At the intersection of memes and finance, this project is crafting a new narrative for cryptocurrency, prioritizing community and creativity.
What’s in a memecoin? The lighter side of the crypto industry is sometimes viewed as frivolous, but there are projects out there seeking to change that label.
The El Hippo memecoin is on a quest to bring the original mission statement of community-driven memecoins back into focus without losing any of the utility or charity elements that distinguish the new breed of memecoins from the old.
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Cointelegraph: What inspired the creation of El Hippo and its entry into the memecoin market?
El Hippo Team: We felt like the memecoin industry had lost a little of what made it so popular in the first place. With many new memecoins entering the market, there was no longer a focus on the fun-loving, meme-driven community aspect of things that drew us and many others to memecoins in the first place.
We wanted to launch a fresh new project that really focused on the community, fun events and artwork, sharing memes online, and basically creating an online space that people would actually want to spend time in. Obviously, there’s a financial aspect to memecoins, but what separates memecoins from other crypto projects has traditionally been the community involvement, and that’s what we wanted to bring back with El Hippo.
CT: How does El Hippo differentiate itself from other memecoins in the crypto space?
EHT: El Hippo is here to bring memecoins back to their roots — creating original content and having tons of fun online.
We think a lot of new memecoins are purely in it for the money. That’s fine. Crypto is a financial industry first and foremost, but for us, memecoins are supposed to be different. The community comes first; creating a space that people want to hang out in, joke around, and collaborate on art projects comes first.
CT: How do memecoins contribute to the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem?
EHT: memecoins add a little color to an industry that can otherwise be a little dry. We like to think they brighten people’s day when they come across good quality memes from a project like El Hippo.
Beyond that, memecoins have been responsible for some of the most explosive upward price trends in crypto history, typically powered by retail traders. Seeing a project go 1000x highlights the potential value of a crypto investment to newcomers and likely brings fresh investment to the space, in our opinion, and memecoins are particularly accessible due to their lighthearted aesthetic and usually quite friendly communities.
CT: How does El Hippo maintain a balance between being a memecoin and achieving real-world utility?
EHT: The El Hippo merch store will donate a portion of proceeds to hippo conservation, as well as donations we’ve already made to that cause. So there’s a charity aspect to the whole project. El Hippo also issues $700 every two weeks to participants in our ecosystem via the Zealy platform, as well as tens of thousands of dollars in airdrops and rewards.
That’s the real-world utility. And the memes, well, they just keep coming in! Striking that balance has been as easy as building a project that people want to make memes about and then simply making sure proceeds go back to the community.
CT: How do you see the relationship between meme culture and cryptocurrency evolving in the future?
EHT: We’re at a pretty crucial stage in the memecoin industry’s journey. We need projects like El HIppo to keep memecoins fun to participate in, otherwise, the industry will likely be subsumed by the wider crypto space. However, memes have always played a role in crypto to some extent, and we foresee that carrying on indefinitely, whether for memecoin projects or more generalized coins.
CT: What future plans do you have for El Hippo, particularly in terms of community engagement?
EHT: We have very big plans indeed! We just completed phase two of our roadmap by delivering on our promises to hit 10k tokenholders and secure centralized exchange listings so far on Bitget and MEXC. We’ve given out tens of thousands of dollars in airdrops, and we’re going to continue with reward schemes that keep elevating the project’s profile.
The community plays a crucial role in sharing El Hippo content and creating it in the first place, so we’re going to continue to incentivize that both with airdrops and actions like doing a weekly meme roundup in our newsletter on Substack that gives shoutouts and credit to the makers of our favorite memes each week.
CT: Can you shed light on any partnerships or collaborations that have been pivotal for El Hippo?
EHT: Of course. Our latest collaboration with Bitget has been wonderful. We just completed an AMA on the Bitget Telegram channel with over 100k users, and we fielded literally hundreds of questions from the audience, all about the project, where we’re going, what’s next. It was great. We’re also collaborating with them now on a series of rewards. Users can earn free HIPP by depositing or trading HIPP on the platform, and Bitget teamed up with us to donate money to hippo conservation as well.
CT: What are the biggest misconceptions people have about memecoins, and how do you address them?
EHT: Memecoins are often criticized for being all style and having no substance. But we like to think we offer both! By giving to charity through our upcoming merch store and direct donations, organizing fun contests online, and generating tons of great content through the community, there are many facets to the project both in the real world and online.
CT: How do you envision the future of memecoins, and where does El Hippo fit in this vision?
EHT: We’re here to take over the world! Just kidding… or are we?
A lot of planning and effort has been put into making El Hippo a long-term project, It’s built to last, it’s here to stay. That’s reflected in our fresh approach to choosing a mascot, our strong focus on building a real community where people actually want to take part in, our search for multi-lingual community managers to grow our presence in Southeast Asia and worldwide, and everything else that we do here.
We believe memecoins need to do something new in order to stay relevant – it’s not enough to just make some memes and call it a day. Memecoin communities need to be vibrant, real, and alive. That’s our vision for the future, and we’re leading by example.
CT: What advice would you give to new members joining the El Hippo community?
EHT: Come on in — the water’s warm! Our advice would be to check out our Discord. That’s where our community hangs out and posts memes, you can ask staff or the community any questions you like, introduce yourself, make friends, and get a feel for the whole project.
It’s about having fun, and there’s room for everyone.
CT: Finally, can you share any exciting upcoming developments or events for El Hippo?
EHT: We’re very excited about our drive to find multi-lingual users to act as community managers — we’re expanding globally, and the community will play a huge role in making our project an inclusive one with no language or accessibility barriers. Everybody is welcome.
Beyond that, we’re launching a merchandise store, developing partnerships with major influencers, securing new centralized exchange listings, launching our collection of NFTs, and growing our presence online. It’s full steam ahead for El Hippo!
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