Memes, NFTs, and the Art of Getting In Early | by Chip Mahoney | The Capital | Feb, 2025
“Looking across all wallets that had an absolute gain or loss of more than $1,000, we find a total of 15,431 wallets. Out of these, 86.07% of the addresses have realized losses amounting to $251 million.”
-Nansen Research in regards to Meme Coins
There was a time when memes were just inside jokes of the internet — glorious, ridiculous, and fleeting. Now, they’re investment vehicles, spun into memecoins and NFTs that flood the blockchain like confetti after a championship win. The problem? Most of them are worthless. But, buried beneath the sea of digital junk, there’s a method to the madness — one that can make early movers absurdly wealthy.
The rise of memecoins has been explosive, fueled by FOMO, insider trading, and absurd speculation. Political-themed coins like LIBRA have made and destroyed fortunes overnight. The playbook is predictable: a handful of insiders get in first, social media ignites the fire, and retail traders pile in, only to be left holding the bag when the liquidity dries up.
