Encrypted "cult" thoughts, how to discover future fanaticism projects in the early stage

Editor: Zen, PANews

When you look at the human population as a whole, those who live alone in tribes or societies tend to die faster. We learned early in human history that each individual needs to depend on a strong group to survive. Usually, the most united and loyal people win over other groups.

"Hold" mentality is king

In TG or discord most people operate for themselves and thus cannot combine into groups. This is even more so with venture capital tokens, where these people operate for the most part in self-interest. Just like sharks usually fight alone and don’t fit in with groups, KOL Zoomer Oracle calls it a shark mentality.

The difference from cult-like fandoms like tokens or NFTs is that the community doesn't care about this short-term mentality. Once a member converts to a "cult", the social process in social media converts the member into a true believer. At that moment, the "cult" began to rise. There is a lot of research on cults themselves. Esoteric elements like memes can play a big part in this. It's like magic. It's a fringe belief system developed or enforced by a leader, and people who join a "cult" are "brainwashed" in the public eye.

And when you analyze this phenomenon that exists in cryptocurrencies, it doesn't matter whether this research is true or not. What happens is that there is an unusual set of ideas acting together in the same way as they were not accepted in the "mainstream".

Link Marines is an important example, when browsing 4chan in 2017, people have not seen so many people making memes about Sergey and McDonald. It’s clear that Chainlink’s rise started as a cult, not a technology (its mainnet didn’t launch until 2019). Another example is Cardano, HEX, and BAYC, the crypto industry is not doing well right now, but their prices, these tokens/NFTs are outperforming most "innovative" and "fundamental" tech tokens. Why is this so?

"Cults" are some of the most powerful groups in the cryptocurrency space. This means that they will not sell their native assets because they firmly believe that they belong to this group. Because of the more unpredictable times of cryptocurrencies, they will strengthen their belief in their tokens. This has the effect that a group of people strongly holds assets belonging to that group. No one wants to get rid of it. This is their safe zone where they can post and make friends. Because group ties are so strong, few "traitors" will destroy their cult.

Hope is one of the strongest emotions a human being can have. If you can measure "hope and belief" like a cult coin, I'm pretty sure it will destroy other coins with "good technology". This has caused supplies to dry up. As the cult grows bigger due to high conversion rates, at some point the folks at Shark Mind realize just how big this group is. Smart people tend to take advantage of this when they become aware of this phenomenon. **Most crypto cults will reflect huge bubbles. Only a few will not go bankrupt, but most will. **

When identifying these cults, you'll generally see that the group mostly doesn't give bad reviews for shorts. They talk about ideas that strengthen the cult, make it better, and often have a strong visionary core. Of course, price matters to them, but in the long run, a "hold" mentality is king.

How to identify projects that may have fanatical communities

A hallmark of a "cult-like" project is a coherent theme that permeates every aspect of the project. On the most basic level, coherence is a sign that developers care; on a more macro level, it enables participants to better immerse themselves in the "persona" of the project.

However, it is important to note that the value of a theme may wane over time as the project attracts a wider mainstream audience. Therefore, it is crucial to start with a niche topic that appeals to a dedicated core audience while retaining the uniqueness of the project. That is why the "Copypasta" project did not do well in terms of price. With visual fatigue and an insincere vibe, it feels like a quick buck and repelling would-be lovers.

**A project should have a coherent and unique theme, but it must also ultimately resonate with a wider audience. **Many artistic NFTs are good counter-examples that retain their uniqueness but fail to expand their reach due to strong author influence.

Judging coherence and uniqueness is easy, but assessing relevance is trickier. Themes that evoke emotion, especially nostalgia, are often relevant. The aesthetic theme of the past offers a special combination that is unique and relevant. They reflect a bygone time, evoking nostalgia, and their rarity in today's time gives them new allure.

$BITCOIN, $DMT, and the broader Milday ecosystem, all utilize Y2K (an abbreviation for "Year 2 Kilo", referring to the year 2000, a style that emphasizes a sense of technology and a sense of the future. y2k is the millennial future style ) and weird core aesthetics. These aesthetics are unique in that they are currently underutilized, but relevant to the core Web3 players who grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s.

In contrast, many VC-backed projects tend to exhibit a soulless corporate style. A lack of authenticity and individuality can hinder the formation of a loyal following, limiting the potential for exponential growth in attention.

In conclusion, finding a potential "cult" project is about finding coherent, unique themes that resonate with a broad audience. I hope this article has given you insights to help you discover your own soul gem.