What is Vine

Vine was one of the first platforms to popularize short video content. Its core feature was 6-second looping videos, forcing creators to tell a complete story or convey an idea in a very short time. American users started getting accustomed to quick, consumable short video content, and this “short, fast, and quick” model laid the foundation for later platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat.

Vine videos became a part of popular culture, with many iconic clips being repeatedly referenced or imitated, even entering mainstream entertainment. Influencers like Logan Paul and Jake Paul transitioned from Vine stars to YouTube celebrities. King Bach gained fame for his humorous short videos on Vine and later became a well-known actor and producer. Liza Koshy and Shawn Mendes went from Vine’s niche stars to mainstream artists. Despite being acquired by Twitter in 2012 and being shut down in 2016, Vine for American users was not just a short video platform, but the starting point for current individual content creation and fast-consumed cultural dissemination.

How Vine became a token with a market capitalization of 250 million

This morning at 8:17 AM, $Vine, created by Pumpfun, initially seemed no different from previous “meme coins,” until the token surged to a market cap of $30 million. The long-absent Vine founder Rus claimed the coin on his X account and posted a GIF holding the tweet as proof. Meanwhile, multiple addresses buying from CoinBase began dumping their holdings, and the market was flooded with FUD claiming the GIF was AI-generated. Simultaneously, $STONKS, a meme coin that was hijacked and posted on Nasdaq’s account, experienced a waterfall decline. Amid the panic, $Vine’s price plummeted 90%, leaving it with a market cap of just $3 million.

An hour later, in a style reminiscent of Vine’s short videos, Rus posted a 3-second video to prove he wasn’t AI. Meanwhile, multiple addresses ending in “waamGQ,” “MGVWa,” “qedvzf,” and others began buying in large amounts, taking over the top 30 token holders. Most of these addresses are still holding. Later, Rus posted a chart with a Bullx board and the Vine logo, drawing an upward arrow. After this Degen-style tweet, the token’s price surged to a market cap of around $50 million.

Two hours later, it was announced that the DEV wallet’s tokens would be locked until 4:20 PM on April 20th, along with the reposting of several top-tier Alpha Group comments about $Vine. Under the control of a professional team managing the token and amid market expectations surrounding Musk’s renewed discussions about Vine and the dual positive momentum from Vine’s 12th anniversary, the market cap surged. After some consolidation at high levels, it broke through the $400 million market cap. Despite ongoing discussions that Rus launched the token merely to ride on Musk’s popularity without any announcements about Vine’s development, this is the essence of Memecoin: when it shifts from a cultural core to an application core, it transforms from a memecoin to a coin. Thus, the discussion of the underlying interests will not be addressed in this article.

Which Web1.0 and Web2.0 relics could be resurrected in Web3.0

Based on the hype generated by Vine, it’s certain that a series of internet companies that have exited the stage will try to reignite their momentum through crypto. Whether they genuinely seek rebirth or simply aim to profit from attention finance, these actions present opportunities for retail investors in the market.

The President or First Lady may only have this one opportunity in four years, but tech companies have countless chances. Taking Rus’ release of $Vine as an example, companies that include a few key elements are more likely to join this game.

1. The company was a pioneer in a certain field or still remains well-known in a specific region.

2. The company cannot be currently operating successfully, to avoid legal troubles and greater losses later on.

3. The company is related to crypto, whether through the founder’s interest or investment or later acquisition by a crypto team.

Here are a few projects that meet the above criteria:

Napster

Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker in 1999, before Napster, record companies and artists had a close relationship, controlling distribution and promotion. Users could only access new songs through record stores, TV/radio, etc., with physical records being highly profitable, especially in the 1990s when CD sales peaked. Napster used peer-to-peer (P2P) technology to allow users to share MP3 files, creating a global music download network. It quickly gained millions of users. Its decentralized server model made it impossible for record companies to cut off the source, disrupting the traditional music industry. However, due to copyright lawsuits, it was ordered to shut down by the courts in 2001. It significantly impacted the music industry’s model and shaped the subsequent development of digital music platforms like iTunes and Spotify. \
After several acquisitions and transformations, the Napster brand was acquired by Hivemind Capital Partners and Algorand in 2022, with plans to launch a “Napster Web3 Music Platform.” They also announced plans to release a Napster Token, although no token launch has occurred yet.
Napster Twitter: @Napster
Shawn Fanning Twitter: @ShawnFanning
Sean Parker Twitter: @sparker
Hivemind: @HivemindCap
AIgorand: @AlgoFoundation

Myspace

Founded by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, MySpace was later sold to Specific Media, with Justin Timberlake also investing. Before MySpace, internet social interaction was fragmented, with most activity happening in forums, instant messaging, and personal blogs. MySpace allowed users to showcase personalized homepages, interact with friend networks, and access a vast array of music artists. While Napster helped users hear music, MySpace enabled artists to better promote themselves and connect with their fans, laying the foundation for later social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

While MySpace currently has little to do with crypto, I believe the tweet by founder Tom Anderson from three years ago, “Buying the dip” with laser eyes, fits the meme culture perfectly.

Tom Anderson : @myspacetom

Chris Dewolfe : @Chris_DeWolfe

Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a well-known Silicon Valley investor, expressed his intention to launch his own MemeCoin on X in response to $Trump’s release. The mechanism is largely the same, with the only difference being that all profits will go toward filling the U.S. Treasury. The market has been excited about this approach, as players prefer more transparency compared to the potential profits going into individuals’ pockets. While every businessman’s actions are likely driven by a consideration of risks and rewards, the narrative behind this meme coin is indeed something to look forward to.

Mark Cuban: @mcuban

Netscape

Founded in 1994 by Marc Andreessen and co-founder Jim Clark, Netscape is famous for its Netscape Navigator browser, which ushered in the era of commercial web browsers. Currently, there is no Twitter account for Jim Clark or Netscape.

LimeWire

Like Napster, LimeWire was launched in 2000 as a P2P file-sharing software commonly used for downloading music, videos, and more. It was shut down around 2010 due to copyright and infringement disputes. In 2022, Austrian entrepreneurs Paul and Julian Zehetmayr acquired the LimeWire brand and rebranded it as an NFT trading platform. Although the platform already has a token, it’s possible that the founders might release a MemeCoin.

Paul Zehetmayr: @pzehetmayr

Julian Zehetmayr: @julianzehetmayr

Yahoo!

In 1994, Jerry Yang and David Filo founded Yahoo, which had global leadership in portal search, email, instant messaging, and more. It was a dominant force in internet traffic, and during a time when the internet was just beginning to take off in China, Yahoo was nearly a household name. After leaving Yahoo, Jerry Yang founded AME Cloud Ventures, which invests in tech and startup projects, including some in the crypto space.

Jerry Yang, David Filo: No X

AME Cloud Ventures website: “amecloudventures.com“

AME Managing Director Jeff Chung: @jefchung

Apart from the projects mentioned above, many other notable products from that era may participate in this movement. Whether it’s bringing the 00s nostalgia back to this era or just a new round of MemeCoin play, the impact of TrumpCoin is gradually spreading. As influencers become more reckless in launching tokens, it’s important to stay calm and avoid SCAMs while following Alpha.

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