The Last Auction of the Pink Hat: A History of the Rise and Fall of a Meme Coin

On August 5, 2025, an ordinary pink knitted hat is about to be auctioned. This hat was the symbol of Dogwifhat (WIF) and once became a sensation in the crypto world. In November 2024, it represented a meme coin with a market value of over $4 billion. The community even raised nearly $700,000 with the intention of projecting the Shiba Inu image wearing it onto the giant dome of The Sphere in Las Vegas.

On March 18, 2024, this "Shiba Inu with a Hat" was minted as an NFT and auctioned on a certain platform. In the end, a well-known cryptocurrency trader purchased it for a high price of 1210.759 ETH (approximately 4.3 million USD), making it the second highest auction item sold on the platform at that time.

However, less than a year later, this hat faced auction again, but few showed interest. In the context of the NFT craze fading and the market being sluggish, the once-popular Meme encountered a silent cold shoulder. As a typical old Meme, WIF's situation has become even more dire. After the auction news was announced, it even failed to stir any ripples on social media.

From being the center of attention to being forgotten, the story of WIF reveals a harsh truth: in the Web3 world, being forgotten is the real death. The auction of this hat may be the last mark WIF leaves in the history of cryptocurrency. Its experience is worth reflecting on for every project struggling in this battlefield of attention.

The Rise of WIF

At the end of 2023, a simple photo began to circulate on cryptocurrency social media: a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat. No one could have predicted that this seemingly random combination would create billions of dollars in market value in the following months.

The explosion of WIF is inseparable from a key figure. As one of the most influential KOLs in the crypto space, when he started frequently mentioning this "hat dog" on social media, miracles happened. Each of his posts acted like a stimulant injected into the market, propelling WIF from an obscure meme coin to the center stage of the crypto world.

The rise of WIF is astonishing - in just 81 days, its market value has surpassed 1 billion dollars. The enthusiasm of the community has exceeded everyone’s expectations. They are not satisfied with merely spreading the image of the doge online; they want to do something unprecedented - project WIF onto The Sphere in Las Vegas. This is the largest spherical LED screen in the world, with millions of people passing by every day. If the doge can appear on it, it will be the most iconic moment in the history of meme coins.

In March 2024, a crowdfunding campaign originally targeted at $650,000 was completed in just a few days, ultimately exceeding expectations with nearly $700,000 raised. Community members generously contributed, believing that this was not just a marketing event, but a crucial step for WIF towards the mainstream. Social media was filled with excited discussions, with everyone counting down to the moment when the hat dog would illuminate the Las Vegas night sky.

On March 31, 2024, after the crowdfunding of The Sphere program ended, market sentiment peaked, and WIF set a historical high price of $4.83. During that crazy period, WIF seemed to be unstoppable. Almost every crypto community was discussing this Shiba Inu wearing a pink hat. The influence of KOLs, the enthusiasm of the community, and the FOMO sentiment in the market combined perfectly, driving WIF to its peak.

It was the golden age of WIF, where 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 recognition, and a belief in the infinite possibilities of the crypto world.

The Las Vegas Nightmare of WIF

The turning point of fate came so quickly. In January 2025, the Trump meme burst onto the scene, sucking the liquidity out of the crypto market like a black hole. Shortly after, in February, the tariff policy announced by Trump triggered macroeconomic uncertainty, leading to a sharp correction in the crypto market. Among them, the decline of meme coins was particularly brutal. To this day, 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 deadliest blow came in April 2025. It all started with false hopes at the beginning of the year—on January 29, the official social media account of Dogwifhat released the long-awaited teaser for the Las Vegas Sphere project, instantly igniting community enthusiasm, and WIF surged 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 "there has never been any commercial cooperation discussions with any cryptocurrency projects." This cold water doused the enthusiasm completely; after the denial statement was released, WIF plummeted nearly 10% within an hour.

Worse still, serious divisions began to emerge within the community. Some members questioned the transparency of the project and strongly demanded a detailed disclosure of the use of the raised funds. The crisis of trust spread like a virus.

