Playing with on-chain memes, I personally believe there are mainly two methodologies: one is narrative trading, and the other is address digging. The former focuses on market intuition and sensitivity, while the latter emphasizes meticulous research and analysis of data.

These two are not only not in conflict but often need to be combined. They correspond to the two forces needed for the rise of tokens, namely the combined efforts of the market and retail investors, and the pulling power of market makers and whales.

Narrative trading focuses on what kind of story this token tells and whether it can resonate with the market. By considering the event background, innovation, popularity, and other aspects, we can judge how far a token can go.

For example, $Ani and $Gork are narratives born from new products under Musk, combining influence and fun, making them easy to spread; $Trump and $Pnut are prompted by significant political events; last year's AI hackathon market examined Dev resumes and industry status; $Neiro and $Pochita are derivatives of the Dogecoin concept; $Fartcoin and $Useless emphasize crypto nihilism.

When market sentiment is good, retail enthusiasm is high, and liquidity is abundant, narrative alone can create meme coins with market values of tens of millions or even higher. However, when market conditions are poor, it is necessary to rely on market makers to control the supply and pull the price up to attract attention. A typical example is the recent $Aura, which was pulled from near zero to 230 million in just a few days.

To catch this type of market manipulation, the most suitable method is address digging, analyzing whether there are clusters of addresses that are pulling the price and their intentions, or finding clues through previously accumulated address databases. The downside of this method is that it is very time-consuming and energy-intensive since the pulling addresses are often changed frequently. Moreover, even if traces are detected, if the bottom chips are not firmly controlled, the market maker can completely choose to abandon the position, leaving the initiative entirely in others' hands.