This time, I'd like to discuss the bizarre meme coin boom that swept Japan in January 2026.
Meme coin A, whose icon is a gold coin engraved with a man's face, saw its price skyrocket thousands of times from its lowest point, and its market capitalization quickly surpassed $50 million. An unprecedented number of participants bought it, and those who witnessed the price surge jumped in, hoping for further gains. This inflated desire eventually led to dangerous territory…a true "FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)" phenomenon.
Furthermore, riding on this boom, numerous derivative coins with similar contexts proliferated. This led to a bizarre spectacle of power struggles between communities.
All the memes used in this instance became famous on the video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga. Nico Nico Douga has seen the rise of groups that consume adult videos in a discriminatory and humorous context, resembling an incubation hub for internet memes. For over 15 years, this movement has continued, exploiting human shamefulness and using mimicked lines to foster camaraderie. Needless to say, this infringes on copyright and the reputation of the performers, and is highly inappropriate.