Staking Memecoins Is the New Meta as Projects Like WOMIO Are Proving

How Staking Elevates Memecoins Beyond Pure Speculation

If you thought staking was just for PoS networks, think again. This simple but core blockchain function, in which users lock tokens into a smart contract and earn rewards for providing network security, has much broader applications throughout the web3 industry. From restaking to DeFi, it’s increasingly being used as a means of incentivizing token holders to commit to projects they have conviction in – and it’s even begun permeating a sector not known for its compelling use cases: memecoins.

Making Memecoins Stronger Through Staking

Crypto users typically participate in staking for two reasons, one selfish and the other more altruistic. From a personal perspective, they’re willing to lock up their tokens for an extended period on account of the incentives for doing so. But from a less selfish perspective, they also believe in the project in question and recognize that staking signals their ongoing support.

While staking on networks such as Ethereum, EVM L2s, Cosmos, and Solana has grown into the largest DeFi vertical by TVL, this simple but versatile blockchain use case is now being repurposed in other sectors of the cryptoconomy including memecoins. Projects such as WOMIO are leading the way here, offering incentives to stakers while showing that there are ways for memecoins to reward holders without relying on pure “number go up” pumpamentals. And there are signs that similar projects are following suit in a bid to engineer sustainable incentives that will allow memecoins to become more than mere objects for speculation.

From Proof of Work to Proof of Meme

Cryptocurrency staking emerged as an alternative to energy-intensive mining with the first Proof of Stake asset, Peercoin, in 2012. This alternative blockchain security model involves holding and staking tokens to help validate transactions. In return, stakers earn rewards, usually in the form of additional tokens. Over time, PoS has gained traction due to its energy efficiency and scalability, with major blockchains like Ethereum adopting it, solidifying staking as a key blockchain consensus mechanism.

Fast forward to the present day and Proof of Stake chains outnumber Proof of Work chains by 50:1 while staking has become a staple of numerous web3 verticals including memecoins. In the case of WOMIO, holders who stake their tokens can earn a share of all future memecoins that launch on its multichain token launchpad. It’s a suitably enticing incentive, given the potential for one of these projects to hit a home run and earn holders a generous return.

From the perspective of crypto projects, staking is an ideal feature to implement because it reduces sell pressure during the critical post-launch phase, providing an opportunity to grow the community while rewarding loyal supporters in a variety of ways. While staking rewards administered in the same currency as that being locked up is the most common implementation, this approach risks merely deferring sell pressure rather than lifting it altogether.

The implementation that WOMIO has taken, in which rewards are administered in the form of other tokens, is more sustainable and has more upside given the sort of multiples that successful memecoins can pull. More memecoin connoisseurs interested in putting this theory to the test, the WOMIO token can be purchased using BNB, ETH, SOL, USDT, or BTC, before the staking program launches once WOMIO’s token launch platform goes live.

The industry is awash with tales of traders who’ve purchased a few dollars of a memecoin at launch and cashed out after pulling a 100x or more. For stakers who’ve earned their memecoin allocation without needing to purchase the new token, it’s essentially a no-risk bet.

Making Staking Work at Scale

Staking is a powerful tool that, when well engineered, can align incentives between ecosystem participants and support steady growth. But there’s an art to designing a staking program that achieves these goals without diluting its own token or “kicking the can down the road” by setting itself up for major sell-offs when a significant amount of staked tokens unlocks.

The best crypto projects have designed staking programs that hit the sweet spot – the Goldilocks Zone – where rewards are high enough to maintain community interest but not so generous as to cause problems further down the line. Since memecoin projects operate as tokens rather than native blockchain assets, they can’t justify staking under the guise of ensuring network security and validating transactions. Instead, they’ve had to get creative, devising promotions, bonuses, and exclusive perks to reward stakers.

It’s a small but important step to fostering memecoins with real utility beyond speculation. There’s still a long way to go before memecoins can operate as feature- and function-rich crypto assets. But through the introduction of staking programs, there are signs that the memecoin sector is maturing. It’s still mostly about the dank memes. But it’s also now about the staking.