How ChatGPT Elevates Memecoins to New Heights?

Author: LILY Z. KING, COO of Cobo

Compiled by: TechFlow

An artist with no programming experience successfully created a Memecoin—Turbo—with the help of ChatGPT, now valued at $70 million. This case has drawn attention to the possibilities emerging at the intersection of AI, memes, and cryptocurrency. In this article, LILY Z. KING, Chief Operating Officer of Cobo, shares her insights on the changes即将 unfold in the Web3 world.

Since the cryptocurrency market cap peaked in mid-2022, the crypto world has lacked a compelling new narrative to reignite interest from venture capital and the tech community. Meanwhile, generative AI has captured all the capital and attention with game-changing models like GPT and Stable Diffusion.

However, since early April, we’ve seen an unexpected new wave of Memecoin hype. For the most part, this trend is just another zero-sum game played by traders to fill the void left by a lack of real technological or use-case breakthroughs. But something fascinating has also begun: generative AI is driving the emergence of a new generation of meme coins.

This is exactly what happened with the Turbo Toad token—a memecoin that generated significant wealth for its founder, Rhett Dashwood. Dashwood, an artist with no coding background, used ChatGPT to create the memecoin—and even came up with its name.

On his YouTube channel, Dashwood tearfully recounted his struggles selling digital art during a bear market. He then conceived the idea of using AI to create a memecoin and documented the entire process on social media. With a budget of just $69 and relying solely on ChatGPT-4, he aimed to launch a successful meme coin ranked within the top 300 on CoinGecko—all while avoiding any illegal activities. “I relied entirely on AI,” Dashwood said in the video.

Despite having no knowledge of programming or smart contracts, with the help of ChatGPT, Dashwood was able to develop his memecoin concept, write a whitepaper, build a smart contract, design its tokenomics, and even set up a liquidity pool on a decentralized exchange.

Less than a week after launching his token, the market cap of his memecoin TURBO reached $70 million.

Generative AI tools are now breaking down barriers for creators, giving everyone the chance to create their own memes and issue tokens—even without any programming or design skills.

The Turbo Toad case hints at a future where tokenization becomes a wealth-creation tool accessible to anyone. However, it also implies that countless memecoins may follow, most of which will receive little to no public attention.

There will be abundant opportunities at the intersection of AI, memes, and cryptocurrency—but blindly betting on memecoins might not be one of them. When the barriers to creating, copying, and remixing memes nearly disappear, most memecoins will struggle to establish any sustainable moat.

So, when AI democratizes meme creation and tokenization, what opportunities will emerge?

Looking back at the Web2 era, the democratization of media enabled vast numbers of users to create text, images, and videos and publish them online. User-generated content (UGC) became a transformative force reshaping the internet ecosystem. Now, AI can not only help users create content but also assist in writing smart contracts and designing tokenomics. UGC—or user-generated tokens—could become the defining force in the Web3 ecosystem.

While building decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols for million-dollar trades may remain the domain of professionals, launching a memecoin that resonates culturally with a specific audience is now well within reach for ordinary users—as we saw with Turbo Toad.

User-generated content has already created superstars like Justin Bieber, who began his career by posting videos on YouTube. More importantly, it has empowered individuals to create content, gain attention, build influence within communities, and sometimes monetize that attention and influence.

User-generated tokens could have a similar impact. Yes, some memecoins might miraculously reach million-dollar valuations. But the real shift lies in the fact that anyone can now launch personalized memecoins based on their interests, hobbies, or relationships. This could lead to the formation of unique niche communities, where these tokens foster interaction and co-creation among members.

By combining AI’s content creation and coding capabilities, memes’ cultural resonance, and cryptocurrency’s financialization potential, user-generated tokens offer diverse pathways to create real value.

For example, they can serve as powerful tools for crowdfunding and sponsorship, enabling content creators to raise funds by tokenizing their work. They can also incentivize community members to participate in co-creation or promote meme projects within their social circles.

Looking ahead, while current memecoins may represent a transitional trend, the democratization of meme creation and tokenization holds the potential to unlock exciting new opportunities. User-generated tokens can open new avenues for individuals and communities to interact, collaborate, and create value in Web3.