In the bizarre world of internet memes and crypto coins, one name reigns supreme: Matt Furie. The mastermind behind Pepe the Frog, Furie has inadvertently sparked a digital revolution, transforming casual doodles into multi-million dollar crypto phenomena.

Pepe the Frog, Furie's most infamous creation, leapfrogged from humble comic strip origins to internet stardom. From dank memes to political propaganda, Pepe's expressive green face became a ubiquitous symbol. But the story didn't end there. The crypto world latched onto Pepe, spawning a green wave of memecoins. $PEPE became a decentralized darling, proving that even a frog can hop to the moon.

Then there's Brett. Another Furie original, Brett is the face of the Base chain, and is a perfect blend of Furie’s creativity and the corporate crypto landscape. Brett’s meteoric rise to a $1 billion market cap is a testament to Furie’s unintentional genius of his entire Boy's Club.

Furie’s response to his meme empire has been a mix of bemusement and legal action. Initially, he tried to reclaim Pepe from the darker corners of the internet, but the crypto community’s embrace of his creation has been harder to combat. Now, Furie seems to watch from the sidelines, possibly entertained, possibly horrified, as his amphibian offspring conquers the decentralized realm.

But Pepe and Brett aren’t Furie’s only contributions to the memecoin zoo. Spike and BirdDog, lesser-known characters from Furie’s sketchbook, have found new life as niche crypto tokens. Spike is often cited as Matt Furie's first notable character, predating even the famous Pepe the Frog, while BirdDog exemplifies Furie's talent for creating memorable, anthropomorphic figures that resonate with audiences due to their whimsical and often absurd qualities.

Yesterday, in an unexpected and unfortunate turn of events, the Solana memecoin Spike experienced a seismic drop from nearly $40M to $2M in mere minutes as the team wallet for the project was supposedly drained, or hacked. This claim is often made in the space, and due to the decentralized and largely anonymous nature of the blockchain, it's difficulty to know what is truth and what is fable. All we really know is that Spike was decimated and despite a modest recovery following the drop, it's will be an uphill battle to return to previous highs.

Matt Furie’s work underscores the absurdity and power of internet culture. From comic strips to crypto wallets, his characters have left an indelible mark on both memes and money. So, the next time you see a frog, a bird, or a based blue chad on your crypto feed, remember: it’s largely all thanks to Furie, the unwitting king of memeconomics.