The Rise of Binance: How Chinese Memes Are Reshaping the Cryptocurrency Market Landscape

The explosion of Chinese Meme coins in this round is far more than just a viral internet meme. From Binance’s casual reply, it evolved into a focal point of industry attention, eventually even triggering a global exchange controversy. What exactly happened behind the scenes?

Meme Coins Suddenly Break the Dimensional Wall

In mid-October, when a Chinese-marked coin’s market cap surpassed 100 million USD, even European traders couldn’t stay calm. Data shows that on October 8th, BSC chain’s trading volume surged to $6.05 billion, reaching the heights of the 2021 altcoin frenzy—except this time, the leader was a Chinese Meme.

Within just a few days, over 100,000 new traders flooded into the market, nearly 70% of whom made profits. Even more astonishing, someone rotated through 65 Chinese Meme coins on BNB chain within 7 days, netting about $87,000. This not only attracted local players but also drew foreign traders into the frenzy as prices skyrocketed—active addresses increased by nearly 1 million compared to the same period last month.

Barry, a partner at WOK Labs and a Polish trader, witnessed all of this firsthand. “I was shocked the first time I saw a Chinese coin with a market cap over $20 million. When it hit $60 million and $100 million, the European groups went into a frenzy. Everyone was rushing to fund BSC, completely clueless why these things could rise.”

Clash of East and West Meme Mindsets

In fact, Western Meme coins have always taken a different path since their inception. Dogecoin in 2013 was essentially a parody of Bitcoin. Pepe coin later followed the same route—rooted in internet culture, with no fundraising, no team allocation, no planning; the project team even openly stated ‘this has no value, it’s just for fun.’

In the Solana era, nihilistic labels like Fartcoin and Uselesscoin appeared, reflecting Western internet’s pursuit of dark humor that ‘subverts real-world values.’ They rely on image memes, rebellious spirit, and KOL influence.

But Chinese Meme coins are different. “Humble Little One” self-deprecates the struggles of the grassroots workers, the “Cultivation” series reflects escapist fantasies, while “Binance Life” directly carries the hope of getting rich overnight in crypto markets. They are cultural products rooted in resonance and identity projection.

Barry observed this fundamental difference: “Western Meme investments follow American internet culture, emphasizing self-deprecation and rebellion. But the sudden emergence of Chinese Meme coins has left many Westerners completely baffled. They don’t understand why a token’s name can represent a whole set of life ideals.”

Officially Orchestrated ‘Wealth Creation Movement’

Interestingly, this seemingly spontaneous wave is actually the result of meticulous planning by multiple forces. From He Yi’s joking remark, CZ’s official response, to a series of official interactions and the launch of MemeRush platform, each step seems like a phased release of positive signals.

This differs from Western ‘luck-based community celebrations’ or ‘conspiratorial groups’ pushing agendas. This time, founders, platforms, and communities collaborated to incorporate the originally disorganized Meme coin issuance into a structured system. The result: when a hot project appears, the market doesn’t siphon liquidity to other projects—because officials continuously generate new expectations, convincing everyone that “the next one could make you a millionaire.”

This ‘stepwise wealth effect’ was unthinkable just a few months ago. It validates a core logic: the structured listing expectations behind Chinese Meme coins have already formed a broad market consensus.

The Public Debate Between Exchanges

This wave also ignited competition among global exchanges. On October 14th, a leak about Binance’s listing requirements caused a stir on social media. It was claimed that listing on Binance requires staking 2 million BNB, paying up to 8% of the total tokens for airdrops and marketing, plus a $250,000 deposit.

Binance quickly denied, claiming “we never charge listing fees,” and threatened legal action. But the public opinion had already shifted—Jesse Pollak, head of Base chain, publicly stated: “Project listing on a trading platform should be free of charge.”

More dramatically, Base then announced official support for BNB tokens, marking the first time a platform directly supported a competitor’s mainnet token. CZ was not angry but welcomed the move. Ultimately, Jesse even jokingly said in Chinese, “Start your Binance life mode on Base App,” which industry analysts interpret as a thawing of US-China crypto tensions.

Language Becomes a New Opportunity

For overseas investors, this round of hype exposed a new problem: if you don’t understand Chinese, you can’t understand the market. Many Western retail investors only hurriedly buy after prices soar, even those like Barry who have deep engagement with Chinese systems often find themselves “knowing the meaning but not the significance” of culturally rooted Meme coins.

This has led some smart developers to create translation tools to help foreigners understand the logic behind Chinese meme images. A whole series of videos has gone viral on social media, documenting foreigners learning Chinese while buying Meme coins.

This phenomenon underscores a fundamental truth: “Language itself is a resource of value.” The cultural emotional information behind different languages has become a new barrier to entry in this feast.

A Multipolarized Crypto World Is Taking Shape

Barry believes that the Chinese Meme market is nearing its end, but this doesn’t mean Chinese coins’ influence will fade. He predicts: “English tickers will return to the mainstream but will become more integrated with Asian culture. Inspired by this round of Chinese Meme coins, the humor, symbolism, and aesthetics of English coins will become more Chineseized.”

The future crypto market may become more multipolar. Chains like Base and Solana are beginning to feature Chinese tickers, with East and West communities both merging and mutually learning, possibly forming independent regional ecosystems. These cultural gaps might harbor the next wave of opportunities.

For now, relying solely on luck is not enough. To capture the next Meme wave, a deep understanding of the language and cultural logic of different communities is essential. AI may speed up information dissemination, but it cannot replace a deep comprehension of cultural contexts. The lesson from this round is clear: whoever masters cultural narrative commands market pricing power.