After nearly a year of painful waiting, on April 1, 2025, one of the initiators of The Sphere project finally announced the official abandonment of the project and the start of refunds. Nearly $700,000 in fundraising, countless days and nights of anticipation, ultimately turned into a bubble. By this time, the price of WIF had fallen to a low of $0.42, and after the news of the project's abandonment broke, WIF plummeted again, hitting 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.

What's worse is that the voice of the key KOL has started to fade away. This opinion leader, who used to mention WIF every day, has gradually shifted their attention to other projects. After months of stagnation, WIF seems to have disappeared from social media. The once ubiquitous Shiba Inu meme packs are gone, enthusiastic community discussions have quieted down, and even the most loyal supporters have started to change their allegiance.

At the same time, 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. A well-known entrepreneur has never stopped interacting with Doge, and he has long become Doge's best ambassador.
• Pepe has occupied another high ground with its classic frog image. Pepe has become part of internet language with its vast ecosystem of memes.
• Pengu is backed by a strong community from a certain NFT project and has garnered the favor of certain Wall Street institutions. Pengu is dedicated to expanding the web2 ecosystem and recently announced a collaboration with a trendy IP consumer goods company. At the same time, they are also active on multiple social media platforms.

These successful meme coins share a common characteristic: multidimensional vitality. They either have the support of representative KOLs, possess strong community creativity, or have gained institutional recognition. The key point is that they have established a diversified communication network that will not collapse due to the disappearance of a single support.

In contrast, the issues with WIF are obvious. It relies too heavily on the personal influence of a certain KOL, has not established its own content ecosystem, lacks an innovation mechanism, and has failed to gain institutional favor. When the initial hype subsided, it had no support system to rely on.

In this era of extreme scarcity of attention, once you start to be forgotten, it is almost an impossible task to return to the spotlight. WIF is going through this cruel process - from being the center of attention to being ignored, it has only taken a few months.

The Harsh Truth of the Crypto World

Raising the market is justice. Although 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.

The price rises, and everything seems right. The community is active, opinion leaders are competing to recommend, and new holders are continuously coming in, starting a positive cycle. When the price drops, all problems are exposed. The community begins to infight, KOLs quietly exit, panic spreads, and the death spiral follows.

For WIF, it is facing two fatal problems:

First, no longer remembered. The flow of time in the crypto world is tenfold, a hundredfold compared to the real world. Hot topics from three months ago are already ancient history here. When KOLs no longer mention WIF, when the community stops creating new content, and when trading volume begins to shrink, WIF transforms from a "present continuous tense" into a "past perfect tense." In this market, which is always chasing the next opportunity for wealth, no one will be interested in history.

Second, it has lost the attraction of wealth creation. The fundraising failure of The Sphere is not just a marketing setback, but exposes a harsh reality: when prices fall, even the most loyal community members become cautious. Without new capital inflow, there is no momentum for price increases; without price increases, it is impossible to attract new capital. This is an intractable dilemma.

The deeper truth is that in this era dominated by attention economy, the life and death of meme coins often hinge on a single thought. A post 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 may become stars, but most can only accept the fate of being forgotten.

This is the survival rule of the crypto world: stay relevant, or die. There is no middle option.

Being forgotten is the true death

On August 5th, that pink knitted hat will look for its new owner.

At the moment the auction hammer falls, it may be the last footnote left by WIF 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 the dreams of a community, but now it must seek its meaning of existence through an auction.

But this ending precisely confirms our initial point: in the world of Web3, being forgotten is the true death. Hats can be auctioned, collected, and placed in a museum display case. However, WIF, as a meme, a cultural symbol, and a cryptocurrency, has gradually lost its popularity. Not because the code had problems, not because it was hacked, 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 myths of wealth circulate. In this never-ending cycle, only those projects that can continuously occupy people's minds will survive. The rest, no matter how glorious they once were, will be washed away by the torrent of time.

Interestingly, NFTs, as products of the previous era, have demonstrated even greater vitality during this cycle dominated by meme coins. Even in the winter of NFTs, certain well-known projects can still generate buzz with occasional IP licensing news, some projects occasionally see sky-high transaction amounts making headlines, and there are projects that regain public attention due to the release of physical toys. The teams behind these projects are still working, and the communities remain strong; they have successfully carved out a bloody path, continuously generating real commercial value and profits.

In contrast, meme coins are mostly products of wild growth. They