Is Bitcoin a modern religion? Can meme coins save the crypto market?

One year ago, I participated in an audio discussion on a certain platform where we debated: Does Bitcoin’s development rely on consensus or capital-driven? At that time, I felt this question shouldn’t be asked. In the days following, I fell into deep frustration.

I have always firmly believed that the core of cryptocurrency is consensus and culture, in other words, faith. Four years ago, I left the traditional industry and dedicated myself wholeheartedly to this field, holding onto this idea. The ups and downs of trading made my mood swing like a roller coaster, but this belief has never wavered.

Fast forward to 2025, and it has been a year of disappointment for the entire crypto community. As the year draws to a close, the biggest problem we face remains the same——narrative failure and loss of faith.

As an ordinary industry practitioner, although my work is mundane, over these four years I have seen some things and understood some matters. I always felt that one day I needed to systematically organize these thoughts. Now is the time.

Bitcoin is actually a modern religion

Christianity has Jesus, Buddhism has Shakyamuni, Islam has Muhammad, and Bitcoin has Satoshi Nakamoto. Christianity has the Bible, Buddhism has the Tripitaka, Islam has the Quran, and Bitcoin has that white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”

Looking deeper, you’ll find that Bitcoin not only has doctrines——the modern financial order will eventually collapse, and Bitcoin will become Noah’s Ark in the doomsday; it also has religious rituals——mining and holding coins; and it has experienced splits and transformations, and even recognition by various governments.

But here, it’s important to clarify the differences.

First is decentralization. This term has become somewhat distorted in the crypto world, tinged with sarcasm, but it is indeed the most fundamental trait of Bitcoin as a modern religion. I am not referring to the degree of decentralization of the blockchain network, but rather whether the formation of consensus itself is decentralized.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the “creator deity,” chose to “self-exile,” forsaking authority, and created a brand new world. Bitcoin has no central deity symbolizing power, no individual or institution wielding divine authority. It is grassroots, wild growth. The phrase in the white paper and the genesis block——“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”——has never been changed. You can interpret it freely.

Satoshi is the most human-like and least human-like creator deity. He controls hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin but also holds a red button that could destroy this religion, yet he disappeared like that. What’s incredible is that after more than a decade, Bitcoin believers still believe that Satoshi is guarding the world forever, and now even governments are starting to believe it.

Second is the internet. It allows Bitcoin to spread without relying on face-to-face evangelism, conquest through war, or immigration, no longer limited by linearity or geography. The internet endows Bitcoin with meme culture’s infectiousness, attracting a new generation of young people.

And the two most critical aspects——dedication and reward, splits and expansion. These determine that the essence of modern religion is a “faith capital market.”

Faith capital market

As a Bitcoin believer, you don’t need fasting or asceticism; just run a full node or hold coins.

Whether your faith is challenged by disputes over small or large blocks, or by new chains like Ethereum or Solana, you can still run a full node or hold coins.

Running a full node, holding coins——these are religious rituals. The difference is, these rituals do not promise a blissful afterlife but reward believers with material and spiritual gains through real market prices.

Disputes over small vs. large blocks, the emergence of new chains, and various debates—what do they ultimately lead to? The total market cap of cryptocurrencies continues to rise. The key reversal here is——traditional religions conflict to explain the world, ultimately dividing it; whereas crypto conflicts are like sparks of creation, like the Big Bang expanding infinitely, growing bigger and more vibrant.

The universe is vast enough to contain countless Earths. The capital market is large enough to accommodate countless tokenized beliefs.

Of course, Bitcoin is a specific modern religion. But from the perspective of pioneering the “faith capital market,” its significance far exceeds the simple religious concept; I call it the “Religion of No Religion.” Bitcoin has undergone secularization——religious rituals evolved from running full nodes, to HODLing, and now to a state where hardly anyone emphasizes the specific meaning. It’s like a totem quietly perched at the top of the crypto market.

Just like Christmas is no longer strictly a Christian holiday. We enjoy Christmas trees, gifts, the festive atmosphere, and wear Santa hats, but we may not be Christians.

According to NRF and Statista data, the US holiday retail sales in 2024 are about $973 billion, projected to break $1 trillion for the first time in 2025. The US accounts for 40-50% of global Christmas consumption. Meanwhile, the “commercial value” of the Christian tradition (donations, tickets, souvenirs, etc.) according to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s 2024 report, totals about $1.304 trillion——but this excludes contributions from non-Christians through tourism.

The secularization of Christmas has expanded Christianity’s influence but diluted its core. The same applies to Bitcoin. Increasingly, crypto market participants are entering solely for speculation. There’s no right or wrong; it’s an unstoppable process. The question is——does celebrating Christmas shake the faith of Christians, and does the wave of speculation shake the beliefs of Bitcoin believers?

Similarly, secularization, the joy of Christmas does not cause Christians to feel nihilistic, but the speculative atmosphere in the crypto market causes believers to feel frustrated. The viral post on a certain platform, “I wasted 8 years of my life in crypto,” is the best proof.

Where is the problem

I dare not draw hasty conclusions. From an intuitive perspective, Bitcoin’s development is too fast, and its faith foundation is relatively small compared to traditional religions.

