Meme Trading Frenzy: The "Fuck It" Attitude in Desperation and the Economic Counterattack of Young People

Author: Jason Choi

Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow

I read some blogs by VCs about memes. There are some interesting points, and I sincerely respect all the bloggers.

But personally, I think the existence of these articles is precisely why people trade memes. No, memes are not a Trojan horse for culture at the moment; I don't even think they are a particularly effective market entry strategy.

I understand the need to describe memes in this way to make partners feel comfortable—I’ve had partners too. But let’s face it, you and I trade memes for one reason: "Fuck it."

Let me explain. This is just a continuation of a larger trend you see in developed countries around the world: the future promised to the older generation is no longer owned by the younger people. The dreams of my parents' generation were to have a stable good job, buy a house, and raise two kids. When I was in college, the most common dream was to become a billionaire tech founder.

Why?

On one hand, it’s because everyone has seen "The Social Network," completely missing the point of the movie and idolizing Zuckerberg. (The same goes for "The Wolf of Wall Street," but that’s another topic.)

But it could also be because since 1985, the median home price has risen by 80% after adjusting for inflation, and the price-to-income ratio of homes is more than twice that of our grandparents.

It could also be because today, 50% of people earn less than their parents did at age 30, while in 1940, that figure was over 90%.

It could also be because the world seems wealthier than ever, yet somehow, the wealth that young people inherit is less than half of what it used to be.

It could also be because simply working hard and being a good employee no longer provides you with the same opportunities as it did for your parents.

So, if there’s no way to move up the social ladder and the future is just about scraping by, why not give it a try and see if you can become the next dropout billionaire entrepreneur?

Then, cryptocurrency is like an extension of Trenbolone. Nowadays, nearly two-thirds of young adults believe the stock market is a good way to accumulate wealth. But 90% of young people are broke due to rising living costs and cannot invest at an average return rate of 7% per year.

Therefore, due to the enormous volatility of cryptocurrencies, you hear stories of people becoming rich overnight; its emergence feels like an unresolved game—if you are early enough, smart enough, and maybe a bit reckless, you have a chance to live a good life.

To outsiders, this seems much more respectable than a casino, and it inspires the intellect of us smart boys and girls.

You might say, "Well, actually… since the 1600s with the Dutch tulip bulb traders, humanity has been attracted to the speculative game of 'quick money'! You should read 'Devil Takes the Hindmost.'"

But the point I want to make is that phenomena driven by greed in history are increasingly driven by desperation now. Want to feel this atmosphere? Talk to people in their 20s from places like Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States.

To live a comfortable life, young people must make increasingly distant life decisions on the risk curve.

And they know that this is largely due to the financial decisions made by the previous generation.

Now, this generation also wants to take the crypto game away from them through regulation.

They canceled ICOs under the pretense of protecting you, so when these coins finally go public, you can buy them at 500 times the seed price.

They call it "rat poison," while charging hefty fees from customers buying cryptocurrencies.

Oh, those customers? Yes, the same cabal—injecting billions into venture capital funds, trying to privatize more and more games.

This is why people trade memes.

Yes, it’s greed, it’s "buying tokens with no massive oversupply," it’s a gambling game designed for the ADHD generation whose brains have been corroded by smartphones.

But it’s also a "fuck it"—an attitude that nothing else works.

But more importantly, it’s a "fuck it"—a backlash against what they believe is a failed generation.

But more importantly, this "fuck it" is a message from young people to the generation they believe has let them down. It is this generation that is now trying to take away what seems to offer them an escape through incomprehensible regulations and increasingly privatized opportunities.

Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe memes really are the next great market entry strategy for startups.