Phemex CEO shows how to capitalize on meme coin trends

Federico Variola Shares Tips as a Pioneer of the Web3 Revolution

Federico Variola’s journey from academic researcher to Web3 entrepreneur is a unique one. Variola, known popularly by his nickname Fed, earned a doctorate by studying how state actors can resist cyber intrusions. And now, as CEO of Phemex, he’s leading a non-state, distributed system. This must have been a huge departure for him.

“Transitioning to the crypto industry can be a challenging journey that presents a steep learning curve,” Fed says. “This is precisely why I place such a high value on user experience at Phemex. We are dedicated to creating an interface that simplifies the entry into the world of crypto for newcomers.”

Charting the course

What makes Fed’s path even more unlikely are the opportunities he turned down along the way, such as wooing venture capital investment.

“We launched Phemex at a particularly favorable time in the market, which helped ensure that it was self-sustainable from the start,” he continues. “Choosing to self-fund allowed us to maintain complete control over the strategic direction of the exchange and how we allocate our resources.”

As Phemex continues to develop Pulse, its SocialFi platform primed for an upcoming independent launch, Fed remains focused on strengthening decentralized ownership and user decision-making. While these are part of Web3’s native ordering principles, they are antithetical to VCs’ strategy of getting to a 10x exit as quickly as possible.

Making money on memes

Having a social trading platform suggests that Phemex has embraced the velocity of meme stocks. Fed says that this stems from a cascade of conscious decisions.

“The meme token narrative has been dominating crypto for a while now, which means traders can look at successful tokens' past price action, volume and listing strategy to make informed decisions on future tokens,” Fed explains.

For example, traders can look at the chart of a trending meme token such as dogwhatif, now a Top 50 coin trading under the WIF symbol. You’d see the typical life cycle of the initial hype, then a period of consolidation followed by price expansion.

Fed recommends noting when exchanges list certain tokens, because this indicates the team behind the project is working with a market maker to ensure the token is ready for centralized listings.

“I would also recommend being wary of derivative projects of successful memes,” he adds. “These are very often short-term plays and often signal the peak for the original meme token itself.”

Due to crypto’s significant growth and its status as an emerging technology, new niches in crypto are being developed every day. While resources remain constrained, opportunities abound and no one organization can say “yes” to everything. Phemex had to become more selective.

“During the ‘DeFi Summer’ of 2020, we saw experimental protocols launching daily, most of which collapsed shortly after their introduction,” Fed recalls. “Now, DeFi is a well-established sector of crypto, but listing all the tokens that received a brief surge in hype and attention in 2020 would have been a mistake. The same applies to meme tokens today.”

Sending a Pulse

Traders often use portfolio tracker apps to monitor their investments and explore different investment strategies.

“These apps fall short of providing the seamless, integrated experience active traders are looking for,” Fed says. “Traders have also had to rely separately on social platforms to make informed trading decisions. This fragmented experience across multiple platforms for trade execution, community insights and portfolio tracking is time-consuming and inefficient.”

And that’s why Fed is keen for traders to get to know Pulse, where they can immediately act on the insights gained from their social interactions, streamlining the trading process and eliminating the need for extensive research across different platforms.

Building a future

Since we last discussed Pulse in this space, shortly after its launch, the SocialFi platform has rolled out multiple upgrades.

“We introduced new features to favor high-quality content aimed to enrich every interaction within our community,” Fed says. “Additionally, we’ve revamped the user interface, enabling traders to effortlessly filter and connect with groups that match their specific interests. We’ve also facilitated simple integration of the Phemex Soul Pass [the exchange’s non-tradable soulbound token] into Pulse, allowing users to display their wallet assets directly on the platform. Moreover, we recently debuted our mini-app just a few weeks ago.”

These updates are just the beginning. The team has even more ambitious plans for Pulse, such as evolving it into an on-chain platform with wallet-based registration so that each user can enjoy independent accounts with enhanced security and personal data sovereignty. You can also expect the launch of a Pulse token at some point.

“It’s a thrilling time to be involved with Pulse,” Fed sums up. “I firmly believe that we are at the forefront of shaping the SocialFi landscape, propelled by an incredible community whose contributions guide our future initiatives.”