More critically——the crypto industry has gone too far in the “technological mysticism.” Practitioners and speculators are repeatedly seeking an answer: how else can blockchain be used? Practitioners set the direction based on this, speculators choose targets based on this. When everyone pursues faster, more efficient, and more practical blockchains, they are actually harming themselves.

If cryptocurrencies are just the second Nasdaq, then it’s a repeat of waste. But wasting money is not the most serious issue——it’s the dilution of the understanding of the essence of the “faith capital market,” and the consumption of faith itself that is deadly.

Without Christianity, there would be no pop culture Christmas. Without a faith-formed capital market, there would be no paradise for entrepreneurs and speculators. If we ignore this obvious causal relationship, we will keep asking: “How to create new narratives to attract more people in?”

But Bitcoin has already answered this question. It took less than 20 years to make traditional religions gape in astonishment. Now it’s the entire crypto industry’s turn to face this challenge——In different eras, in what form can we attract young people with different cultural preferences?

Meme coins are the savior

Meme coins are the saviors of the crypto industry.

First, the foundation of the faith capital market is Bitcoin, but that doesn’t mean we need to re-promote Bitcoin maximalism. The most fundamental and fanatical in religion are often niche; the punk spirit and the apocalyptic view of traditional finance are gradually losing their novelty among the new generation, and their understanding threshold is high.

From another perspective, what truly needs revitalization is not Bitcoin as a specific religion, but the “Religion of No Religion”——a cognition: everyone’s faith can be凝聚 in the crypto market through the internet, gaining material wealth and unleashing infinite power.

The core value of Bitcoin is simply “you and I both believe it has value.” It sounds like nonsense, but it’s actually the great decentralization of the interpretative power of value. You and I can write on paper “worth one gram of gold,” but no one would believe it. Without a value anchor, without central authority endorsement, starting from zero and crossing language, culture, and geography, it can even be recognized by institutions and governments. This greatness is vastly underestimated by the masses.

Throughout history, individual consciousness has been extremely weak and easily trampled. The most resource-consuming activity in this world is war——the war of invading consciousness. Political elections, advertising, even education, all involve massive amounts of money just to make you and me believe that something is good or bad.

The internet is great; it allows ideas to cross all boundaries. Cryptocurrency is great; it shows us what can be achieved when ideas collide, grow exponentially, and form huge scales. The greatness of cryptocurrency is underestimated, even inverted. Building technology is great, but its core value is enabling people to settle down. The “peer-to-peer electronic cash system” is a genius concept, but its core value is that people recognize it as truly valuable.

Over the years, we have created countless so-called faster and more efficient blockchains, fantasizing that more people will enter. It’s like thinking that by removing religion, phenomena like Christmas can be quickly and widely replicated. We mistakenly believe that holding a sword makes us dominate the world, but in reality, we not only lack the sword in hand but also lack the sword in our hearts.

Second, meme coins have not yet experienced a complete and mature bull market cycle. Many still think meme coins are just worthless hype. The popularity of pump.fun and a certain big figure issuing coins have polluted the true definition of “attention tokens” and meme coins.

What is a true meme coin? Honestly, I don’t even like this term very much. Early DOGE and SHIB achieved great success under the judgment of “uselessness.” We are used to finding reasons after success but ignore the faith value. So we say, because that smiling dog’s head has a huge influence worldwide, it’s called a meme coin. Then we start to carry over classic internet symbols——Pepe, Wojak, Joe……

Here, I must pay tribute to Murad Mahmudov. He was the first to systematically explain what meme coins are, propose quantifiable evaluation standards, and deliver speeches on the big stage. His “meme coin supercycle” theory has gained enough influence in the crypto circle.

He insightfully identified a key point——meme is just a syntax sugar for faith assets. Truly faith-based assets must, like Bitcoin, clearly communicate doctrines, what they face, what they aim to change, and how to influence or even change the world.

SPX is good, sharply mocking the S&P 500, surpassing traditional finance. NEET is good, clearly stating that the 9-to-5 is a scam and awakening more people to break free from work slavery.

Just as Bitcoin believers endure price fluctuations in their spiritual practice, creating genuine faith assets is also difficult. In this process, the new religion must find a clear positioning internally, unite the community, and externally expand influence. This is destined to be a long process, and not every small step is reflected in the price.

Meme coins are the saviors because when everyone realizes that meme coins are just a misnomer, and “faith assets” shine again in the market, they will exclaim, “Meme coins are back.” In fact, faith assets are the essence of this market, inherently present and indispensable.

Conclusion

The things the world cares about change every year, month, day, and hour. We cannot expect cryptocurrencies to always be the most followed topic. Losing faith, this industry deserves to die.

Greatness cannot be planned. No one knows why the next time cryptocurrency becomes the hottest topic in the world. It’s a form of asceticism. Bitcoin is a sociological model, a cyber religion, a religious form. Forget this, and the entire industry is just a “business” based on Bitcoin consensus. And what businesspeople want is not to strengthen consensus but to keep increasing revenue.

I can’t change anything, nor do I want to. But I will stick to my belief——faith in the faith capital market.