On August 5, 2025, a pink knitted hat will be auctioned.
This is not a designer brand, nor a historical relic—it is the symbol of Dogwifhat (WIF), the hat on the head of the Shiba Inu that once swept the crypto world. By November 2024, this hat was still a symbol of a meme coin with a market value of over $4 billion, and the community even raised nearly $700,000 to project the image of the Shiba Inu wearing it onto the giant sphere screen of The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Earlier, on March 18, 2024, this 'hat-wearing Shiba Inu' was minted as an NFT and auctioned on the Foundation platform. Ultimately, it was purchased at a high price of 1210.759 ETH (approximately $4.3 million) by one of the most famous traders in the cryptocurrency field, GCR, becoming the second-highest auction item sold on Foundation at that time.
At that moment, no one expected this hat would walk into another auction less than a year later, and this time very few people would show interest. Amidst the shattered NFT narrative and the silence of the market, the once top meme faced a silent disregard. The auction news announced on August 1 failed to even create a ripple on Twitter.
From being the center of attention to being ignored, the story of WIF reveals a cruel truth: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is true death.
The hat is about to be auctioned off, perhaps leaving WIF's last mark in the history of cryptocurrency. But its story deserves reflection from every project fighting on 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 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—Ansem. As one of the most influential KOLs in the crypto space, a miracle happened when he began frequently mentioning this 'hat dog' on Twitter. Every one of his tweets acted like a stimulant injected into the market, pushing WIF from an obscure meme coin to the center stage of the crypto world.
The speed of WIF's rise is astonishing—within just 81 days, its market value surpassed $1 billion. The enthusiasm of the community exceeded everyone's imagination. They were not satisfied with merely spreading the image of the hat dog online; they wanted to do something unprecedented—project WIF onto the Las Vegas Sphere. This largest spherical LED screen in the world sees millions pass by daily, and if the hat dog could appear on it, it would mark the most iconic moment in meme coin history.
In March 2024, a crowdfunding campaign initially targeted at $650,000 was achieved in just a few days, ultimately exceeding $700,000. Community members generously contributed, believing this was not just a marketing activity but a key step for WIF towards the mainstream. Twitter was filled with excited discussions, and everyone was counting down, eagerly anticipating the moment the hat dog would illuminate the Las Vegas night sky.
On March 31, 2024, after the crowdfunding for The Sphere project ended, market sentiment peaked, and WIF set a historic high of $4.83. During that crazy period, WIF seemed capable of anything. 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 propel WIF to its peak.
That was the golden age of WIF, when 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, a belief in the infinite possibilities of the crypto world.
WIF's Las Vegas nightmare.
The turning point of fate comes so quickly. In January 2025, the Trump meme burst onto the scene, sucking liquidity from the crypto market like a black hole. Then, in February, the tariff policies announced by President Trump sparked macroeconomic uncertainty, leading to a sharp correction in the crypto market. Among them, meme coins suffered particularly severe declines. To this day, even though mainstream coins like BTC, ETH, and SOL have returned to high levels, most meme coins are still struggling in the depths of correction.
The most fatal blow came in April 2025. It all began with false hopes at the start of the year—on January 29, the official X account of Dogwifhat released the long-awaited Las Vegas Sphere project teaser, which instantly ignited community enthusiasm, causing WIF to surge 34% within a week. However, the good times didn't last long; the official department of Las Vegas Sphere quickly issued a statement clearly stating that 'there had never been any commercial cooperation discussions with any cryptocurrency projects.' This cold water completely extinguished the flames; after the denial statement was released, WIF plummeted nearly 10% within an hour.
Worse, severe divisions began to emerge within the community. Some members questioned the project's transparency and strongly demanded the disclosure of fundraising fund usage details. The trust crisis spread like a virus.
After nearly a year of agonizing wait, 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 raised, countless days and nights of anticipation, ultimately turned into a mirage. At this point, WIF's price had dropped to a low of $0.42, and after the news of the project's abandonment broke, WIF plummeted again, setting 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, Ansem's voice began to fade. This KOL, who used to mention WIF daily, gradually shifted his attention to other projects. After months of stagnation, WIF seemed to have disappeared from Twitter. The once ubiquitous hat dog memes vanished, fervent community discussions quieted, and even the most loyal supporters began to shift their allegiance.
