From Pinnacle to Oblivion: The Rise and Fall of WIF

On August 5, 2025, a pink knitted hat will be auctioned. This is not an ordinary hat, but an iconic decoration that once swept the crypto world, worn by the Shiba Inu. In November 2024, it was still a symbol of a meme coin with a market value of over $4 billion, and the community even raised nearly $700,000 in an attempt to project the image of the Shiba Inu wearing it onto The Sphere giant screen in Las Vegas.

On March 18, 2024, this "Shiba Inu with a Hat" was minted as an NFT and listed on the auction platform. In the end, a well-known cryptocurrency trader bought it for 1210.759 ETH (approximately $4.3 million), making it the second highest auction sale at that time.

However, less than a year later, this hat will once again enter an auction, yet few are interested. Against the backdrop of the NFT narrative collapsing and the market falling silent, the once-popular Meme is experiencing a silent neglect. As a representative of the old Memes, the situation for WIF is even worse. After the auction news was announced on August 1, it didn't even create a ripple on social media.

From being the center of attention to being ignored, the story of WIF reveals a harsh truth: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is the true death.

The Rise of WIF

At the end of 2023, a simple photo began circulating on crypto social media: a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat. No one could have predicted that this seemingly random combination would create a market value of billions of dollars in the following months.

The explosion of WIF cannot be separated from a key figure. As one of the most influential KOLs in the crypto space, when he began to frequently mention this "hat dog" on social media, a miracle happened. Every piece of information he shared was like an injection of excitement into the market, pushing WIF from an obscure meme coin to the center stage of the crypto world.

The rise of WIF is astonishing - it took only 81 days for its market value to surpass 1 billion dollars. The enthusiasm of the community has exceeded everyone’s imagination. They are not satisfied with merely spreading the image of Doge on the internet; they want to do something unprecedented - projecting WIF onto The Sphere in Las Vegas. This is the world's largest spherical LED screen, and hundreds of millions of people pass by it every day. If Doge could appear on it, it would be the most iconic moment in the history of meme coins.

In March 2024, a crowdfunding campaign originally aimed at $650,000 reached its goal in just a few days and ultimately exceeded expectations by nearly $700,000. Community members generously contributed, believing this was not just a marketing event, but a crucial step for WIF towards mainstream acceptance. Social media was filled with excited discussions, with everyone counting down to the moment when the cap dog would light up the Las Vegas night sky.

On March 31, 2024, after the crowdfunding of The Sphere project ended, market sentiment peaked, and WIF reached an all-time high of $4.83. During that crazy period, WIF seemed unstoppable. Almost every crypto community was discussing this Shiba Inu wearing a pink hat. The influence of KOLs, the enthusiasm of the community, and the market's FOMO sentiment perfectly combined to propel WIF to its peak.

It was the golden age of WIF, where every holder believed they were witnessing the birth of a new Doge. The hat was not just a hat; it became a cultural symbol, an identity, and a belief in the infinite possibilities of the crypto world.

WIF's Las Vegas Nightmare

The turning point of fate came so quickly. In January 2025, a new meme coin emerged, sucking liquidity from the crypto market like a black hole. Following that, in February, policy changes triggered macroeconomic uncertainty, leading to a significant correction in the crypto market. Among them, the decline of meme coins was particularly brutal. To this day, although mainstream coins have returned to high levels, most meme coins are still struggling in the quagmire of deep correction.

The deadliest blow came in April 2025. It all started with a false hope at the beginning of the year — on January 29, the official social media account of WIF released a long-awaited teaser for the Las Vegas Sphere project, instantly igniting enthusiasm in the community, and WIF surged 34% within a week. However, the good times didn't last long, as the official department of Las Vegas Sphere quickly issued a statement clearly stating that "there has never been any commercial cooperation discussions with any cryptocurrency projects." This cold water was thoroughly poured over the excitement; after the denial statement was released, WIF plummeted nearly 10% within an hour.

What's worse is that serious divisions have begun to emerge within the community. Some members question the project's transparency and strongly demand a detailed disclosure of the use of the fundraising funds. The crisis of trust spreads like a virus.

After nearly a year of painful waiting, on April 1, 2025, one of the initiators of The Sphere project finally announced the official abandonment of the project and began refunds. Nearly $700,000 in fundraising, countless days and nights of anticipation, ultimately turned into a mirage. At this point, the WIF price had fallen to a low of $0.42, and after the news of the project’s abandonment broke, WIF plummeted again, reaching a new low of $0.3 for the year. This last straw completely crushed the community's confidence. Even the planning team behind WIF seems to have chosen to give up.

To make matters worse, the voice of that key KOL began to fade away. This opinion leader, who used to mention WIF every day, gradually shifted their attention to other projects. After months of stagnation, WIF seemed to have disappeared from social media. The once ubiquitous doge memes vanished, the fervent community discussions quieted down, and even the most loyal supporters began to switch sides.

