特朗普，詹納和模因硬幣的不可避免的興起

模因硬幣（一種加密貨幣）易於製作，易於購買。它們的成本在一小部分和每單位15盧比之間。

They’re a bit like the novelty T-shirts one buys on impulse; the kind that say “Here for #RishGotHerMan” or “Family Trip Survivor”.

它們有點像一個新穎的T卹，一個人在Impulse上購買。那種說“在這里為#rishgotherman”或“家庭旅行倖存者”。

Meme coins — a type of cryptocurrency — are easy to make, easy to buy. They cost between a fraction of a paise and ₹15 per unit. They are churned out, sometimes as an in-joke and sometimes by celebrities, to build on a sense of fandom or community.

模因硬幣（一種加密貨幣）易於製作，易於購買。它們的成本在一小部分和每單位15盧比之間。他們被淘汰，有時是在笑話中，有時是被名人的努力，以建立在狂熱或社區的感覺上。

And yet… Presidents are now launching them; billions are being made.

然而……總統現在正在推出他們；正在製造數十億美元。

In January, US President Donald Trump launched $Trump, so fans could show their support, “celebrate our win and have fun”. People have collectively paid more than $350 million for these tokens, since mid-January.

一月份，美國總統唐納德·特朗普（Donald Trump）推出了$ trump，因此球迷可以表達他們的支持：“慶祝我們的勝利並獲得樂趣”。自1月中旬以來，人們為這些代幣支付了超過3.5億美元的費用。

US First Lady Melania Trump launched a meme coin, Melania, as a “digital collectible intended to function as an expression of support”. Influencer and one-time Olympic gold-winning decathlete Caitlyn Jenner has one, named JENNER. So do singer Jason Derulo ($JASON), rapper Cardi B (WAP) and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (MOTHER).

美國第一夫人梅拉尼亞·特朗普（Melania Trump）推出了一個模因硬幣梅拉尼亞（Melania），作為“旨在作為支持表達的數字收藏品”。有影響力的人和一次奧運會金牌獎十致者Caitlyn Jenner有一個名叫Jenner。歌手Jason Derulo（$ Jason），說唱歌手Cardi B（WAP）和澳大利亞說唱歌手Iggy Azalea（母親）也是如此。

The tokens, as Trump’s website states, are not “the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type”.

正如特朗普的網站所述，該令牌不是“投資機會，投資合同或任何類型的安全性的主題”。

And yet, the industry has ballooned to a market capitalisation (the total value of all the meme coins in circulation) of nearly $49 billion, according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinMarketCap.

然而，根據Cryptocurrency TrackMarketCap的數據，該行業已經激增了近490億美元的市值（所有模因硬幣的總價值）。

And, in February, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of Central African Republic launched $CAR, in an “experiment” to draw investors and boost its economy. (The coin has had a rocky start, but still currently represents $15.56 million.)

而且，2月，中非共和國總統福斯丁·阿爾·塔圖拉（Faustin-ArchangeTouadéra）在“實驗”中推出了$ car，以吸引投資者並促進其經濟。 （硬幣的起步有艱難的開端，但目前仍代表1556萬美元。）

How did we get here?

我們是怎麼到達這裡的？

It all began, of course, with Doge, which was launched as a joke.

當然，這一切都是從Doge開始的，Doge是開玩笑的。

In 2013, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created the world’s first such token, named for the meme about the confused-looking Shiba Inu dog.

2013年，軟件工程師比利·馬克斯（Billy Markus）和傑克遜·帕爾默（Jackson Palmer）創建了世界上第一個這樣的象徵，以關於困惑的志ba Inu狗的模因命名。

If Bitcoin (launched in 2009) could be considered real money, they demanded, why not this crypto coin based on a meme?

他們要求，如果比特幣（2009年推出）被視為真錢，為什麼不基於模因的加密硬幣？

It too had to be developed using coding and blockchain.

它也必須使用編碼和區塊鏈開發。

If enough people bought in, could it be considered legitimate currency as well?

