Attention Economics: Valuation of Meme Coins

Author: redphone Source: X, @redphonecrypto Translation: Shan Ouba, Golden Finance

By most "token economics" standards, memecoins should be worth about zero dollars. However, there are already three memecoins in the top 25 ($DOGE, $SHIB, and $PEPE), and this proportion looks set to continue to grow.

So, what's going on? How do we objectively determine which memecoins are worth owning?

I've been calling my internal framework "attention economics"... It focuses on metrics that are more difficult to quantify than token economics. Specifically, but not limited to the following:

1. Audience size: How broad or niche does this meme appeal to? (Man’s best friend, the dog, appeals to a wider audience than some obscure inside joke.)

2. Sustainability: Is this meme a flash in the pan, or is it tied to something that humans care about over the long term? In other words, does it have at least the potential to generate sustained interest over time?Political tokens come to mind. There’s a lot of attention right now, but what happens to the tokens of the losers of the election? What about the winners?

3. Gender appeal: Related to audience size, can this meme cross gender lines to attract the largest number of holders?

4. Visualization: Can you easily represent the spirit of the meme with an iconic image? Bonus points if you can combine the visual elements of the meme with a new image (like putting a $WIF hat on Kim Kardashian).

5. Accessibility: Is there an active community of holders on the coin’s parent chain? If you want to maximize the chances of your memecoin’s success, launch it on $SOL.

6. Category: Is this coin a pioneer, or has the potential to create an entirely new category of memecoins (like national coins)?

7. KOL: Are there exciting (or at least well-known) people associated with this coin? For example, Elon Musk x $DOGE or @blknoiz06 x $WIF?

8. Community: Is the creator or fans of the coin active on social media?

9. Catalysts: Are there upcoming news events that could spark more interest in the coin? For example, elections are obvious catalysts for coins like $TRUMP and $BODEN.

10. Origins: Does the origin of this coin have an interesting story, mystery, or intrigue? Satoshi and Bitcoin are the ultimate gods here. RSIC•GENESIS•RUNE on BTC is another great example. Did Casey create it?

11. Regionalism: Does this coin appeal to an international audience, or is it forever tied to a specific jurisdiction?

12. Vibe: Does the coin have a good vibe? Does it make you laugh? Does it make you want to share on crypto twitter?

In summary, the essence of attention economics is that a coin’s ability to capture attention is more important than any other metric. The greater its ability to capture attention, the greater its potential upside.

There are some very real and identifiable factors that determine how big a coin will grow.

I remember the days when “token economics” seemed really cheesy. It felt too academic, like Wall Street guys in suits trying to get into the clown arena of crypto.

Now, just a few years later, token economics has become widespread and scrutinized. Attention economics feels like a new add-on to the token economics arsenal.

Of course, over time, attention economics and token economics will blur. I’ve said before that I believe the biggest meme coins will evolve into unrecognizable monsters with their own chains, decentralized exchanges, branded apps, etc. (think Pepechain). They will gradually increase in utility (just as we saw with NFTs in the last cycle).

But most importantly, attention is the key to everything, and this is the only thing I consider when buying meme coins. Just capture enough attention, and the world's treasures will appear at your feet.