MEMECOINS：笑话加密货币的兴起正在吸引年轻的新加坡投资者

Memecoins是加密货币，通常以笑话或病毒模因开始。像许多其他加密货币一样，Memecoins也没有明显的使用，也没有由真实资产的支持，因此它们仅根据人们愿意为其支付的钱而受到重视。

A Singaporean investor, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times that he started investing in Bitcoin in 2021 after hearing about it from his friends.

一位拒绝透露姓名的新加坡投资者告诉《海峡时报》，他从朋友那里听到了他的朋友后，于2021年开始投资比特币。

But two months later, he decided to pull out his money from Bitcoin and park it in memecoins instead, as the latter offered a much lower barrier to entry, with many costing less than US$1 (S$1.37) a coin.

但是两个月后，他决定从比特币中掏出钱，然后将其停在Memecoins中，因为后者提供的入境障碍要低得多，许多硬币的价格低于1美元（1.37美元）。

If he gets lucky, his memecoins will give him outsized returns when they soar in value. “I have very little to lose and a lot to gain,” he told The Straits Times.

如果他幸运的话，他的成员将在价值飙升时给他带来超大的回报。他告诉《海峡时报》：“我几乎没有损失，要收获很多。”

Rising popularity of memecoins among Singaporean investors

新加坡投资者中成年人的普及不断提高

Memecoins are cryptocurrencies that often begin with a joke or a viral meme. Like many other cryptocurrencies, memecoins have no obvious use and are not backed by real assets, so they are simply valued based on what people are willing to pay for them.

Memecoins是加密货币，通常以笑话或病毒模因开始。像许多其他加密货币一样，Memecoins也没有明显的使用，也没有由真实资产的支持，因此它们仅根据人们愿意为其支付的钱而受到重视。

The original memecoin – Dogecoin – emerged in 2013, but it was only after endorsements by tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2021 that it became mainstream.

最初的Memecoin（Dogecoin）出现在2013年，但直到2021年技术亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的认可才成为主流。

Memecoins re-entered the spotlight in 2023, with several new dog-themed coins, such as Floki Inu and Tamadoge, reaping in billions of dollars, at least on paper.

Memecoins在2023年重新引起了人们的关注，其中有几枚以狗为主题的硬币，例如Floki Inu和Tamadoge，至少在纸上获得了数十亿美元的收获。

TikTok trend of cryptocurrency in Singapore

新加坡加密货币的Tiktok趋势

ST has yet to come across any published studies that look at the popularity of memecoins among Singaporean investors specifically.

ST尚未遇到任何已发表的研究，这些研究专门研究新加坡投资者中的Memecoins的普及。

However, a 2024 survey by Independent Reserve – a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian – found that 44 per cent of Gen Z investors in Singapore own memecoins.

但是，一项由加密货币交易所和保管人进行的独立保护区的2024年调查发现，新加坡自己的Z投资者有44％的投资者。

Conversely, older investors have a smaller appetite for this asset class, with only 12 per cent of Baby Boomers reporting that they own memecoins.

相反，年长的投资者对该资产类别的胃口较小，只有12％的婴儿潮一代报告说他们拥有Memecoins。

In terms of awareness, Gen Zs topped the charts, with 80 per cent of them being aware of memecoins.

就意识而言，Z Gen Sp榜首，其中80％的人意识到了Memecoins。

As for memecoins, young millennials aged 26 to 35 and Gen Zs were the most clued in, with 70 per cent and 75 per cent being aware of them respectively.

至于Memecoins，年龄在26至35岁之间的年轻千禧一代和Z世代最有可能，其中70％和75％的人意识到了它们。

Mr Ahmed said: “Memecoins have brought a lot of buzz to the cryptocurrency space in recent years.”

艾哈迈德（Ahmed）先生说：“近年来，Memecoins引起了加密货币空间的嗡嗡声。”

“While some see it as just hype, it has undeniably brought a massive wave of new users into the space.”

