Year in a word: Memecoin

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"}],[{"start":7.87,"text":"noun) joke-based crypto tokens with bafflingly enduring appeal "}],[{"start":12.469999999999999,"text":"The anarchic streak to markets is thriving in the world of memecoins — an “asset class” (for lack of a better word) targeting those who find the wild west of crypto just not wild enough. "}],[{"start":22.49,"text":"The biggest crypto asset is bitcoin — essentially a line of code created by computers firing sums at each other to which the wisdom of crowds now attaches a value of almost $100,000 apiece. "},{"start":33.343999999999994,"text":"True believers have made great fortunes here, despite the currency’s lack of everyday utility or underlying institutions and revenues. "},{"start":40.424,"text":"Its value has more than doubled in 2024, thanks in no small part to Donald Trump’s crypto curiosity. "}],[{"start":46.93,"text":"Enthusiasts insist bitcoin is the future of money and the foundation for a new financial order. "},{"start":52.284,"text":"But it is just one crypto asset among thousands. "},{"start":55.152,"text":"Memecoin backers make no such claims, and explicitly celebrate their silliness rooted in the ephemera of social media crazes. "},{"start":62.094,"text":"Generally, these things are worth fractions of pennies individually but, in total, the “value” sometimes runs to billions. "}],[{"start":69.88,"text":"The best-known is dogecoin, based on an internet-famous dog and beloved of Elon Musk. "},{"start":74.884,"text":"It is no coincidence that Musk’s role in the Trump 2.0 administration is co-heading the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge. "}],[{"start":83.03999999999999,"text":"But it gets much, much sillier. "},{"start":85.657,"text":"Breakthrough memecoin stars of 2024 include Moo Deng, based on a Thai pygmy hippo; PNUT — a nod to a euthanised squirrel beloved of the US rightwing, and Hawk Tuah, launched by a young woman propelled to internet stardom by an off-the-cuff lewd comment. "}],[{"start":100.89999999999999,"text":"Buy early, and if others follow, you can scoop up huge profits. "},{"start":105.267,"text":"Buy late and you can quickly find yourself holding something worthless, as many buyers of the Hawk Tuah coin found out. "},{"start":111.38399999999999,"text":"It’s two fingers up to the financial establishment, and not for the cautious or faint of heart. "}],[{"start":116.03999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftmailbox.cn/album/186180-1734943275.mp3"}