Crypto Twitter’s memecoin cycle: pick a KOL, worship him, then get sold out.
This is easily avoidable if you learn the basics: incentives, on-chain flows, and reflexive narratives.
I’ll use #USELESS as a case study : it’s down roughly 50% from its ATH, and @theunipcs “Bonk Guy” is polarizing across CT — which makes it a perfect example of how incentives + reflexivity create rapid pump-and-dump cycles.
RULE 1 : INCENTIVE IS EVERYTHING
In crypto, nothing happens without incentive: whether it’s monetary, social, or psychological. Protocols, whales, founders, exchanges, traders all move for a reason. If you understand the incentive, you understand the play.
Looking at #USELESS , who’s incentivized for it to pump ?
1. @bonkfun Eco → $USELESS is their flagship meme coin. If it dies, it sends a loud signal across CT that no legit runner will ever come from their platform. That means fewer deployers, fewer coins, and less reason for gamblers to choose their casino over the others
2. @theunipcs (aka Bonk Guy) → Like any KoL, he works for his bags and ironically, KoLs tend to fight hardest when the coin they backed is tanking. That’s when they try to “prove” to CT they can turn it around . Even if LetsBONK wasn't there , this is more of a personal thing for him . Just scroll through his timeline and compare how he tweets VS how @SolportTom tweets , you’ll understand that he takes it more personal compared to the rest of the bonk team .
3. @RaydiumProtocol → When Raydium clapped back at PumpFun by launching LaunchLabs (which birthed LetsBONK), they were hyped at its early success. No way they’re letting BonkFun — and by extension #USELESS fail . Evidence?
- They’ve been actively shilling the
BONK eco , look at their page to find out .
- Their revenue went from daily +$450K to barely cracking an avg of $250K for past 3 days , so keeping BONK eco hot is in their direct interest.
If you don’t already know it's all an incentives game by now , close this app , get a real job coz crypto is not for you .
RULE 2 : LOOK ON-CHAIN
Where’s the money flowing ???
If you want to know what’s really happening, stop reading tweets and start reading data.
Observe the money flow on Defillama , checkout Nansen(dot)ai and other countless tools out there , obsess over dune dashboards (@Adam_Tehc has legit ones ) .
Here’s what’s been happening with $USELESS over the last few days despite all the FUD:
1. #USELESS still maintains as high dex flow .
2.High conviction players are aping in
3. High buy pressure
4. Mass accumulation by Exchanges
5. Increase in active Holders
All these can be verified on-chain and these are just some of the few things happening .
RULE 3 : REFLEXIVITY AND FEEDBACK LOOPS
In Crypto , Reflexivity is not just some theory , it’s what happens every single time a memecoin either moons or rugs.
It’s the belief → price → belief loop, supercharged because:
- The whole thing runs on a meme, not a product
- Holders are only loyal while the chart’s green
- High sentiment centralization: KoLs act as single points of influence
Reflexivity in #USELESS: How the Loop Works:
1. KoLs FUD Bonk eco & $USELESS
High profile Twitter accounts throw shade and suddenly, everyone’s doubting the project. The belief is planted.
1. Traders lose conviction
Traders see price dipping and assume the narrative was correct. No one wants to be last holding so they start selling.
1. Price Drops
A visible dump happens, reinforcing the belief. The chart becomes evidence in their heads. Confirmation bias kicks in .
1. Selling spawns more FUD
As more people sell, the narrative gets louder.
- Even neutral traders flip bearish not because of new info, but because the chart “proves” it.
- KoLs who FUD’d early now look like prophets → get more engagement → double down. perfect example is @imperooterxbt
loop spins again— belief → sell → price drop → belief now stronger .
Believe it or not this loop is gonna break soon . Some reasons why :
1. KOLs who FUDed will flip back since they now have an easy entry
2. Strong On-chain signals contradict the FUD
3. External catalysts (like the move to Reddit )
4. Visible big buys from smart money , whales and exchanges.
The new loop:
belief → buys → price up → stronger belief → more buys . A new ATH is inevitable .
RULE 4 : BEING UNEMOTIONAL BUT NOT UNCARING
Memecoins feed on emotions. Fear makes you sell bottoms. Greed makes you FOMO tops.
If you can’t detach emotionally, the reflexivity loop will chew you up.
Being unemotional:
- You make decisions from data, not from a KoL’s tweet.
- You don’t let a red candle make you dump without checking on-chain first.
Being not uncaring :
- You still pay attention to market structure, news, and on-chain flows.
- You still adjust your position if incentives change or new info emerges.
- You still protect your capital you’re just not a panic button.
Just imagine this , would you have kept your emotions under control if it meant turning $100 dollars into $2.8B now???
https://t.co/dmvBmJoJaJ
THE MOVE TO REDDIT
Recently Bonk guy made a move I never expected , he starting market BONK eco on reddit .
CT might not like it but this is the home the true diamond hands . These degens would rather sell a kidney than sell a coin they have conviction in . If you don’t believe me just go lurk around r/XRP . They truly believe their shitter’s mcap will flip Gold . They have no doubt that each coin will hit $10,000 ( rn at $3.3 ) . They literally just had their first profit since 2018 recently 😭.
Some Reddit stats for data nerds
1. 71% of people who discovered a brand online or off, researched it on Reddit
2. 79% of redditors agreed that “once I find a brand I like, I stay loyal to that brand,” also tops among social media users.
3. 74% of people agree that Reddit helps them make faster purchase decisions, #1 vs social media competitors.
From my own experience, unlike CT, crypto Reddit doesn’t orbit around KOLs , it orbits around communities . And those communities are pure echo chambers. Once they ape into something, that’s it. No FUD, no “maybe I’ll sell” they’ll ride it into the sun .
THE NARRATIVE
I'm more of a stats and data guy not narrative, but if I was, #USELESS would be king . No vaporware promises. It doesn’t even pretend to have a use case , the name tells you exactly what you’re buying. That’s more honesty than 99% of this market. In a market full of liars, this level of honest is almost NOBLE .
Final take :
- Alpha is just seeing the incentives , narrative , on-chain flow one step earlier than the herd.
- I’m not your KOL. If you follow this blindly, you’ll get slaughtered like the rest. DYOR, think for yourself, protect your bags.
I've only been farming this season for a few months
received allo within my expectations, thank you @tensor_hq
I hope the last @VECTORDOTFUN utility for Tensorians will be good 🙏