At the same time, other meme coins are making great strides in their respective tracks:

• Doge remains the unshakeable king. Every new meme aspires to become and surpass Doge. Certain well-known figures have never stopped interacting with Doge, and he has long since become Doge's best spokesperson.
• Pepe has occupied another high ground with its classic frog image. Pepe has become a part of internet language thanks to its vast ecosystem of memes.
• Pengu has the backing of a strong NFT community and has gained favor from Wall Street institutions. Pengu is committed to expanding the web2 ecosystem and recently announced a partnership with a Chinese trendy IP consumer goods company. At the same time, they are also active on multiple social media platforms.

These successful meme coins all share a common characteristic: multidimensional vitality. They either have the support of representative KOLs, possess strong community creativity, or have gained institutional recognition. Most importantly, they have established a diversified communication network that will not collapse due to the disappearance of a single support.

In contrast, the issues with WIF are obvious. It overly relies on the personal influence of a single KOL, has not established its own content ecosystem, lacks an innovation mechanism, and has failed to gain institutional favor. Once the initial hype subsided, it had no support system to rely on.

In this age of extreme scarcity of attention, once you start to be forgotten, it is almost an impossible task to return to the spotlight. WIF is experiencing this cruel process — from being the center of attention to being ignored, it has only been a matter of months.

The Harsh Truth of the Crypto World

Pumping the market is justice. Although this phrase sounds crude, it accurately summarizes the essence of this market. In the traditional financial world, we would still talk about fundamentals, value investing, and long-termism. But in the world of meme coins, all these concepts are simplified into one number: price.

The price rises, everything is right. The community is active, KOLs are competing to recommend, and new holders are continuously pouring in, initiating a positive cycle. When the price falls, all problems are exposed. The community begins to infight, KOLs quietly exit, panic spreads, and the death spiral follows.

For WIF, it is facing two fatal problems:

First, no longer remembered. In the world of cryptocurrency, the flow of time is ten times, a hundred times that of the real world. Trends from three months ago are now ancient history here. When KOLs no longer mention WIF, when the community stops creating new content, and when trading volume begins to shrink, WIF transitions from a "present continuous tense" to a "past perfect tense." In this market, which is always chasing the next opportunity for wealth, no one will be interested in history.

Secondly, it has lost the attractiveness of wealth creation. The fundraising failure of The Sphere is not just a marketing setback, but reveals a harsh reality: when prices fall, even the most loyal community members become cautious. Without new capital inflows, there is no impetus for price increases; without price increases, it is impossible to attract new capital. This is an intractable dilemma.

The deeper truth is that in this era dominated by attention economy, the life and death of meme coins often hinge on a single thought. A piece of information can create a hundred-fold coin, while a single failure can destroy all efforts. There is no gradual decline here, only a cliff-like collapse.

The story of WIF is a microcosm of countless meme coins. They streak across the sky of the crypto world like meteors, briefly illuminating a corner, only to quickly disappear into the darkness. A few lucky ones may become stars, but most can only accept the fate of being forgotten.

This is the survival rule of the crypto world: stay relevant, or die. There is no middle option.

Being forgotten is the true death

On August 5th, that pink knitted hat will be looking for its new owner.

At the moment the auction hammer falls, it may be the last footnote left by WIF in the history of cryptocurrency. In a sense, the fate of this hat is quite ironic - it once represented a market value of billions of dollars, symbolizing the dreams of a community, but now it must seek its meaning of existence through an auction.

But this ending precisely confirms our initial view: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is the true death. Hats can be auctioned, collected, and placed in the display case of a museum. But WIF, as a meme, a cultural symbol, and a cryptocurrency, has gradually lost its popularity. Not because there was a problem with the code, not because it was hacked, but because people no longer remember it.

This is an age where attention is scarcer than gold. Every day, new projects are born, new stories are told, and new wealth myths are circulated. In this never-ending cycle, only those projects that can continuously occupy people's minds can survive. The rest, no matter how glorious they once were, will be washed away by the torrent of time.

Interestingly, NFTs, as products of the previous era, have shown even stronger vitality during this cycle dominated by meme coins. Even in the NFT winter, some well-known projects can still generate buzz with occasional IP licensing news, and from time to time, there are exorbitant transactions that make headlines, or they regain public attention due to the release of physical toys. The teams behind these projects are still working, and the communities remain strong; they have successfully carved out a bloody path, continuously generating actual commercial value and profits.

In contrast, meme coins are mostly products of wild growth. They often lack a clear team structure, have no long-term business plans, and find it harder to establish deep cooperation with mainstream brands. The background of small teams makes it difficult.