As the crypto landscape adapts to the recent Bitcoin ETF approval, more favourable market conditions are clearly on the horizon. Meanwhile, another new phenomenon is the surge of memecoins like Polkadot's DED token.
While most projects have named founders guiding development, $DED emerged directly from Polkadot's grassroots community.
The idea for $DED took shape organically on Polkadot's public Telegram channel (https://t.me/dedbird). A group from the DOT community and developers were joking about the “Polkadot is Dead'' slogan. They felt the ecosystem's vibrant community was at odds with this supposed demise.
From there, the idea snowballed into creating a tongue-in-cheek memecoin to memorialise Polkadot called $DED. It honoured inside jokes like gathering to "mourn" DOT while driving real adoption. Someone suggested airdropping it to DOT holders to quickly gain interest.
With no individual leader or founder, the community itself began driving $DED’s development through memes, messaging, and grassroots hype. This organic style follows the model that boosted Dogecoin and, more recently, BONK to fame.
What Is Fair Distribution?
$DED's community roots manifest in its fair distribution model. Most projects assign large portions of the token supply to founders and investors, concentrating wealth. $DED flipped this by opting for free community airdrops.
DOT holders receive fixed $DED allocations proportional to their DOT holdings. The percentage stays equal regardless of the amount held, avoiding the creation of whales with excess influence. This wide distribution incentivizes regular users to participate and hold $DED, and preserves the token’s long-term value, as they feel invested in $DED’s success.
Overall, the fair distribution and accessibility gives more users a stake in $DED. Avoiding big investor chunks prevents centralised control. Together, the mechanics support community growth.
#notyourDOTnotyourDED
In addition to using the fair distribution model, the $DED community also places a large importance on decentralization. This has led them to heavily encourage airdrop pursuers to withdraw their $DOT from centralized exchanges to their non-custodial wallets if they want to become eligible for the $DED airdrop when it happens.
This encouragement towards $DOT holders makes sense, as it comes after the recent rally of many Polkadot infrastructure projects to support $DED, including various popular wallets like Nova and Talisman, and DEXs like Stella Swap. In an initiative the $DED community has labeled #notyourDOTnotyourDED, the project’s ethos of decentralization and community ownership shines through.
No Founders…No Problem
Crypto projects usually have named founders leading a company structure behind them. $DED eschewed this in favour of a crowdsourced model where organisation happens directly through community channels.
In its Telegram group, members self-organise and ideate together for developing $DED. They lack traditional hierarchies - anyone can pitch ideas and contributions come from a pool of volunteers. Roles arise organically based on individual interests and talents.
This structure mirrors the decentralisation of networks themselves. It gives the community firsthand control and ownership over $DED's direction. Passionate users drive development rather than corporate priorities.
The people-powered formula is achieving results: $DED's original Telegram saw 4,000 members join in a week. Top Polkadot wallets like Nova and Talisman, among many others, pledged integration support. Despite no official release yet, grassroots momentum is clearly building.
Of course, that momentum can quickly fade without strong communities. But $DED’s ever-growing base seems to have embraced the teamless paradigm. They can now put funding behind the effort as well.
$DED Submits Treasury Proposal
$DED's community recently published a proposal requesting a grant from Polkadot's Polkassembly Treasury. These funds fuel projects deemed beneficial to Polkadot.
The proposal asks for funding for a 75-day marketing campaign to enhance the grassroots initiative and introduce more people to $DED. The proposal has been approved, and the funds will now provide a war chest to accelerate memecoin mania through increased awareness and interest brought about by strategic marketing, public relations, creative content, and community activity.
A surge in popularity seems likely given $DED's premise of growing Polkadot participation and showcasing the network’s buzz-generating capabilities. $DED proves projects by and for the people can thrive on the blockchain. As they finalise its launch details, the legacy finance world should prepare itself for disruption.
To stay updated on all DED-related news, join their community Telegram (https://t.me/dedbird) and follow them on X (https://twitter.com/dotisded)
