Beyond the NPC Meme: The Rise of a Cultural Asset and the Mindset Behind It

NPC, the acronym for “non-player character,” originated in video game culture and refers to drones controlled by the computer. The term started gaining traction within certain online communities in 2018  as a designation for people who couldn’t think for themselves. As US elections loomed, NPC memes accusing liberals of uncritical acceptance of progressive doxa filled these spaces, and in mid-October, then-Twitter banned more than 1,000 NPC-related accounts created by Trump supporters over disinformation concerns.

As memes went mainstream, the attention amplified them but also weakened their resonance among the right wing. They provided a vocabulary for theorizing on the political and cultural impacts of capitalism, which then extended to memecoins. More relevant to the present day, someone who believes in the simulation hypothesis may be drawn to an asset like $NONPC.

The simulation hypothesis and explosive memecoin growth

According to the simulation hypothesis, what we perceive as the real world is actually a simulated reality, like one created by a computer. In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom suggested that a society that was capable of building simulations would create so many simulated beings that a simulation would be the host environment of any conscious entity.

It may follow that if advanced civilizations did create simulations, there would be so many of them that humans would almost certainly be living in one. This assumes that consciousness can arise not only from biological brains but also from any system using the right computational processes and structures.

The explosive growth of memecoins feels like a natural extension of a world where symbols and abstract narratives are perceived as real-world fixtures and eventually become economic forces. Most memecoins rely on emotion and community, unlike crypto assets with more complex mechanics and technical explanations.

The sentiment behind them strongly opposes private equity and venture capital because investors have frequently been misled by venture capitalists who dumped locked tokens on unsuspecting retail investors via centralized exchanges. Ordinary users appreciate that memecoins fundamentally don’t try to deceive them. The appeal of meme culture combined with mimetics, or the art of imitating or representing something, has created a psychosocial phenomenon where birds of a feather flock together.

The strength of a shared ideal 

This motivation may seem superficial, but one shouldn’t underestimate the strength of a shared ideal within an investor community. We observe an interesting countertrend: like NPC individuals bonding over acceptance of other people’s opinions, the $NONPC memecoin unites those who think outside the box. $NONPC aims to transcend memecoin status, extending to a philosophy, a community, and a cultural movement.

Heralded by phrases such as “the awakening protocol” and “awakening the simulation,” the movement combines identity with entertainment and a sense of purpose and belonging. The platform uses Squads, a native multisig wallet protocol on Solana, for all operational and treasury funds. It allows multiple users to manage on-chain assets transparently across blockchains, ensuring a level of security memecoins rarely see. It also has a clear path to decentralization.

The founder’s imminent exit is explicitly stated within the whitepaper, and the awakening protocol is implementing Realms, Solana’s governance standard, to relinquish full control to the community. The user journey includes story arcs, meme campaigns, and events such as “wake-up missions” to drive the no-NPC narrative.

Standing up to NPC is momentously challenging

Theory of mind, or the understanding that other people have beliefs, intentions, and knowledge, may explain why NPC ideologies linger. For example, a newborn will cry when another baby does because it doesn’t understand the other baby is a being distinct from itself. When a toddler sees another toddler cry, it will try to help, mistakenly accepting that the other toddler’s needs are the same as its own. What’s more, the claim can be made that we are all NPC because every behavior and thought originates from the signals that neurons exchange. There is no actual consciousness; only the sum of its parts. 

Many people prefer to take mental shortcuts by accepting another person’s opinion as their own, especially if the other person is someone of status. They get a sense of belonging and validation, which is why popular opinions tend to become stronger. A non-NPC is someone who goes against popular opinion either because they actually disagree with it or merely for the sake of argument.

The transition from Bitcoin to memecoins reflects a changing mindset

Bitcoin promised an alternative to centralized payment systems, but it came with scams, hacks, and obstinate regulators. Utility coins followed, only for crypto traders to realize that some of these tokens lacked intrinsic value. Memecoins promised the ultimate freedom – anyone could launch one and even make money, and communities formed around emotional and cultural similarities.

The mindset oscillated between logic and emotion throughout the transition. Is logical thinking the master of emotional thinking or vice versa? There are individual differences, but they generally coexist. One can apply rational thinking to emotions to figure out why one feels a certain way and address the root cause.

To reject NPC is to make the conscious decision not to follow ideology blindly. According to the theory of normative social influence, some people are sure of what they know or believe, but the vast majority displays a different view or mindset. The desire for approval and the fear of rejection – functions of emotional thinking - cause them to agree with the majority regardless.

Embracing no-NPC is also an emotional decision because it’s grounded in the fear of losing individuality and putting the desire for approval above one’s sense of self. At the same time, it may reflect an effort not to react emotionally to a media sensation or a junk memecoin that everyone else is buying, and to rationally assess whether a new token is a flash in the pan or has staying power.

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