Ryan Watkins@RyanWatkins_
𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚, 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Two weeks ago, the President of the United States launched a memecoin on Solana. It hit $70B in two days.
Yet today, I still don’t think the market has fully processed the second- and third-order effects. So here’s my best attempt to make sense of it all.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐰 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧.
If the President can launch a memecoin, why can’t every politician? Every celebrity? Every community? Why can’t you?
Trump’s new crypto czar, David Sacks, recently called memecoins collectibles — akin to NFTs. It’s not an official designation, but it signals something bigger: regulatory clarity is coming. And with it, the floodgates will open.
In fact, this isn’t just a memecoin boom — it’s an explosion of assets. Bigger than anything we saw in 2024. And to understand why, you have to see memecoins for what they really are: a Trojan Horse for Internet Capital Markets.
𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐅𝐢.
Trump’s memecoin isn’t just a collectible. It’s an experiment in SocialFi.
The first signs of this can already be observed in a handful of licensed Trump product websites, including GetTrumpWatches, GetTrumpFragrances and GetTrumpSneakers, now accepting $TRUMP for payments. What he’s doing is bootstrapping utility for it as a type of social currency. And it shouldn’t be surprising either because plenty of world leaders in history have attempted to do so (create their own money).
I’d even go as far as to say that most memecoins are already prototypes for social currencies. Crude, speculative, and mostly worthless — but they are evolving. Over time, they may become assets tied to real economic value produced by a person, community, or network.
This is already happening in the AI agent sector, where teams are backfilling utility after launch.
𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 — 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥.
There is a strong chance that 2024 was SocialFi’s false start, while 2025 will be its breakout year.
Abstract, Tribe, CloutMe, Kaito, and others are laying the groundwork for a level of social virality crypto has never seen before. Streaming, Social Trading, Paid-Groups, Attention Markets, it’s all not dissimilar from memecoins — capturing and monetizing attention.
And it won’t stop there.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲.
If individuals can launch memecoins, why can’t businesses?
This isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon — it’s global. If Vine and Jelly Jelly are any indication, we’re on the verge of an explosion of new “startup” assets on blockchains, especially Solana. Some will have utility. Some will be outright scams as expected. But a handful may create lasting societal value.
“Internet capital markets,” as they say at the Solana Foundation.
One global, unified substrate for finance—open to everyone.
The dot-com boom may look small in comparison.
And maybe, in hindsight, we’ll call what’s coming the dot-fun boom — the era of unconstrained, rapid financial experimentation on blockchains.
Of course, this is all speculation. Directionally, I may be right, but by magnitude could easily be wrong.
Figured I’d share my unfiltered thoughts anyways.
NFA.
