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In Memecoins We Trust – The New Economics of Belonging

Memecoins are supposed to be a joke… right?

And yet, here we are – watching billions of dollars move on the backs of tokens named after dogs, frogs, and political figures.
We used to scoff at things like Dogecoin… a cryptocurrency inspired by a Shiba Inu meme.
Created as satire… born to mock the seriousness of Bitcoin, and yet… at one point, worth more than Ford Motor Company?
What are we even doing?

Memecoins are a strange beast.

They’re not built to be useful.
They’re not trying to solve economic inequality or fix cross-border payments.
They exist because the internet loves chaos (almost as much as it loves memes)… and speculation… and fandom.

As a reminder:

They are more like digital collectibles than currencies.
Scarcity doesn’t always matter… neither does utility… what matters is… vibe… community… a weird mix of irony and belief that maybe (just maybe) this one will go “to the moon.”
You don’t analyze a memecoin the way you analyze a tech stock (well, you really shouldn’t).

You meme it… you tweet it… you pump it.

If enough people believe it has value, then it does… for a while (or until it doesn’t).
And that’s why they keep coming back.
There’s something addictive about watching value emerge from pure internet energy.
It’s gambling meets culture meets a new kind of ComicCon.

Casinos with Discord servers.

Slot machines disguised as movements.
And sure, some people win big.
Mostly, though, the creators win.

Because here’s the truth: memecoins don’t have to go up forever.

They just have to move.
If you’re behind the token… you profit from the churn.
The trading volume is the game.
Fees add up.
Attention compounds.
And the biggest wallets rarely need to sell to win… they earn while the crowd plays musical chairs.

Lately, we’ve seen memecoins get more personal.

Less about dogs… more about identity.
They’re not economic instruments… they’re status symbols.
Digital flags people fly to show allegiance… to culture… to influencers… and even to politicians.
Some coins are now offering perks… access, events, maybe even dinner with a certain high-profile individual.
That’s not crypto… that’s something much older: a pay-to-play model wrapped in blockchain branding.

So no, memecoins aren’t the future of money.

But they might be a glimpse into the future of status and belonging.
The question isn’t whether they’re real… it’s whether we’re okay with value being defined not by what something does, but by who’s willing to buy in.
But always remember that’s not finance.
That’s fandom.

And in 2025… maybe that’s the new economy?

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM.

Mitch Joel · In Memecoins We Trust – The New Economics of Belonging – The Elias Makos Show – CJAD 800

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.