"Financial Rebellion" of American young people: Betting on MEME to seek a turnaround, satirizing cultural meme coins to become popular

Author: Nancy, PANews

Recently, emerging MEME coins such as RFC, House and TROLL have quickly become popular. These meme cultures full of nonsensical, absurd and even black humor have not only become speculative tools that Generation Z is keen on, but also carry young people's rebellious sentiment towards the traditional financial system and social rules, reflecting an alternative financial culture picture with the imprint of the times.

Generation Z's "financial rebellion" bet on MEME coins to make a comeback

A few days ago, a report from the Washington Post revealed a financial trend that is quietly emerging among young Americans: more and more Generation Z are seeing MEME coins as an alternative path to realizing the "American Dream". Under the real pressures of high housing prices, heavy student debt, and slow wage growth, traditional ways to get rich (such as buying a house and savings pension) are becoming increasingly out of reach for them. This disappointment with the existing financial system is driving a grassroots wealth "rebellion". Compared with traditional financial management tools, this generation is more willing to invest in the highly volatile MEME currency market. Even if it only bets for a few hundred dollars, it hopes to get rich overnight.

The data cited by the article shows that the participation of young Americans in the cryptocurrency field is significantly higher than that of older people: 42% of men aged 18 to 29 have participated in crypto activities (investment, transaction or use), and 17% of women; while among those over 50, 11% of men and only 5% of women.

The report outlines the reality of this trend through multiple real cases. For example, Yuvia Mendoza, 25, hopes to be the next "Roaring Kitty", creates tokens to save the bankrupt restaurant chain Hooters, and once used cryptocurrency to buy T-shirts from waiters in an attempt to "empower" the tokens. Despite the ultimate price plummeting, she continued to be active in the MEME currency circle, turning to other projects, trying to capture potential wealth explosion points from it.

Joe McCann, founder and CEO of crypto hedge fund Asymmetric, pointed out that some of the "financial nihilism" of Gen Z are pushing them into the crypto world. Carrying high student loans and being more likely to live with parents, this generation considers 401(k) pension savings less than their predecessors, they would rather bet a few hundred dollars on a MEME coin because they feel "no choice."

At the recent ETHDenver conference, Veronica Sutton, 27, wore a bright red "Make America Great Again" hat, said that today's "American Dream" is different from the past. After seeing her parents’ long-term debt and feeling that she had “spendless money” to go to college during the COVID-19 pandemic, she chose to drop out of school in her senior year. "I like college and don't regret going to school, but I regret the $20,000 student loan."

Similar situations also occur in South Korea. The "mud stickers" who have long been facing high housing prices, debt pressure and employment difficulties also regard MEME as a counterattack opportunity. Not long ago, a survey report by local Korean institutions DeSpread and CoinNess on 3,108 Korean crypto investors showed that after the crypto market rebounded in 2024, investors who have newly entered the Korean crypto market accounted for about 33%. Although most Korean investors are not familiar with DEX, the investment proportion of MEME coins has exceeded half, which is largely due to the active listing of such currencies by CEX (centralized exchanges). For example, the mainstream Korean exchanges such as Bithumb and Upbit have launched popular MEME coins such as DOGE, TRUMP, PENGU, PEPE, and BONK. (Related Reading: Crypto Investment Frenzy: Why is South Korea one of the hottest markets in the world?)

Now, with the boost from social media and the Trump administration's relaxed regulation, this form of investment in "entertainment hype" continues to heat up, including Trump himself who will personally attend a dinner specially held for millionaires holding TRUMP MEME coins this month.

From irony to rebellion, the emotional financial narrative of MEME coins

In the digital world of high speed, MEME coins carry and convey complex emotional resonance and collective ideas in a minimalist and efficient way. In the latest meme craze, several popular MEME coins quickly aroused the emotional resonance of Generation Z with their direct narratives. These MEME coins not only show strong narrative tension and high community participation, but also reflect the cultural rebellion of young Americans through crypto culture to fight against systemic injustice and express their own attitudes.

RFC

RFC was launched by the political satirical account Retard Finder, and it quickly became popular due to Musk's high-frequency interactions. Its narrative is rooted in the rebellious spirit of the Internet meme culture, encouraging users to express their doubts about mainstream narratives in a humorous way by tagging @IfindRetards. The content of the account is mainly based on right-wing political satire, mocking immigration policy, environmentalism and "awakening the left". In a sense, RFC transcends pure financial assets and evolves into a digital “cultural rebellion” against mainstream media and elite discourse.

GMGN data shows that in less than two months of launch, RFC market value reached a maximum of nearly $150 million.

House

"1 House = 1 Housecoin" is the iconic slogan of MEME coin House on Solana. Its core narrative focuses on the increasingly growing housing crisis around the world, especially touching on the real dilemma faced by contemporary young people. With high housing prices, stagnant income growth and increasingly solidified class structure, young people generally feel the heavy pressure of "difficulty in getting on the bus". House uses absurd but straightforward narrative methods to ironic the systemic injustice of the current real estate market, attracting a large number of young investors who are disappointed with the status quo and eager to express their attitude.

GMGN data shows that as of May 6, House's market value reached a maximum of US$120 million in more than a month after it was launched.

TROLL

TROLL originated from one of the most iconic memes in the history of the Internet. It is a symbol of the early Internet freedom, chaos and anti-authority spirit. It was created by artist Carlos Ramirez (web name "Whynne") in 2008. It first appeared in his angry comic called "Trolls" to satirize the behavior of the Internet "trolls" and became a classic symbol of online spoofs and humor. TROLL cleverly captures this retro sentiment and attracts young users who are familiar with meme history and are passionate about the Internet subculture.

GMGN data shows that as of May 6, TROLL's market value reached a maximum of nearly US$42 million.

neet

The NEET name comes from "Not in Education, Employment, or Training" and is used to describe young people aged 16-24 who are not employed, not educated or trained. In Japan, this concept has been expanded to cover groups aged 15-34 who do not work, study, or work, and is often associated with "home culture" or "hikikomori". The core of the $neet narrative is a rebellion against traditional work and social norms, which transforms this social phenomenon into an ironic cultural symbol, representing the life attitude of "lying down and lying on the old people" or "living their parents", which caters to the psychological resonance of some young people under modern economic pressure.

GMGN data shows that $neet has a market cap of more than $21 million since its launch in late April.

DRA

DRA is also a joke expression focusing on socio-economic issues. Its narrative revolves around the Decentralized Retirement Account, which is a satirical response to the traditional pension system, reflecting the younger generation's distrust of the pension system in the traditional financial system (such as the 401K plan in the United States) and critical sentiment of "pension scams."

GMGN data shows that since its launch on May 4, DRA has a market value of more than $7.6 million.