Written by: June, Deep Tide TechFlow
On August 5, 2025, a pink knitted hat will be auctioned.
This is not some branded design, nor is it a historical relic—it is the symbol of Dogwifhat (WIF), the hat worn by the Shiba Inu that once swept the crypto world. In November 2024, this hat symbolized a meme coin with a market cap exceeding $4 billion, and the community even raised nearly $700,000 to project the image of the Shiba Inu wearing it onto the giant screen of Las Vegas' The Sphere.
Earlier, on March 18, 2024, this 'hat dog' was minted as an NFT and went up for auction on the Foundation platform. Ultimately, it was bought by one of the most famous traders in the cryptocurrency realm, GCR, for 1210.759 ETH (approximately $4.3 million), becoming the second-highest auction price on Foundation at the time.
At that moment, no one would think that this hat would walk into another auction less than a year later, and this time it would hardly attract any attention. Under the backdrop of the NFT narrative collapsing and the market falling silent, the once-popular meme is experiencing a silent neglect. And as a representative old meme, WIF's situation is even worse. After the auction news was announced on August 1, it even failed to stir a ripple on Twitter.
From being the center of attention to being ignored, WIF's story reveals a brutal truth: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is true death.
The hat is about to be auctioned off; perhaps this is the last mark WIF will leave in crypto history. But its story is worth reflecting on for every project fighting in this battlefield of attention.
The Rise of WIF
At the end of 2023, a simple photo began circulating on crypto Twitter: a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat. No one could predict that this seemingly random combination would create a market cap of billions of dollars in the following months.
WIF's explosion cannot be separated from a key figure—Ansem. As one of the most influential KOLs in the crypto field, when he began frequently mentioning this 'hat dog' on Twitter, miracles happened. Each of his tweets acted like a stimulant injected into the market, propelling WIF from an obscure meme coin into the spotlight of the crypto world.
WIF's rise speed is astonishing—within just 81 days, its market cap surpassed $1 billion. The community's enthusiasm exceeded everyone's imagination. They were not satisfied with merely spreading the hat dog image online; they wanted to do something unprecedented—project WIF onto Las Vegas' The Sphere. This largest spherical LED screen in the world sees millions pass by every day; if the hat dog could appear there, it would be the most iconic moment in meme coin history.
In March 2024, the crowdfunding goal of $650,000 was achieved within just a few days, ultimately exceeding $700,000. Community members generously contributed, believing this was not merely a marketing campaign but a crucial step for WIF to reach the mainstream. Twitter was filled with excited discussions, and everyone was counting down, looking forward to the moment the hat dog illuminated the Las Vegas night sky.
On March 31, 2024, after The Sphere project’s crowdfunding ended, market sentiment peaked, and WIF reached an all-time high of $4.83. During that crazy period, WIF seemed invincible. Almost every crypto community was discussing this Shiba Inu wearing a pink hat. Ansem's influence, the community's enthusiasm, and the market's FOMO sentiment perfectly combined to push WIF to its peak.
That was the golden age for WIF, where each 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 turn of fate came so swiftly. In January 2025, the Trump meme emerged, sucking liquidity from the crypto market like a black hole. Then in February, the tariff policy announced by President Trump caused macroeconomic uncertainty, leading to a significant correction in the crypto market. Among them, meme coins experienced particularly severe declines. As of today, although mainstream coins like BTC, ETH, and SOL have returned to high levels, most meme coins are still struggling in the mire of deep corrections.
The most fatal blow came in April 2025. It all started with the false hope of the beginning of the year—on January 29, the official X account of Dogwifhat announced the long-awaited Las Vegas Sphere project preview, instantly igniting community enthusiasm, with WIF soaring 34% within a week. However, the good times were short-lived, as the official department of Las Vegas Sphere quickly issued a statement, clearly stating that they 'have never had any commercial cooperation discussions with any cryptocurrency projects.' This cold water completely doused the fire; after the denial statement was released, WIF plummeted nearly 10% within an hour.
Worse, serious divisions began to emerge within the community. Some members questioned the project's transparency and strongly demanded the public disclosure of fundraising fund usage details. The trust crisis spread like a virus.
After nearly a year of torturous waiting, on April 1, 2025, Edward, 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 nights of anticipation, ultimately turned into bubbles. At this time, WIF's price had dropped to a low of $0.42, and after the news of the project's abandonment came out, WIF plummeted again, setting a new low of $0.30 for the year. This last straw completely crushed the community's confidence. Even the planning team behind WIF seemed to choose to give up.
To make matters worse, Ansem's voice began to fade. This KOL, who used to mention WIF every day, gradually turned his attention to other projects. After months of stagnation, WIF seemed to have disappeared from Twitter. Once ubiquitous hat dog memes vanished, enthusiastic community discussions fell silent, and even the most loyal supporters began to shift their allegiance.
