, but as momentum builds, they must evolve into social currency. The following diagram accurately illustrates this process.

I love this chart because it shows that social currency is not a replacement for meme money, but rather an evolution of it. To me, social currency is meme money backed by real value. Anyone can issue meme coins, but only the best can put real value into them.

If you believe that liquid crypto assets will primarily belong to the retail asset class, then you believe in meme coins and their success. If you believe that institutional capital will eventually flow into torrents, then you must expect fundamentals to dominate. Social currencies have the best of both worlds – the retail appeal of Meme coins and enough fun to attract institutional participation. In my opinion, social currencies combine the best of meme coins and utility tokens.

When analyzing the flaws of Meme coins, it is clear that they could have been much more promising, but we have allowed the social consensus to convince us that “Meme coins are supposed to do nothing, and that’s the way it’s always been”. Personally, I refuse to accept this as the norm for the future of the space. To understand my frustration, it’s important to break down the current constraints on Meme and how social currencies can address them.
Flaws of Meme Coins

• Stagnation: lose momentum when the trend fades
• Stigmatization: 99% of speculators lose money, not long-term holdings
• PvP model: designed for short-term streams, reduced to a game of grabbing chairs for stock
• Lack of infrastructure to attract new users
• No real beliefs to back it up except for a fantasy narrative – no fundamentals
• Success often depends on fantasy and luck Social Currency Often relies on fantasy and luck
  Advantages of social currencies
• Perception: both create and capture trends to remain consistently relevant
• New narrative: combines the durability of meme coins with real fundamentals to support growth, suitable for long term holdings
• PvE model: designed to drive the crypto industry forward and attract new users
• Continuously creates demand through content programs, branding partnerships, and IP growth
• Build something real beyond the industry to enhance the identity and appeal to holders Builds something real that transcends the industry and reinforces identity and belief amongst holders – There is a foundation of real belief
• Success is not based on luck or narrative, but on real fundamentals

Perception vs. No Perception

For traders and investors, the core difference between Meme Coin and social currencies is perception – the ability to stay consistently relevant. Social Currencies have Perception and Meme Currencies do not, and this is the key thing that traders should focus on. Perception = Relevance = Attention = Potential. Unless you’re a crypto legend (like DOGE), anything without perception will eventually die.

Reading this, one might think: “I don’t want Meme Coin to take any execution risk”.

This psychological warfare started with the 2020 NFT art collectors, and it amazes me that we have perpetuated this narrative. My counterargument is simple: things without execution risk are entirely dependent on luck. Execution risk is the only risk worth taking, and if your position doesn’t rely on execution, I can say with a million percent certainty that in 999,999/1,000,000 scenarios you’ll underperform someone who bets on execution (though I still wish you luck).
The Future of Social Currency

To realize its true potential, Meme Coin needs to advance to social currency in the final chapter of its evolution. Tokens that create culture, foster deep community bonds, and incorporate real-world applications will define a new era of crypto. Moving from a stagnant speculative asset to a dynamically engaged ecosystem is not only necessary, it’s inevitable.

The question you need to ponder now is: who will lead this transformation?