Evolution of meme coins: how one vote in 20 minutes changed the market

The meme coin market is experiencing an unprecedented boom. While at the beginning of the cycle, the wave was driven by MYRO and WIF, today the scenario is radically different. A speech at TOKEN2049 by one of the key players in this movement became a turning point, attracting billions to the cult meme sector and prompting a reevaluation of what drives altcoins.

From Bitcoin maximalist to godfather of cult memes

Murad Mahmudov entered the crypto industry through Bitcoin. A Princeton University graduate, he first encountered digital assets in Beijing in 2013 and has since become an advocate for BTC supremacy. His early works — (Bitcoin’s Ultimate Argument) and (Bitcoin: Past and Future) — reflected pure maximalism.

Until 2016, Murad worked in traditional finance: Goldman Sachs, Glencore. Only after retiring did he fully dedicate himself to cryptocurrencies. In 2017–2018, Murad built a community of tens of thousands of members, was recognized as one of the leading Bitcoin analysts, and increased his portfolio fivefold over seven months.

However, in 2019, the fund he founded, Adaptive Capital, faced a collapse. The March 2020 crash revealed the fund’s infrastructure was insufficient for risk management. After bankruptcy, Murad stepped back from active social media activity but did not leave the crypto sector.

Turning to memes: selection system and philosophy

In 2022, Murad returned to social media with a new idea. The main difference — he stopped seeing memes as merely speculative tools. Starting in early 2024, Murad systematically studied meme coins from first principles, participating in Discord groups and Telegram chats of various projects for six to seven months.

His selection criteria proved to be scientific and reproducible:

• Market capitalization: from $5 million to $200 million — an optimal range for growth without huge volumes
• Blockchains: priority on Solana and Ethereum, as whales accumulate capital on these networks
• Age: at least six months; time cannot be faked and serves as an indicator of genuine project commitment
• Stability check: projects must survive at least two 70% drops, demonstrating community resilience

The results are impressive. SPX grew from $20 million in July to $545 million by January 2026. WIF maintains a position at $374 million, POPCAT — $94 million, GIGA — $42 million. PEPE, in a separate category, reaches $2.46 billion.

Price and trust index

Murad developed a unique approach called the “price and trust index.” The idea is simple: look for assets with extreme community belief but low price. This is an intermediate position between institutional funds buying high-marked assets and Pump.Fun speculators hoping to turn 2 SOL into 20 SOL.

Murad’s main discovery: the best meme coins possess features that almost all altcoins lack. They bring joy, reduce loneliness, create identity. Where DAOs promised decentralized governance, meme coins offer a real community, emotional connection, meaning, and entertainment.

Cult meme theory and the future of the sector

At TOKEN2049, Murad presented a bold thesis: 99.999% of altcoins are essentially memoids, requiring additional justification. The main insight: meme coins will capture value from venture tokens simply because people are gradually realizing the illusion of their economic models.

According to this logic, crypto projects will split into two categories: income-generating and non-income. If a project does not generate cash flows, it must compete on speculative premium. In this field, meme coins are more honest — they do not claim utility; they offer a cult.

Murad’s philosophy is fueled by deep macroeconomic trends. Excess money in the system, growing loneliness, lack of meaning — this combination inevitably directs capital into highly speculative assets. Instead of accumulating traditional assets, people seek meaning in communities with extreme belief.

A cult meme is not a joke but a religion of the future. It provides belonging, meaning, guidance. In the crypto context, this means a revolution in understanding money and trading, where belief in a coin replaces belief in God.

What’s next?

The current form of meme coins is still in its infancy. Most projects chase quick price pumps as a marketing tool. But future cult memes could integrate with lifestyle products, becoming true cultural phenomena rather than just financial instruments.

Murad’s speech at the conference lasted 20 minutes, but its influence extends beyond a single event. It reshaped the understanding of how speculation works in crypto and showed that the greatest asset is not technology but the culture of people who believe in the same thing.