modern memecoin culture is shaking my faith in humanity \ stacker news ~bitcoin

modern memecoin culture is shaking my faith in humanity

1864 sats \ 32 comments \ @nyan 4 Jun bitcoin

Sorry for the rant, since I appreciate the constructive positivity of this place but I need to get rid of something. I recently had a conversation with colleagues who told me about some meme coins they 'invested' in. Since I am not living under a rock, I had a rough idea of the more 'successful' meme coin projects but after this conversation I researched a bit and read some twitter threads and so on to get the pulse of this community. After this little excursion I felt physically sick, disgusted and angry.

I am even surprised about myself since as a libertarian I am of the opinion that everyone should do whatever they want as long as it does not infringe on my liberties but there is something in this degeneracy that is extremely scary to me on some deeper level, I can't explain it better.

Like, I don't want people participating in that as my neighbors. There is something wrong with them, like someone cut out some vital brain parts. When I see a DOGE coin, I find it funny. There was some novelty and tongue-in-cheek lightness to this project but when I look at this uninspired shit that is produced nowadays. Just insane. And when I look at the market caps these zero effort things achieve, I don't know what to say. But really, the specific thing that creates this disgust in me is the communities, the way the work, the way they communicate, their beliefs, it's fucking scary.

Apologies for being overly dramatic. There is obviously lots of shit happening in the world and meme coins really are not even a blip on the shit-show-radar but there is something about them that really affects me. A feeling of real disgust.

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109 sats \ 4 replies \ @elvismercury 4 Jun

And when I look at the market caps these zero effort things achieve, I don't know what to say.

Maybe what you should say -- or what you should accept -- is that people value different stuff than you, and you should get used to that because if you're really a libertarian, and you get what you claim to want, you'll have more of this weird bullshit to deal with, not less.

121 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 4 Jun

I agree. People should be free to be morons, and you're free to call them out.

54 sats \ 2 replies \ @nyan OP 4 Jun

Yes, I acknowledge this cognitive dissonance in me. Hence why I am confused about my own feelings towards it. I guess the resolution is that in a world that is like that, I will eventually be affected by this madness (e.g. these people vote in my country, etc.). And once I am affected, I start to care. They lose their shirts in these shit coin games and later vote for tax hikes to take my savings. Unfortunately, we live in a zero responsibility world where being diligent always puts a target on you.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @oomahq 5 Jun

IMO there is no contradiction, yours is a normal reaction to mental illness. Witnessing the antics of mentally ill people makes you feel this way.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 4 Jun

I think I understand that the Libertarian relies on social stigma to keep people safe from scams.

22 sats \ 1 reply \ @TheBTCManual 4 Jun

Meme coins can for sure be a black pilling moment for anyone who understands bitcoin, but to me, all these other "serious" projects are just another version of a meme coin too, meme coins kind of rip the vail off all the bs and is more honest, like hey we know we're doing nothing of value, we're just speculating,

I think if there wasn't a meme coin culture this capital would just go into gambling, sports betting, MLMs, influencer courses, penny stocks, or the stock market, there will always be a sinkhole for dumb money

I see meme coins traders as people who are nihilistic about the system and rightfully so, they're just picking the wrong medium of showing their frustration.

In the end it, all these "invesments" are going to zero, like a lot of zombie companies and take peoples capital with them, its unfortunate, but people have to learn the hard way for the lesson to stick

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @nyan OP 4 Jun

You are right, I had similar thoughts that meme coins are in their way even more honest than ‘serious’ projects. However, while I consider Ethereum a shitcoin and almost all projects running on it mostly bullshit, I have sympathy for some developers who are intelligent and exploring new ways (even if their conclusions are not correct in my personal opinion). Point being, I think that there is some good in what they do while for meme coins I struggle to find that ‘good’. And my main aversion to it is really not so much to what they are but rather the degeneracy that is gathering around it.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 4 Jun

"Hey wouldn't it be funny if you gave me your life savings? That would be so funny right?" That's why its gross.

Yes, this hyperinflationary coin or pre-mined one means that selling it is just a roundabout way of getting people to give you money "for the meme"

Imagine if I printed out a bunch of images and said "Wouldn't it be so funny if you dumped your life savings into buying these?" Its actually not funny at all. Actual gambling has rules to it at least. These are just grifts. Gambling does not describe them.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 4 Jun

11 sats \ 2 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

You know its just a pump and dump. They know it to, but they are trying to time the market.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @nyan OP 4 Jun

Yes, that's fine. Let them play lottery. What freaks my out is not what they do but how they do it. I can go to the kiosk like a normal person and buy a lottery ticket. But they go naked, scream like apes, throw their shit at the cashier, buy the ticket, piss on it, and then lick it, you get the gist. They are insane.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 4 Jun

Yes, there is no rhyme or reason. It is the definition of insanity.

13 sats \ 0 replies \ @Voldemort 4 Jun

I 10xed 2 meme coins this year and lost $100 on another. Put $200 usd in each and bought more bitcoin with the gains.