Meanwhile, other meme coins were singing loudly on their own tracks:
Doge remains the unshakable king. Every new meme wants to become and surpass Doge. Elon Musk has never stopped interacting with Doge; he has long since become its best spokesperson.
Pepe occupies another high ground with the classic frog image. Pepe has become part of internet language thanks to a massive ecosystem of memes.
Pengu, backed by the strong NFT community of Pudgy Penguins, has also gained favor from Wall Street institutions like VanEck. Pengu is dedicated to expanding the web2 ecosystem and recently announced a collaboration with Chinese Suplay, a trendy IP consumer goods company. Meanwhile, they are also active on multiple platforms such as Telegram, Instagram, and Whatsapp.
These successful meme coins share a common feature: multidimensional vitality. They either have the support of representative KOLs, possess strong community creation capabilities, or gain institutional recognition. Most importantly, they have established diversified communication networks that do not collapse due to the disappearance of a single support.
In contrast, WIF's problems are apparent. It relies too heavily on Ansem's personal influence, has not established its own content ecosystem, lacks innovative mechanisms, and has failed to gain institutional favor. When the initial hype fades, it has no support system to rely on.
In this era of extreme scarcity of attention, once you start being forgotten, it is nearly impossible to return to the spotlight. WIF is undergoing this cruel process—from being the center of attention to being ignored, all in just a few months.
The harsh truth of the crypto world.
Pump and dump equals justice. Although this phrase sounds crude, 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 to a single number: price.
When prices rise, everything feels right. The community is active, KOLs are competing to recommend, and new holders are constantly pouring in; a positive cycle begins to operate. When prices fall, all problems become apparent. The community starts infighting, KOLs quietly exit, panic spreads, and the death spiral follows.
For WIF, it faces two fatal problems:
Firstly, to no longer be remembered. The flow of time in the crypto world is tenfold, a hundredfold faster than in the real world. A hot topic from three months ago is now ancient history here. When Ansem no longer mentions WIF, when the community stops creating new content, when trading volume begins to shrink, WIF transforms from a 'present continuous' into a 'past perfect.' And in this market that is always chasing the next get-rich-quick opportunity, no one cares about history.
Secondly, it has lost the attractiveness of wealth generation. The failure of The Sphere's fundraising is not just a marketing setback; it exposes a cruel reality: when prices drop, even the most loyal community members become cautious. Without new funds flowing in, there is no drive for price increases; without price increases, new funds cannot be attracted. This is an unsolvable dilemma.
The deeper truth is that in this era dominated by the attention economy, the life and death of a meme coin often hinge on a single thought. A tweet can create a hundredfold 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 before quickly disappearing into the darkness. A few lucky ones can become stars, but most can only accept the fate of being forgotten.
This is the survival law of the crypto world: maintain relevance, or die. There is no middle option.
Being forgotten is true death.
On August 5, that pink knitted hat will seek its new owner.
The moment the auction hammer falls may be the last footnote WIF leaves 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 a community's dreams, and now it seeks meaning through an auction.
But this outcome precisely confirms our opening point: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is true death. The hat 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 the code had issues, not due to a hack, but 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 they once were, will be swept away by the tide of time.
Interestingly, NFTs, as products of the previous era, have shown stronger vitality in this cycle dominated by meme coins. Even in the NFT winter, BAYC can still generate buzz with occasional IP licensing news, CryptoPunks occasionally making headlines with high-price transactions, and Pudgy Penguins returning to the public eye due to the release of physical toys. The teams behind these projects are still working, and the communities remain strong; they have successfully fought their way out, continuously generating real business value and profits.
In contrast, most meme coins are products of wild growth. They often lack a clear team structure, do not have long-term business planning, and find it harder to establish deep partnerships with mainstream brands. The background of small teams makes it more challenging for meme coin projects to gain recognition in the traditional business world and to resonate widely outside the community. When the heat fades, these projects often lack sufficient resources and capabilities to maintain long-term brand value.
The story of WIF streaked across the sky of the crypto world like a meteor, briefly illuminating a corner before quickly disappearing into the darkness. The only certainty is that in this consensus-driven world, memory is the most valuable 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.