Keynes, the father of macroeconomics, once proposed "animal spirits", believing that the market is driven by investor confidence and expectations. MEME is undoubtedly the crypto asset with the highest "animal spirits" index and is deeply affected by community sentiment. Interestingly, animal MEME is also the most influential and has the highest market value among all MEMEs. Perhaps the small animals around us can evoke the most collective resonance.
Recently, as the dust settled on the US election, Bitcoin successfully broke through the $100,000 milestone, and the altcoin craze officially began. A series of cultural symbol memes derived from animal concepts, such as dogs, frogs, and cats, also stood out in this wave and became one of the most worthy sectors to invest in. Among the cat-related meme projects, cat in a dogs world (MEW) performed the best.
MEW was launched on the Solana blockchain in March this year. It stood out in the crowded Solana ecosystem Meme coin field through its unique cat-themed narrative. It took only about half a year to join the ranks of the crypto "unicorn" club (that is, a market value of more than US$1 billion) and the cryptocurrency market value "Top 100". Its success is worthy of attention.
The price hit a new high twice in one week, and the market value broke through $1 billion
MEW was previously listed on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in September this year and supported two trading pairs: BTC and Tether (USDT). Although its price also triggered a short-term rise at the time, it failed to break through the historical high in March.
On October 21, Upbit announced the launch of the MEW Korean won trading pair MEW/KWR, making MEW the third Meme coin on Upbit that supports the legal currency Korean won (the other two are DOGE and SHIB). As soon as the news came out, MEW quickly gained double-digit growth and reached a high of US$0.01. The trading volume on Upbit once surpassed Bitcoin, ranking first in the platform's trading volume.
MEW has been actively promoting its listing on mainstream CEXs such as OKX, Bithumb, Gate, Bybit, and Bitget. On October 24, the cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp also announced the launch of two trading pairs for MEW, MEW/USD and MEW/EUR, which gave MEW a boost as it continued to rise. As expected, on the evening of October 24, the market value of MEW rose all the way to break through $1 billion, setting a new high.
In addition, MEW contracts are another indicator worth paying attention to. In addition to global leading cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Binance and Coinbase, which have launched MEW contracts, some decentralized derivative trading platforms are also actively promoting support for MEW. On October 22, MEW perpetual futures were launched on Kwenta and Synthetix (the second-layer chain on Base). Previously, the decentralized on-chain perpetual contract platform Drift Protocol also added support for MEW perpetual futures.
Coinglass data shows that since the beginning of October, the average daily open interest of the exchange's MEW contracts has remained in the $100 million range (at one point reaching a high of $215 million). Generally speaking, an increase in cryptocurrency contract open interest indicates that more traders are opening positions, and an increase in open interest when prices rise often means that market participants have increased confidence in the project.
(Source of the above picture: Coinglass, captured on December 3, 2024)
Unique Meme Spirit and MEW’s Cultural Mission
There is no doubt that MEW has successfully entered the first echelon of Meme coins. As a newcomer born this year, how can MEW attract widespread attention and real money support from community users in a short period of time? This is a question worth thinking about for other MEME or crypto projects.
In fact, from the underlying logic, MEW is not only a carnival of digital assets, but also represents a new cultural phenomenon and business model. It connects cat lovers around the world through blockchain technology to jointly build a decentralized, open and inclusive virtual world and a new digital cultural ecology.
The most surprising and unexpected thing about MEW is that it subverts people's impression of the cuteness of cats. It adopts a symbolic "appearance" that rebels against tradition and pursues innovation. This image forms a sharp contrast with dog-themed Meme projects such as the cute DOGE and the cartoon SHIB. It also symbolizes a challenge to traditional authority and the protection of vulnerable groups, and deeply attracts users who pursue individuality and freedom.
Based on its subversive image, MEW conveys three cultural connotations, namely:
Rebellion and chivalry (cat versus dog image)
Humanistic care (focusing on the needs and fairness of a wider user group)
Working together (creating a friendly and supportive community atmosphere)
Why "rebellious" cats? In Internet culture, cats often represent independence, mystery, and aloofness, which is in sharp contrast to the loyalty and docility of traditional dogs. This contrast not only attracts attention, but also gives cats a unique cultural symbol. By contrasting the images of cats and dogs, it challenges the inherent meaning of traditional cultural symbols and reflects the pursuit of innovation and breakthroughs, which is very consistent with MEW's rebellious image.
