特朗普，詹纳和模因硬币的不可避免的兴起

模因硬币（一种加密货币）易于制作，易于购买。它们的成本在一小部分和每单位15卢比之间。

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

它们有点像一个新颖的T恤，一个人在Impulse上购买。那种说“在这里为#rishgotherman”或“家庭旅行幸存者”。

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.

模因硬币（一种加密货币）易于制作，易于购买。它们的成本在一小部分和每单位15卢比之间。他们被淘汰，有时是在笑话中，有时是被名人的努力，以建立在狂热或社区的感觉上。

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

然而……总统现在正在推出他们；正在制造数十亿美元。

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，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）推出了$ trump，因此球迷可以表达他们的支持：“庆祝我们的胜利并获得乐趣”。自1月中旬以来，人们为这些代币支付了超过3.5亿美元的费用。

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).

美国第一夫人梅拉尼亚·特朗普（Melania Trump）推出了一个模因硬币梅拉尼亚（Melania），作为“旨在作为支持表达的数字收藏品”。有影响力的人和一次奥运会金牌奖十致者Caitlyn Jenner有一个名叫Jenner。歌手Jason Derulo（$ Jason），说唱歌手Cardi B（WAP）和澳大利亚说唱歌手Iggy Azalea（母亲）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”.

正如特朗普的网站所述，该令牌不是“投资机会，投资合同或任何类型的安全性的主题”。

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，根据Cryptocurrency TrackMarketCap的数据，该行业已经激增了近490亿美元的市值（所有模因硬币的总价值）。

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，中非共和国总统福斯丁·阿尔·塔图拉（Faustin-ArchangeTouadéra）在“实验”中推出了$ car，以吸引投资者并促进其经济。 （硬币的起步有艰难的开端，但目前仍代表1556万美元。）

How did we get here?

我们是怎么到达这里的？

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

当然，这一切都是从Doge开始的，Doge是开玩笑的。

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，软件工程师比利·马克斯（Billy Markus）和杰克逊·帕尔默（Jackson Palmer）创建了世界上第一个这样的象征，以关于困惑的志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?

他们要求，如果比特币（2009年推出）被视为真钱，为什么不基于模因的加密硬币？

It too had to be developed using coding and blockchain.

它也必须使用编码和区块链开发。

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

如果有足够的人购买，它也可以被视为合法的货币吗？

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.

这个笑话几乎立即适得其反。 Doge成为“一种社区驱动的数字货币，特别是用于小费和慈善捐款”的时尚，”密尔沃基Marquette大学的区块链研究员兼名誉副教授David S Krause说。

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价值近800万美元。然后，埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）投资了它，并开始接受它作为特斯拉配件的付款。最近，美国政府有助于裁定削减成本的小队负责政府效率部。所有这些都帮助将估值提高到了约255亿美元。

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

同时，现在毫无用处地围绕着整个层坐着数百万其他模因硬币。

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).

有一个男孩俱乐部漫画（Pepe）的青蛙佩佩（Pepe）命名。另一个以最喜欢的调味品（GRLC）命名。即使是尼歇尔（Nicher）的人对刻板的幽默，色情和纯粹的愚蠢（Pineowl，是菠萝和猫头鹰的杂种）的兴趣。

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月以来，当时的加密货币发射台泵就一直繁荣起来。Fun使创建一个单击几下的模因硬币成为可能（以换取每笔交易的1％费用，并且随着硬币的进一步收费变得更加受欢迎）。

Mint condition

薄荷条件

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硬币目前约占加密货币总市场的1.79％（根据CoinMarketCap的数据，估计价值2.7.4万亿美元）。

They exist in a dense regulatory grey area.

它们存在于密集的监管灰色区域。

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.

美国证券交易委员会（SEC）在2月指出，他们认为它们是收藏品而不是证券，因此无法真正受到监控或管理。

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网站指出，它们“通常是用于娱乐，社会互动和文化目的的用于娱乐，社会互动和文化目的……没有使用或没有功能……不要产生收益率或传达企业的未来收入，利润或资产的权利。换句话说，模因硬币本身并不是安全性，” SEC网站说。

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

就像垄断货币一样，如果垄断货币突然变得可以交易。

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

顺便说一句，通过在Binance，Coinbase和Kraken等加密交易所进行交易来确定利率。

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.

研究和咨询人工智能，区块链，自动化和新兴技术的Kashyap Kompella说，这些交易量纯粹是基于猜测，炒作周期和任何社区的行为。

This makes them uniquely risk-laden.

这使它们具有独特的风险。

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

例如，$特朗普硬币的估值从不到$ 10上升到70美元，