Given the drama surrounding the EigenLayer points airdrop, I could think of only one thing: memecoins. EigenLayer is a project with tons of hype and promise and some of the best VC backers in the space. Unfortunately, despite the hype, their airdrop has garnered a lot of criticism – something we see repeatedly in the space. Criticism around airdrops and token allocations are not issues specific to Eigenlayer, and what I am going to write isn’t about Eigen-tech, which is cool, but more about token economics
...Hm, I think the Memecoin versus VC-Coin Dilemma is in itself a narrative. Everyone is basically talking about it, even VC Funds (that are now turning to invest in meme coins). Is there quantative data that supports the thesis significantly that meme coins are so popular because of VC-Coin denialism? I‘m hearing about it in many podcasts at the moment which could be causing a feedback loop?
I personally think that only the crypto crowd understands the power of the meme versus VC coin. Normal retail will just buy what sounds good or some friend suggested on a CEX is easy to buy or has been shilled in the media (so BTC is at the moment the most popular Attention coin) . But of course I don‘t have data to support my thesis.
I think memecoins can also have an insider kind of structure. KOLs can easily fill their bags upfront with a large amount of supply with low cap meme projects. Then they shill it, it pumps to the billions and late adopters EV is basically in the hands of the KOL whales, who can dump any time (I wish I had data to support my thesis 😂)
The single most important feature of any „Coin“ should be transparency around it. Everyone should have the same information before investing. EigenLayer didn‘t do a good job concerning communication of tokenomics upfront and do we really know if WIF or others did a good job? Who knows who the big bag holders are and if they are the ones that initiated the shilling spree? Meme Coins even often have the benefit of Anons and come with their own risks (rugpulls).
Those are all excellent points. The most telling quantative data around memes vs other coins is basically price action. Memes have been doing multiples while coins with vestings and unlocks have been really muted of late. It tells me that people are more willing to invest in memes than anything else, at least for now.
Regarding retail buying whatever people shill them, I am unsure. Last cycle I found some data around TikTok trends, specifically videos discussing crypto. And the vast majority were discussing memecoins like Shib/Safemoon/Doge. Other crypto sectors never really took off like memecoins did, at least on TikTok.
I agree that meme coins can have the same sort of structure with insiders having a huge chunks of the supply spread across a bunch of wallets. So memes are certainly not removed from the same issues we see in a lot of token allocations. Memes are certainly not free from these sort of issues But I was more trying to think through what the market is signalling with the recent emphasis on memes.