Starting with the classification of Memecoin, how would Merriam-Webster define it?

Original author: Byron Gilliam

Original compilation: Luffy, Foresight News

When Richard Dawkins was looking for a term for his concept of unit of cultural transmission, he chose meme - gene (the ability to reproduce oneself) and mimeme (Greek for a mixture of things that are imitated).

Dawkins coined the term as early as 1976, but it didnt become popular until the emergence of Internet Meme. In 1998, Merriam-Webster Dictionary explained it this way:

Meme, noun, [ˈmēm]: a funny or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or type of item that is widely shared online, especially through social media.

The next major evolution of the term came in 2013 with the emergence of Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency originally invented as a joke and later considered the first “Memecoin” ”.

Merriam-Webster has yet to recognize this groundbreaking term, which seems like a gross oversight, especially since they already recognize Meme stocks:

Meme stocks, noun, [ˈmēm ˈstäk]: stocks that experience a sudden, temporary surge in popularity and price due to the coordinated efforts of small investors (such as a viral social media campaign).

I dont know how to explain this. I guess its because Meme stocks are approved by the SEC and listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ, which makes them legal (relatively speaking), while Memecoin does not?

But Memecoin predates Meme stock by nearly a decade.

Furthermore, Memecoin is superior in every aspect. Memecoin is more popular, more interesting, more valuable, and more plentiful than Meme stock.

They are also proven to be more durable. GameStops stock price has been falling since the term Meme stock was coined in 2021, AMCs stock price hit an all-time low of $3 today, and Bed Bath and Beyonds stocks were delisted months ago.

In contrast, Memecoin is booming again.

However, what the ivory tower compilers of Merriam-Webster may not have noticed is that Dogecoin’s market cap is back to $27 billion ($7 billion more than GME at its 2021 peak), and dogwifhat (WIF) is up 25% this year times, and the cat in a dogs world, which is only seven days old, is already worth $640 million.

Theyre also unlikely to notice this quickly, so we have to do their job for them.

Memecoin family tree

Unfortunately, we cant simply take Merriam-Websters definition of meme stock and replace stock with coin.

First of all, unlike the short mania of Meme stocks, Memecoin’s surge is not “temporary.”

Memecoin’s boom hasn’t always been the result of “coordinated efforts” or just “small investor” enthusiasm, and they haven’t always been pleasant.

There are many more types of Memecoins than Meme stocks, so adapting the latters definition is not sufficient.

In order to get better results, then, we must first construct a rigorously defined Memecoin taxonomy, including a scientific naming convention consistent with Dawkins methodology for Meme.

Memecoin Category

Pure Meme: The purest way to tokenize a meme, these tokens actually do nothing and their value is solely based on their ability to attract attention. (WIF, PEPE)

Productive Meme: These tokens are primarily related to a certain Meme (such as a picture of a dog), but also have fundamental value derived from the revenue earned through a certain function. (BONK)

Utility Memes: Most of the value comes from Meme currency, but they also have utility because they can be used to perform some on-chain activities. (FLOKI, SHIB)

Native Meme: A token that derives value from an idea and is also the native token of the blockchain. (DOGE, BTC)

Pretend Meme: A token that claims to have current or future profitability, but actually capitalizes on people’s desperate desire for a trend to make money. (AI Token?)

De facto meme: The closest cousin to a meme stock, a token that has (or may have) actual profitability or demand-driven but at least 90% of its value is attributed to the meme in question. (WLD)

Currency Meme: The value of money depends on peoples unfalsifiable belief that it is money. (BTC, gold)

Make Memecoin meaningful

Here are my comments to the Webster Dictionaries:

Memecoin noun, [ˈmēm ˈkȯi-n]: A cryptocurrency that derives some or all of its value from memes.

After all the effort we put into our taxonomy, this may seem overly simplistic, but thats exactly the point.

The Memecoin ecosystem is far more diverse than its name suggests, so its definition needs to be broad enough to cover everything, even broad enough to include Bitcoin.

Memecoins are more than just pictures of dogs, cats, and (most recently) U.S. presidents.

They are stupid, and it may be intellectually correct to dismiss them entirely, and it may even be directionally correct. But the risk is that if you don’t understand Memecoin, the cryptocurrency won’t make sense to you for a long time.

The Memecoin taxonomy should help make sense of it all.