如果有足夠的人購買，它也可以被視為合法的貨幣嗎？

The joke backfired almost immediately. Doge became trendy, as “a community-driven digital currency, particularly for tipping and charitable donations,” says David S Krause, a blockchain researcher and emeritus associate professor of finance at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

這個笑話幾乎立即適得其反。 Doge成為“一種社區驅動的數字貨幣，特別是用於小費和慈善捐款”的時尚，”密爾沃基Marquette大學的區塊鏈研究員兼名譽副教授David S Krause說。

By the end of that year, Doge was worth nearly $8 million. Then Elon Musk invested in it, and began to accept it as payment for Tesla accessories. More recently, the US government helpfully named the cost-cutting squad Musk heads the Department of Government Efficiency. All this has helped raise Doge valuations to about $25.5 billion.

到那年年底，Doge價值近800萬美元。然後，埃隆·馬斯克（Elon Musk）投資了它，並開始接受它作為特斯拉配件的付款。最近，美國政府有助於裁定削減成本的小隊負責政府效率部。所有這些都幫助將估值提高到了約255億美元。

Meanwhile, millions of other meme coins now sit around, uselessly, across the ethosphere.

同時，現在毫無用處地圍繞著整個層坐著數百萬其他模因硬幣。

There’s one named for Pepe the Frog of the Boy’s Club comics (Pepe). Another named after a favourite condiment (GRLC). Even nicher ones play on interests in scatological humour, pornography, and sheer silliness (PINEOWL, for a wished-for hybrid of a pineapple and an owl).

有一個男孩俱樂部漫畫（Pepe）的青蛙佩佩（Pepe）命名。另一個以最喜歡的調味品（GRLC）命名。即使是尼歇爾（Nicher）的人對刻板的幽默，色情和純粹的愚蠢（Pineowl，是菠蘿和貓頭鷹的雜種）的興趣。

There has been a boom since January 2024, when the cryptocurrency launchpad Pump.Fun made it possible to create a meme coin with a few clicks (in exchange for a 1% fee on each trade, and further charges as a coin gets more popular).

自2024年1月以來，當時的加密貨幣發射台泵就一直繁榮起來。Fun使創建一個單擊幾下的模因硬幣成為可能（以換取每筆交易的1％費用，並且隨著硬幣的進一步收費變得更加受歡迎）。

Mint condition

薄荷條件

Meme coins currently account for about 1.79% of the total cryptocurrency market (which is worth an estimated $2.74 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap).

Meme硬幣目前約佔加密貨幣總市場的1.79％（根據CoinMarketCap的數據，估計價值2.7.4萬億美元）。

They exist in a dense regulatory grey area.

它們存在於密集的監管灰色區域。

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February stated that, in its view, they are collectibles rather than securities, and as such cannot really be monitored or governed.

美國證券交易委員會（SEC）在2月指出，他們認為它們是收藏品而不是證券，因此無法真正受到監控或管理。

They “typically are purchased for entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes… have limited or no use or functionality… do not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business. In other words, a meme coin is not itself a security,” the SEC website states.

SEC網站指出，它們“通常是用於娛樂，社會互動和文化目的的用於娛樂，社會互動和文化目的……沒有使用或沒有功能……不要產生收益率或傳達企業的未來收入，利潤或資產的權利。換句話說，模因硬幣本身並不是安全性，” SEC網站說。

It’s like Monopoly money, if Monopoly money were to suddenly become tradeable.

就像壟斷貨幣一樣，如果壟斷貨幣突然變得可以交易。

Rates are determined, incidentally, by trading volumes on crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.

順便說一句，通過在Binance，Coinbase和Kraken等加密交易所進行交易來確定利率。

These trading volumes are driven purely on speculation, hype cycles and the actions of whatever community “buys in on the joke”, says Kashyap Kompella, who researches and consults on artificial intelligence, blockchain, automation and emerging technologies.

研究和諮詢人工智能，區塊鏈，自動化和新興技術的Kashyap Kompella說，這些交易量純粹是基於猜測，炒作週期和任何社區的行為。

This makes them uniquely risk-laden.

這使它們具有獨特的風險。

The $Trump coin, for instance, has seen valuations rise from less than $10 to $70 and

例如，$特朗普硬幣的估值從不到$ 10上升到70美元，