MEW is not simply a rebellion, but rather embodies a chivalrous spirit of fighting for the broader interests of the community. This spirit resonates perfectly with subculture users in the Internet age, who pursue personalized expression and question traditional culture. MEW cleverly caters to this trend, combining the image of a cat with the concept of decentralized cryptocurrency. It not only symbolizes a challenge to the traditional financial system, but also expresses a desire for a fairer and more open financial system, protecting the interests of community members by resisting the traditional financial system.
From Meme to Global Cultural IP
The evolution of MEW from a simple meme to a cultural IP phenomenon with a complete story and spiritual core is a very interesting transformation.
From a simple meme image, MEW has gradually evolved into an IP with rich cultural connotations. Different from the currently popular pets, emoticons, and concept memes, MEW has its own complete story and spiritual core, and has moved towards true cultural precipitation, breaking away from the market sentiment game caused by social communication and price fluctuations in the early days. The distinctive image and spiritual core, as well as exposure through various channels, have enabled the community to build consensus.
1. Unique original IP storyline: MEW's original IP storyline is very unique. It tells how a cat challenges traditional concepts with its own wisdom and courage in a world dominated by dogs, showing the journey of a kitten from being redeemed to growing into a hero and building its own cat community. MEW represents the spirit of rebellion. It is unwilling to be defined by the mainstream and has the courage to explore new possibilities. It also emphasizes the importance of the community and provides a platform for free expression and mutual support through the establishment of the MEW community.
The complete storyline provides unlimited possibilities for the extension of MEW's IP, and also injects rich cultural connotations into MEW, making it transcend simple digital assets and become a cultural symbol. Whether it is derivative animations, games or peripheral products, they can all revolve around this story. MEW's growth story is full of inspiration and hope, and can resonate with users emotionally. This emotional connection is an important cornerstone of user loyalty.
In fact, MEW's unique rebellious cat image has gradually developed into a community core, and has spawned a large number of memes, emoticons and other language symbols in the crypto community. These symbols are widely spread among community members, forming a unique cultural context, and also pushing MEW from a Meme network phenomenon to an IP with long-term vitality.
2. Powerful original IP advantage: Compared with traditional Meme projects, MEW's designs are all original, which is undoubtedly one of its biggest advantages. Originality is the basis of intellectual property protection, providing legal protection for MEW's IP commercialization and branding. There is no need to worry about copyright disputes, which provides a solid foundation for MEW's global cultural IP journey from Web3 to Web2.
The original design gives MEW a unique visual style and memorable image, making it stand out from many memes, and injecting soul into MEW, enabling it to carry deeper cultural connotations and values. Not only that, because it is an original IP, MEW can more easily cooperate with various brands, and with the help of the Internet's communication power, it can achieve a leap from Web3 to Web2, expand brand influence, and provide a broader space for its future expansion.
3. Excellent design level: MEW has performed well in design, and the cooperation with the well-known animation studio LOCUS is the icing on the cake. Design is also the core engine of MEW. The creation of IP is inseparable from the MEW team's continuous high-quality design delivery capabilities. The warmth and dedication of the MEW project can be seen from the high-quality emoticons, animated shorts, and official website displays. In addition, the excellent design level has further broadened MEW's brand communication channels, because high-quality animation works can intuitively display MEW's brand image, quickly reach more audiences, expand the brand's influence, enhance users' awareness and favorability of the brand, and tell the MEW story more vividly.
To sum up, MEW, based on a complete storyline and independent original IP, brings a deep and complete narrative that is rare in the Crypto market. This Meme concept based on cultural precipitation is unique in the current crypto market. The IP value of MEW will naturally rise. As the value of IP continues to increase, it will undoubtedly attract more users to participate, which will in turn bring about a healthy development of the project itself, further expand potential external income, and ultimately achieve a positive growth cycle.