“虽然有些人将其视为炒作，但无可否认，它将大量新用户带入了该空间。”

For Dr Don Lee, a senior lecturer in finance at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, the rise of memecoins is a “fascinating phenomenon”.

对于新加坡国立大学（NUS）商学院金融高级讲师Don Lee博士来说，Memecoins的兴起是一种“令人着迷的现象”。

He said: “Memecoins give people a system to transfer money and something to laugh about – why wouldn’t you put money in it?”

他说：“ Memecoins为人们提供了一个转移资金的系统，还有一些要笑的东西 - 您为什么不把钱投入其中？”

Growing frustration at the rising costs of living, and the banality of working a nine-to-five job, has also drawn many to the get-rich-quick potential of memecoins, said Mr Ahmed.

艾哈迈德说，对生活成本的上涨以及工作九到五个工作的平庸性越来越令人沮丧，这也吸引了许多成员的富裕潜力。

“To put it simply – no risk, no ‘Rarri (Ferarri)’,” said Mr Tan, poking fun at a slogan used by cryptocurrency influencers on social media.

谭先生说：“简而言之 - 没有风险，没有'rarri（ferarri）'。”

Akin to gambling or buying a lottery ticket, memecoins are attractive as their possible returns are asymmetric, said Dr Lee.

李博士说，类似于赌博或购买彩票，Memecoins很有吸引力，因为他们的可能收益是不对称的。

“You put in a little, but the potential gain is rapid and outsized,” he said.

他说：“您投入了一点，但潜在的收益迅速而巨大。”

The pervasiveness of cryptocurrency success stories online has also contributed to its appeal.

网上加密货币成功案例的普遍性也有助于其吸引力。

“I see a lot of people around the same age as me – very young, getting into memecoins,” said Dr Lee.

李博士说：“我看到很多人与我相同的年龄 - 很年轻，进入成员。”

But Dr Lee warns that online narratives on cryptocurrency may be biased, as those who lose money may not be inclined to divulge their losses.

但是李博士警告说，在线叙述有关加密货币的叙述可能会有偏见，因为那些损失金钱的人可能不愿意泄露他们的损失。

He added that memecoins are largely unregulated, which makes it easy for them to be manipulated.

他补充说，模因在很大程度上不受限制，这使他们容易被操纵。

Dr Lee said: “Memecoins are very much a Wild Wild West, so things that are illegal in equity, like insider trading – or trading before news is released – may occur.”

李博士说：“纪念物是一个非常野生的西部，因此可能发生股权，例如内幕交易或新闻发布之前的交易 - 可能发生非法的事物。”

Pump and dump – a phenomenon where investors coordinate the buying of a coin to “pump” up its prices, and later “dump” their shares at inflated prices – may also happen.

泵和垃圾场 - 一种现象，即投资者协调购买硬币以“抽出”价格的购买，后来以夸张的价格“倾倒”其股票。

For regulated assets such as stocks, pump and dump schemes are illegal.

对于诸如股票之类的受监管资产，泵和垃圾箱方案是非法的。

“This is to protect all the investors, as markets should not just be a playground for a group of people to manipulate prices to benefit themselves,” said Dr Lee.

李博士说：“这是为了保护所有投资者，因为市场不仅应该成为一群人操纵价格以使自己受益的游乐场。”

Investors also have to be prepared for wild swings in their portfolio values.

投资者还必须为其投资组合价值的野外摆动做好准备。

Mr Tan said he invested about 70 per cent of his savings into memecoins in 2023.

谭先生说，他在2023年将大约70％的储蓄投资于Memecoins。

At the time of this interview, his portfolio was valued at around 200 per cent of his initial investment.

在接受采访时，他的投资组合的价值约占他最初投资的200％。

“In 2023, I was able to quit my job and travel the world,” he said.

他说：“在2023年，我能够辞职并环游世界。”

Dr Lee said that investors may still consider memecoins, but should proceed with caution.

李博士说，投资者仍可能会考虑成员，但应谨慎行事。

“It’s a high-risk, high-return asset

“这是高风险，高回报的资产