I just finished reading the discussion about $LIBRA, and it’s definitely a bit shady. It reminded me of a frequently confused concept: Memecoin and Shitcoin may look similar, but they are fundamentally two different things.

First, let’s talk about Memecoin. These coins originate from internet culture, evolving from memes, jokes, and emojis, and are more about community and entertainment. $DOGE is the most classic example, created in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. It was originally a joke about Bitcoin, paying homage to the famous Doge meme. But guess what? This "joke coin" reached a peak market cap of over $40k. The craziest part is that the community raised funds during the 2014 Winter Olympics to sponsor the Jamaican bobsled team and also funded water projects. This isn’t pure speculation; there’s real community spirit behind it.

Then there are $SHIB and $PEPE, which also gained popularity through meme power. When the community gets truly engaged, token prices can skyrocket. These projects are free-spirited and wild, resonating with internet culture. $SHIB once hit a market cap of $4 billion, and although $PEPE isn’t as high as $DOGE, it’s performed quite well.

Now, let’s talk about Shitcoin. The term is pejorative, referring to cryptocurrencies of extremely poor quality, worthless, or outright scams. They usually lack technical support, relying solely on hype to "pump and dump," then disappear overnight. On Reddit and BitcoinTalk, people often complain about these projects, saying "useless, doomed to fail," with investors losing everything. Tokens like $LIBRA and $MELANIA are typical shitcoins—short-lived, full of speculation, and lacking soul.

Here’s the question: many people treat all Memecoins as shitcoins. But that’s really unfair. How can projects like $DOGE, with strong community support and real use cases, be lumped together with pure shitcoins? Conversely, not all shitcoins are Memecoins; some projects claiming to be utility tokens can also turn into shitcoins.

The fundamental difference is: Memecoin has a story, and its value is a collective belief. It brings people together through humor and keeps them engaged through a sense of belonging. $DOGE can be used for tipping on X, and $PEPE allows holders to "own" a part of internet history. Richard Dawkins defined Meme in "The Selfish Gene" as a "unit of culture" that spreads like a virus. Memecoin is an evolution of this: from internet memes to tokens, community amplifies its value, blockchain accelerates replication, and over 40k new Memecoins are born every day.

But what about Shitcoin? Essentially, it’s a project without cultural support. Once the team runs off, investors become prey. They lack emotional resonance; they’re just blindly following trends without contributing any narrative.

Although Memecoin and Shitcoin may seem similar on the surface, they are fundamentally opposed. Memecoin is driven by memes and community, while Shitcoin relies on speculation and abandonment. Shitcoins do enormous harm to the entire crypto culture: scams destroy trust, poor imitations stifle innovation, and market manipulation leads to tighter regulation.

In the future, as more community-driven Memecoins emerge, they may continue to break traditional crypto rules. But we also need to be cautious not to let the shadow of Shitcoin overshadow the Memecoin ecosystem. True Memecoins are archives of internet subculture, while Shitcoins are just parasites.