Meanwhile, other meme coins are making great strides in their respective tracks:
Doge remains the unshakable king. Every new meme aspires to become and surpass Doge. Elon Musk has never stopped interacting with Doge; he has long become Doge's best spokesperson.
Pepe has occupied another high ground with the classic frog image. Pepe has become part of internet language with a vast ecosystem of memes.
Pengu, backed by the strong NFT community of Pudgy Penguins, has also garnered favor from Wall Street institutions like VanEck. Pengu is committed to expanding the web2 ecosystem and recently announced collaboration with China's Suplay, a trendy IP consumer goods company. Meanwhile, they are also active on multiple platforms like Telegram, Instagram, and Whatsapp.
These successful meme coins share a common trait: multidimensional vitality. They either have representative KOL support, strong community creative abilities, or institutional recognition. Most importantly, they have established a diversified dissemination network that will not collapse due to the disappearance of a single support.
In contrast, WIF's problems are evident. It relied too heavily on Ansem's personal influence, failed to establish its own content ecosystem, lacked innovative mechanisms, and did not gain institutional favor. When the initial hype faded, it had no supporting system to rely on.
In this era of extreme scarcity of attention, once you start to be forgotten, it is almost impossible to return to the spotlight. WIF is undergoing this brutal process—from being the center of attention to being ignored, it takes just a few months.
The brutal truth of the crypto world
The market's justice is in the pump. Though this phrase sounds vulgar, it accurately summarizes the essence of this market. In the traditional financial world, we still discuss fundamentals, value investing, and long-termism. But in the world of meme coins, all these concepts are simplified into one number: price.
When prices rise, everything is right. The community is active, KOLs vie for recommendations, new holders constantly join, and the positive cycle begins to operate. When prices fall, all problems are exposed. The community begins to infight, KOLs quietly exit, panic spreads, and the death spiral ensues.
For WIF, it is facing two fatal problems:
First, not being remembered. The time flow in the crypto world is ten to a hundred times that of the real world. A hot topic from three months ago is already ancient history here. When Ansem no longer mentions WIF, when the community no longer creates new content, when trading volumes begin to shrink, WIF shifts from a 'present tense' to a 'past perfect tense.' In this market, which is always chasing the next opportunity for wealth, no one cares about history.
Second, losing the allure of wealth creation. The failure of The Sphere's fundraising was not just a marketing setback; it exposed a brutal reality: when prices fall, even the most loyal community members become cautious. Without new influxes of funds, there is no motivation for price increases; without price increases, there is no way to attract new funds. This is an unsolvable dilemma.
The deeper truth is that in this attention economy-dominated era, the life and death of meme coins often hinge on a single thought. A tweet can create a hundredfold coin, while one failure can destroy all efforts. There is no gradual decline; only a cliff-like collapse.
WIF's story is a microcosm of countless meme coins. They streak across the sky of the crypto world like meteors, briefly illuminating a corner and then quickly vanishing into darkness. A few lucky ones become stars, but most must accept the fate of being forgotten.
This is the survival rule in the crypto world: stay relevant or die. There is no middle option.
Being forgotten is true death.
On August 5, the pink knitted hat will seek its new owner.
The moment the auction hammer falls may be the last footnote WIF leaves in crypto history. In a sense, the fate of this hat is quite ironic—it once represented a market cap of billions of dollars, symbolizing a community's dream, and now it must seek meaning of existence through auction.
However, this outcome precisely confirms our initial viewpoint: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is the true death. Hats can be auctioned, collected, or placed in a museum display case. But WIF, as a meme, a cultural symbol, and a cryptocurrency, has gradually lost its heat. Not because of code issues or being hacked, but simply because people no longer remember it.
This is an era where attention is scarcer than gold. Every day, new projects are born, new stories are told, and new wealth myths circulate. In this never-ending cycle, only those projects that can continuously occupy people's minds can survive. Others, no matter how glorious their past, will be washed away by the tides of time.
Interestingly, NFTs, as products of the previous era, have shown stronger vitality in this round of meme coin-dominated cycles. Even in the NFT winter, BAYC can still create topics with occasional IP licensing news, CryptoPunks occasionally have eye-popping transactions, and Pudgy Penguins can return to the public eye due to the release of physical toys. The teams behind these projects are still working, and the community remains strong, successfully carving out a bloody path that continuously generates actual business value and profits.
In contrast, most meme coins are products of wild growth. They often lack a clear team structure, long-term business plans, and find it harder to establish deep collaborations with mainstream brands. The small team's background makes it harder for meme coin projects to gain recognition in the traditional business world and to generate widespread resonance outside the community. When the heat fades, these projects often lack sufficient resources and capabilities to maintain long-term brand value.
WIF's story streaks across the sky of the crypto world like a meteor, briefly illuminating a corner and then quickly vanishing into darkness. The only certainty is that in this consensus-driven world, memory is the most precious asset. When no one remembers your name, you are truly dead.
This is the life and death of a meme coin in the crypto world.
