What Are Web Capital Markets? Why Firms Are Launching Meme Cash – Decrypt

Startups and established corporations are launching meme cash—and crypto degens are sending their valuations skyrocketing—in a development often known as “web capital markets.”

In conventional capital markets, entities can elevate capital by promoting shares, bonds, commodities, and extra. Web capital markets advances on this concept by implementing a digital-native fundraising instrument: meme cash.

Consequently, established corporations like traditional video platform Vine have launched multi-million greenback tokens, whereas rising corporations like podcasting app JellyJelly have additionally attracted large market capitalizations.

What are web capital markets?

Web capital markets is a time period that refers to corporations elevating cash or selling their enterprise utilizing digital-native monetary devices, mostly a type of cryptocurrency.

More often than not, the tokens don’t have any utility and are purely speculative belongings tied to the hype of a challenge—successfully performing as a meme coin. This can be a main distinction between web capital markets and conventional capital markets, the place shares characterize a share of an organization and sometimes promise sure privileges or dividend returns.

Firms first began this novel method to elevating capital by launching meme cash by way of Solana launchpad Pump.enjoyable. Rival platforms such because the Consider app have since rose in reputation as choices extra straight targeted on web capital markets.

“Web capital markets is itself a strong meme, and it’s among the many most vital and OG meta-narratives and use instances for crypto,” Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump.enjoyable, advised Decrypt. “In precept, it represents the flexibility to effectively and immediately crowdsource liquidity on decentralized crypto rails.”

How did this begin?

In January 2025, Rus Yusupov, the co-founder of cell video app Vine, launched Vine Coin by way of Pump.enjoyable. On its first day, the token skyrocketed to an astonishing market cap of $498 million as merchants cashed in on nostalgia for the TikTok predecessor.

Days later, Yusupov posted a waitlist hyperlink as onlookers speculated that the app was going to be relaunched. Extra eyes and a focus had been on Vine than ever earlier than, a lot in order that xAI purchased Vine, and Elon Musk hinted at a relaunch of the app—although it’s not clear if the meme coin performed a task on this transfer. Vine Coin remains to be but to ship any utility and has plummeted 92.5% from its all-time excessive.

Technically, this wasn’t the primary firm to launch a meme coin; a wave of AI initiatives launched tokens in 2024, with many utilizing them to fund their initiatives. Nevertheless, Vine Coin was the primary high-profile instance that was branded as web capital markets, with a wave of initiatives following swimsuit early in 2025.

The development slipped off the radar for a number of months, however was revitalized in Might 2025 with the emergence of Consider as a launchpad.

Consequently, new product discovering instrument Dupe noticed its token spike to a market cap of $79 million, in keeping with DEX Screener, earlier than dropping 78% to $17 million. AI social media assistant Creator Buddy peaked at $23.5 million and no-code Web3 builder Uber.enjoyable $13.7 million—down 76% and 99% respectively from their all-time highs, as of June 2025.

Why use web capital markets?

There are two main causes an organization could select the web capital markets mannequin: cash or advertising.

Mostly, a challenge is seeking to elevate capital and can launch a meme coin to assist fund its operations. This could both come within the type of promoting tokens devoted to the challenge—such because the Fact Terminal creator promoting Fartcoin—or just utilizing the creator income charges.

This method comes as conventional fundraising methods are damaged, 0xdetweiler, the pseudonymous founding father of funding agency third Road Capital, advised Decrypt. He stated that corporations are over-reliant on enterprise capitalism, which cuts out common traders from the dialog. Consequently, the audience for the product often doesn’t have a chance to take a position.

In some ways, the web capital markets development is a repackaging of the preliminary coin providing motion that dominated the business in 2017, 0xdetweiler stated.

“Web3 was constructed on permitting founders to boost funds from the general public [and] ship progressive merchandise,” he defined. “They achieve a neighborhood, capital and discover product market match. The go to market is lots quicker than conventional Web2 startups.”

However some initiatives don’t want capital; as an alternative, the meme coin technique is a advertising ploy.

For instance, Russian analysis lab Neiry Lab advised Decrypt that it had already secured enterprise capital funding when merchants pumped a token devoted to its rat experiment. Contemplating that, the lab embraced the meme coin as a advertising instrument to assist it develop its social media presence.

Iqram Magdon-Ismail, co-founder of JellyJelly and Venmo, stated that JellyJelly attracted 10,000 signups the day that it launched its meme coin—which touched a $248.5 million market cap. The founders categorically dominated out ever promoting the tokens for funding, however have since built-in it into the app as a approach to tip creators on the short-form podcasting platform.

Nevertheless, market members have famous that numerous the initiatives that launch underneath this technique aren’t severe long-term initiatives price investing in. Regardless of what some are calling “vibe coded bullshit” and “vaporware” merchandise, the tokens typically nonetheless pump to multi-million greenback market caps.

Fortuitously Matthew Nay, Senior Analysis Analyst at Messari, doesn’t suppose that is such a nasty factor.

“I believe it is wholesome when the market overreacts to this concept,” Nay advised Decrypt. “Hypothesis drives costs increased, which in flip results in extra capital getting into the market, after which results in extra initiatives being funded that need to discover these new concepts.”

Is that this all authorized?

It’s price noting that within the wake of 2017’s ICO increase, the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee cracked down on corporations for violating securities legal guidelines—with a number of multi-million greenback victories.

With some pointing to web capital markets as a repackaging of the ICO mannequin, ought to corporations be involved about using the hype practice?

“Firms contemplating launching meme cash—significantly these tied to their model or enterprise—ought to search authorized steering to evaluate whether or not their token capabilities as a capital elevate or implies an funding alternative,” digital asset lawyer Carlo D’Angelo advised Decrypt.

“This requires a fact-specific authorized evaluation,” D’Angelo defined. “If the token ‘walks and talks’ like a capital elevate, it might fulfill the weather of an funding contract underneath the Howey check and require registration with the SEC.”

That stated, occasions have modified since 2017, with U.S. President Donald Trump clearly being extra open to crypto-infused monetary fashions—he launched his personal meme coin, in spite of everything.

D’Angelo pointed to the SEC’s February 2025 employees assertion on meme cash, which seems to mark a shift from its earlier hardline stance towards crypto. The assertion claims that meme cash “will not be topic” to federal securities legal guidelines.

“The central authorized query stays: does the token perform as a capital elevate or as a purely speculative, community-driven meme?” D’Angelo stated, including that, “The reply is crucial in figuring out whether or not securities legal guidelines apply.”