It is no exaggeration to say that the MEW case provides us with a good example, proving the importance of not being limited to the Meme concept and actively expanding the value of global cultural IP.
Market strategy and "cat track" culture leadership
MEW launched with a fair launch and locked 90% of LP on Solana. On March 27, MEW airdropped 5% of tokens to WIF and BONK holders. On April 1, MEW conducted a second airdrop, airdropping 37,600 MEW (worth about $200 at the time) to each user wallet that pre-ordered the second Solana Mobile smartphone. The MEW project has conducted multiple airdrops to different user groups at different time points. This distribution method embodies the concept of equal distribution, thereby creating a balanced and sustainable growth model for the MEW token, and better building a strong and active community around the MEW token, helping MEW carve out a place in the highly competitive cryptocurrency market.
It is worth mentioning that MEW chose to go online on several mainstream exchanges such as OKX, Upbit, and Bithumb, which is a very shrewd market strategy.
As shown in the figure below, from the proportion of trading volume of major exchanges, it can be seen that MEW spot trading has not shown an over-centralized trend. Even for some of the top cryptocurrency exchanges, the proportion of trading volume does not exceed 30%. This move reduces the dependence on a single exchange. Even if a problem occurs in an exchange, it will not have a big impact on MEW's overall trading. Moreover, the "competition" of multiple exchanges can also provide MEW with a deeper trading depth, improve liquidity, and facilitate users to conduct smoother transactions. The relatively balanced trading volume also shows that MEW's user group is widely distributed, and no exchange has an absolute advantage, which is conducive to maintaining the market competition pattern and protecting user interests.
(Source of the above picture: Coingecko, captured on December 3, 2024)
In addition to the above exchanges, MEW has also been listed and endorsed on exchanges such as Kraken and Gemini, which greatly enhances MEW's credibility. After strict review by these compliant exchanges, MEW's project quality and crypto legitimacy have been authoritatively recognized. Through cooperation with multiple exchanges, MEW can reach investors around the world, expand market share, and then provide MEW with deeper trading depth and improve liquidity. User groups of different exchanges have different characteristics, which will also bring more types of investors to MEW.
MEW also plays a leading role in the "cat track" culture. The current Meme market is decentralized, and many projects are difficult to form a joint force. There are "low positive externalities" and "vacuum periods" in the market. MEW has broken through the traditional dog-type Meme-dominated market through its unique "cat-like" image, opened up a new blue ocean for the Meme market, and successfully broke the market homogeneity.
In a highly competitive market, only unique products can stand out, and an active and cohesive community is the guarantee of project success. MEW actively builds a friendly public discourse space, leading the continued growth of the cat track and forming positive externalities. First of all, MEW has driven the expansion of the entire Meme track. The success of MEW has made the crypto community "surprised" to find that the market is not dominated by only "dog-type" Memes, but also stimulated the market's attention to other "cat-type" Memes, promoting innovation in the entire Meme industry; secondly, positive externalities are also reflected in the continuous enrichment of the market ecology. Different types of Meme images and IP brands enrich the diversity of the market, which can meet the needs of different users, and ultimately enhance the market value and social recognition of the entire Meme industry.
Cat lovers are all over the world, and the market size is huge. Compared with the relatively saturated dog meme track, the cat meme track has greater room for development. MEW's re-opening of the cat meme track is not to take advantage of the DOGE and SHIB stock market dividends. It is undoubtedly a forward-looking strategic decision. It can also avoid direct competition with "old" meme coin projects such as DOGE and SHIB, reduce market pressure, and the growth potential and market value will not be limited by the DOGE and SHIB ceiling.
Compared to short-lived memes, building a viable brand can bring more lasting value. MEW chose to position itself as a brand builder rather than just staying at the meme level, showing its foresight. The brand can attract more different types of users, not just cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and also bring more business opportunities to MEW. There is a lot of room for imagination in the future, such as building animation, games, and peripherals based on MEW, and cross-border cooperation with other brands to launch joint names. Through continuous brand forging, I believe MEW has the potential to become a global IP as well-known as "Hello Kitty".
