From Meme to Market: Apu Apustaja's Journey to a $380M Market Cap

Benzinga

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00:00Welcome back, Zinger Nation. We're here today with Scott Enders, the brand director for

00:07Oppu.com. We're going to be delving into the exciting world of meme coins. Scott, how are

00:12you doing today?

00:13Hey, how's it going, AB? I'm doing great.

00:16I'm glad to hear it. Let's hop right into it because this is an exciting topic for me

00:20and I'm sure our viewers as well. What are meme coins and why are they gaining popularity

00:25again?

00:26Well, for those who are not aware, meme coins are just crypto projects which are focused

00:30and centered around memes. Unlike a lot of utility projects, which require solutions

00:35that require back-end knowledge of all these different technologies, it's very clear what

00:39you're getting up front when you join a meme coin, and that's community, the most important

00:43metric really. In regards to why they're gaining popularity, I think most people have felt

00:48the effects of recent fiscal policy, which has caused extremely strenuous times for a

00:53lot of families. Those people are looking for ways to secure a better future for themselves.

00:59And when we look at sectors to do that, you see stocks, and that's a field that's truly

01:04in favor of the wealthy, as evidenced by why that whole GameStop situation took place.

01:10Meme coins offer a beacon of hope for those who are looking for a brighter future that's

01:15both organic and grassroots. Personally, the Appu community, for example, has become a

01:20close-knit in a way where community members have expressed that, even after a horrible

01:24day, it's a safer treat for them to relax and smile amongst friends.

01:29And then Scott, what are the risks associated with investing in meme coins, and how do you

01:33differentiate between promising meme coins and potential flops?

01:36Yeah, great question. So make no mistake that the meme coin, and more broadly, the entire

01:41crypto space, is not without its risk. Every day, quite literally, there are thousands

01:46of just meme coins that are created, and I think a fair number of that is around 98%

01:51of those are abandoned and rug-pulled by nefarious developers. It's very important that you first

01:56confirm that the project is legitimate and being led by individuals in good faith.

02:01Now let's say you do find this diamond in the rough. Now you have to examine what potential

02:06it has for the future. There's two big contributors for that that you can base your assessment

02:10off of. Number one is, how engaged and active is the community? Do they believe in the meme?

02:16Are they putting in their own time and effort to spread awareness? Circling back to the

02:21Apu community, we've had community members create over 11 albums worth of music, which

02:26are now both on Spotify and Apple Music. And this is kind of a way to break the norms and

02:31traditional methods that have existed. Innovation is really key to setting yourself apart.

02:35Number two is, how popular is the meme itself? We're actually seeing this narrative shift

02:41in the meme coin culture right now. We're shifting from these popular dog-themed coins

02:45like Dogecoin and SHIB, which have dominated the market, into more frog-themed coins. As

02:51funny as that sounds, I think the reason this is is because SHIB and Dogecoin were not as

02:57strong of memes before they became tokenized, whereas frog coins have been the champions

03:03of memes over the internet for years. Most people can recognizably see Pepe the Frog

03:10and Apu memes all over the place. The thing with Apu is it's representing a more lighthearted

03:16and friendly side of the internet without the political connotations that Pepe the Frog does.

03:20Got it. And then how does social media influence the value and popularity of meme coins?

03:26So yeah, meme coins, just like memes, originate and spread on social media. Social media channels

03:32like X, specifically, it's really the battlegrounds where memes and meme coins fight for victory

03:37or burn into oblivion. The truth is that most memes will not survive if the community isn't

03:43what we call in the trenches. On platforms like X, spreading the word and raising awareness,

03:49which has always been the case. SHIB, for example, was originally a community takeover

03:53token, which started on an online messaging board. Apu community members were spending

04:01about 12 hours a day constantly on X, engaging with both large accounts and each other's

04:05posts. They're even buying premium checkmarks just for better recognition. We had a member

04:11on X actually posting about Apu just minutes before his wedding. To be honest, it's a dedication,

04:17it's a job, and it's really the make it or break it standard to make it out here.

04:20Yeah. So you mentioned how important that community is. What should investors consider

04:25when looking at the community and development team behind a meme coin?

04:29Great question. Yeah. For the team, it's transparency. Even if the team can't tell

04:34you directly the details of what they're working on, they should be able to paint a broad picture

04:39about the plans and what they're doing behind the scenes. And then as far as community,

04:44you really just want a community who's active. They band together in the hard times and they

04:48celebrate the good times as well.

04:50Got it. And then what long-term implications might the meme coin trend have on the broader

04:54cryptocurrency market and its future development?

04:57Awesome. Yeah. Meme coins, they're really just the ultimate catalyst for getting everyday

05:01people into crypto. The truth is most newcomers don't have a grasp outside of what crypto

05:06or the blockchain actually is. There's still a lot of educating that needs to be done.

05:11Now when you mix all these different utility projects that require a lot of backend knowledge,

05:16there's a huge gap of information that'll prevent most people on the outside from actually

05:20stepping in. Newcomers, they just tend to stay in their circle of competence. And what

05:25these people actually do understand is a cute little green frog meme, especially one

05:30that they've had saved on their phone or PC for years already. On top of that, it's just

05:35rewarding to be in such an active and engaging community. Outside of big players like Bitcoin

05:41and Ethereum, meme coins actually have the next most likely potential to getting your

05:46everyday person into crypto. After all, it was Dogecoin that was mentioned on SNL and

05:51it's actually being used as payment at places like Tesla and SpaceX. To onboard more people,

05:57crypto needs to be fun, it needs to be engaging, and it needs to be easy for people to understand.

06:04Meme coins such as Apu hit that nail right on the head. And I believe Elon Musk said

06:08it best when he said the most entertaining outcome is the most likely. And I think that's

06:11absolutely true.

06:12All right. Well, Scott, this has been an awesome discussion. I'm going to throw you one hot

06:17take before we go. Should meme coins be taken seriously? Why or why not?

06:23Okay. Yeah. As far as meme coins are concerned, you take the entire meme coin market and you

06:28index it, that's going to sum up to around $52 billion, which in total is larger than

06:34major S&P companies that have existed for decades. For example, it's larger than Ford

06:40Motors, Yum! Brands, and Kraft Heinz, really notable companies. And that is taking in a

06:46lot of different projects into consideration. But I believe as a young industry, we'll see

06:51these markets mature over time. And, you know, the future is quite bright.

06:55There you go. Well, Scott Enders, again, from Apu.com. Thank you again for joining us here

06:59at Benzinga. It's been a pleasure to learn more about the community and the project.

07:03Absolute pleasure, AB. Thank you so much for having me on.

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