How is it any different than casinos or sports gambling? It is entertainment.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @DiedOnTitan 4 Jun

I look at the market caps these zero effort things achieve, I don't know what to say

It's smoke and mirrors. Print a trillion coins and buy 1 for a dollar. Shazam! A trillion dollar market cap. Yawn.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BoJack 5 Jun

One thing I learned as I got older is to not worry about others, as cliche as it sounds. Understand that there will always be mechanisms to transfer wealth and that this is one of them. The money is probably in better hands anyway to be honest.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @flat24 5 Jun

Don't feel bad, you are not the only one who feels disgust and disgust when seeing the new trend with those coins, the level of fanaticism with which people adopt each shitty meme coin that appears on the market is totally unreal.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DiedOnTitan 5 Jun

Again, the market caps of shitcoins are smoke and mirrors. An excerpt from Vitalik Buterin's wikipedia page:

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nickfostphone 4 Jun

Everyone has their own way to get a hit of dopamine.

I consider myself a libertarian as well, although there’s not much reason to try to identify with anything. I’m fine with anyone doing any hard narcotic they want to do as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. I’m also fine with anyone buying as many doggy coins as they want as long as they don’t hurt anyone else.

At some point, you have to come to terms with the fact that most people are idiots. If you have a conscience, you’ll just do your best to look the other way. If you don’t have a conscience, consider taking advantage of them and starting your own meme coin.

Do you think the drug dealers do it because they think that freedom and access to drugs are good for everyone?

Do you think the peddlers of any illicit substances, persons, items, or even ideas really feel wholesome and valuable when they’re distributing their negative value into society? Probably not, but they’re profiting from it.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @CoSatoshi 4 Jun

I feel you but remember this: "casinos, lottery tickets, sports gambling, day trading, and horse betting culture is shaking my faith in humanity."

Degens gonna degen. Tis what tit tis.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kingzing131 4 Jun

market cap doesn't really apply to memecoin, they are more like collectible (only for their name). Personally I don't give a crap about them, I don't think anyone are buying these unaware of what these memecoins natures are

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 4 Jun

I agree. All this shit is happening just because of communities. I hold much similar views to yours and looking at the market cap for sme of these meme coins I get angry too. But I never would talk to people who are ready to put their hard earned money on something similar to joke.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Fabs 4 Jun

Mate, we're still animals, and some brains simply aren't fully developed; then there's the crowd that indulges in stuff that damages the brain, which brings us to the Meme-crowd. 😃

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @2053456d48 4 Jun

So far from my experiences regarding cryptos and meme coins! I think it's okay to support the communities but make sure you know what you're dealing with. Dealing without much knowledge and any community support can be very expensive due to increases in taxes, geo-political issues, etc.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 4 Jun

I once had the idea to size the potential of the "crypto" industry by comparing it to the size of the gambling industry, because I think a lot of the same consumer dynamics are at work. What you're seeing is simply the latest manifestation of a tale as old as time: greed and the desire for quick profit

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @MANI 4 Jun

People want quick buck, and most people who joined the crypto bandwagon late want a shortcut to become rich an overnight millionaire, therefore, they see memecoins their best bet to do so. We can't criticize them for their thinking as we all want to become rich in crypto, we can think differently but objective is the same for all.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @DiedOnTitan 4 Jun

No. Some people work hard for their money and therefore want hard money as a store of value.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @MANI 4 Jun

Some do and some don't. Everyone has their own way of thinking, can't criticise either.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @DiedOnTitan 5 Jun

Yes. I can and do criticize those who want a quick buck. And I won't be the first:

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” Proverbs 13:11

“An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.” Proverbs 20:21

“A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20

This was true 3,000 years ago when, according to scholars, King Solomon said it, and it remains true today.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @zarko 4 Jun

dont worry, markets will get rid of all these trash coins pretty soon

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @om 4 Jun

That's exactly the normies' reaction when they look at us. I'm not saying that you're wrong or that the normies are right. I'm just making this observation.

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @nyan OP 4 Jun

Agree, but, unlike the memecoin degen, I can bring rational arguments to the table. Doesn't mean that a normie will listen to them but they still exist. I orange pilled people from many different walks of life and different prior beliefs.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @om 4 Jun

Yes but the average normie won't meet you. An average normie would meet an average Bitcoiner, and that is probably why the average normie has a low opinion on Bitcoiners.

I have read and listened to punk6529, the self-described meme maximalist (I'm not sure what's his stance on memecoins, I paid attention to him only during the NFT era). He argues for his position rationally and persuasively. I disagree with him anyway (that's why I stopped paying attention) but he's way above a random degen.

By the way I believe that "gm" (the common greeting on Nostr) was originally popularized by punk6529. Check out the Temple of GM in his "Open Metaverse". That tells me that he's not too wrong in his culture building ideas, he just overestimates their importance IMO.