International Meme Fund: Decentralized Meme Token Credit Protocol

What is International Meme Fund

Friends, imagine you have a bunch of really funny memes that you think are valuable, but you can't just take them to the bank for a loan. Now, there's a project called International Meme Fund (IMF) that acts like a "pawn shop" or "bank" specifically for these "digital artworks."

Simply put, IMF is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain. DeFi (decentralized finance) can be understood as financial services without banks or intermediaries, with all transactions executed via smart contracts (self-executing agreements) on the blockchain.

Its core function is to let you use those "blue-chip memes" (referring to popular meme tokens with recognized market value, such as PEPE) as collateral to borrow a stablecoin called $MONEY. Here, $MONEY is a "meme-backed unstablecoin," meaning its value tries to remain relatively stable but is backed by highly volatile meme tokens, so it may not be as "stable" as traditional stablecoins.

Additionally, IMF offers liquidity pools (LPs), allowing you to trade various meme tokens with $MONEY here, just like buying groceries at a market, except you're trading digital assets.

Project Vision and Value Proposition

The IMF project's vision is quite unique—it aims to provide financial services for "meme assets" that are often overlooked by traditional finance and even most DeFi projects. Its core value proposition includes:

• Unlocking Meme Liquidity: Many meme token holders may not want to sell their memes but still need funds. IMF allows them to use memes as collateral to borrow, so they can keep their memes while gaining much-needed liquidity.
• Turning "Signal" into "Credit": The team believes memes themselves are a "signal," representing community attention and cultural value. IMF's goal is to turn this "signal" into "credit," enabling communities to coordinate capital access and transform "belief" into "purchasing power."
• Stabilizing the "Meme Economy": IMF is committed to maintaining the stability of the global meme economy through strategic intervention, emergency support, and market analysis, helping users weather market downturns and promoting sustainable growth of digital cultural assets. Even in the event of major disasters in the crypto space, IMF may intervene and provide donations.

You can think of IMF as a bank dedicated to "meme collectors," recognizing the potential value of these collectibles and offering financial services based on them, so these collectibles can generate real economic benefits beyond just being collected.

Technical Features

As a decentralized credit protocol, IMF's technical architecture has several key features:

• Ethereum-Based: IMF runs on the Ethereum blockchain, inheriting Ethereum's security and decentralization.
• Isolated Lending Vaults: It operates through "isolated lending vaults" and integrates the Morpho protocol. This is like having different safes in a bank, each storing different types of collateral, with risks isolated—if one safe has issues, others remain unaffected.
• Native Token IMF: The project's native token $IMF plays a key role in the protocol, determining how liquidity is allocated across different markets.
• Smart Contract Address: IMF's smart contract address on Ethereum is
  0x05be1d4c307c19450a6fd7ce7307ce72a3829a60
  .

Tokenomics

The IMF project's token is $IMF, which plays a central role in the entire ecosystem.

• Token Symbol and Chain: The token symbol is $IMF, primarily running on the Ethereum blockchain.
• Total Supply and Circulation: According to multiple sources, the total and maximum supply of IMF tokens is 33,000,000. As of now, the circulating supply is approximately 31,914,158.779 to 32,780,000. (Note: Some data platforms have shown a total supply of 1 billion, but most protocol documentation points to 33 million, so we use the figure closer to the protocol's description.)
• Token Utility: The $IMF token is not a traditional governance token; it is designed as an "equity and utility token." Its main uses include:
  • Protocol Revenue Distribution: $IMF is used to accumulate and distribute protocol-generated revenue, mainly from interest paid by borrowers.
  • Liquidity Allocation Control: $IMF holders can influence how liquidity is allocated across different markets.
  • "Takeover Token" Mechanism: This is a very unique mechanism. IMF explicitly states it does not have traditional DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) voting or proposal mechanisms. Instead, $IMF is described as the first "legally enforceable on-chain takeover asset," managed by the "Salutary Standard." This means that holding a sufficient amount (e.g., 33%) of $IMF tokens allows you to "own" and control the IMF protocol. This is a very direct control design, rather than indirect influence through voting.
• Revenue Sources: IMF protocol generates revenue through various means, including a 10% performance fee paid by borrowers, a 0.01% fee on swaps routed via Amplify, a 0.3% trading fee on IMF token transactions, and earnings from lending idle USDS and ETH staking.

Team, Governance, and Funding

• Team: IMF was created by an anonymous team. In a podcast, GAMI and Nap Enjoyoor from the Nouns community were mentioned as contributors to IMF's development. Additionally, Palmer was mentioned as an angel investor.
• Governance Mechanism: IMF's governance is highly unusual, explicitly stating "no DAO, no proposals, no governance theater." Instead, the $IMF token is designed as a "takeover token." This means that holding enough $IMF tokens (e.g., 33%) allows you to directly control the protocol. This is in stark contrast to most decentralized projects that make decisions via voting, resembling a direct equity control model. Nevertheless, it is also described as a "community-owned and controlled protocol."
• Funding and Revenue: IMF's revenue sources are diverse, including interest paid by borrowers, performance fees, trading fees, earnings from lending stablecoins (such as USDS), market investment returns, and ETH staking rewards. These revenues are used for protocol operations and distribution to $IMF token holders.

Roadmap

According to available information, International Meme Fund's future plans focus on the following areas:

• Decentralized Creator Platform: Plans to launch a decentralized platform enabling meme creators to seamlessly monetize their content.
• Meme Competitions: The community plans to regularly host meme competitions to foster creativity and collaboration among members.
• Social Media Integration: Aims to enhance token use cases through integration with popular social media platforms, driving broader adoption and engagement.

These initiatives align with the project's goal of becoming a leader in the meme economy, aiming to bring users a sense of participation and value.

Common Risk Reminders

Investing in any cryptocurrency project carries risks, and IMF is no exception. Here are some common risks to be aware of:

• Market Volatility Risk: The cryptocurrency market, especially the meme token market, is highly volatile. Meme token prices used as collateral may drop sharply, leading to liquidation risk.
• "Unstablecoin" Risk: The $MONEY borrowed from the IMF protocol is a "meme-backed unstablecoin," which may be less stable than traditional stablecoins and subject to depegging risk.
• Smart Contract Risk: Any DeFi protocol based on smart contracts is exposed to smart contract vulnerabilities, which could result in loss of funds.
• "Takeover Token" Mechanism Risk: IMF's unique "takeover token" mechanism means that if a small number of entities or individuals accumulate enough $IMF tokens, they can gain centralized control over the protocol, which may contradict the spirit of decentralization and pose potential abuse risks.
• Compliance and Regulatory Risk: The global regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies is still evolving, and future policy changes may impact IMF's operations and token value.
• Liquidity Risk: Although IMF aims to unlock liquidity, if market interest in meme tokens wanes or the protocol fails to attract sufficient liquidity, users may face difficulties borrowing or redeeming assets.

Please note, the above information does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own research (DYOR) and consult a professional financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Verification Checklist

• Block Explorer Contract Address: The Ethereum mainnet contract address is
  0x05be1d4c307c19450a6fd7ce7307ce72a3829a60
  . You can view its transaction history and holder information on Etherscan and other block explorers.
• GitHub Activity: IMF has a documentation repository on GitHub named
  International-Meme-Fund/imf-docs
  . You can visit the repository to check code updates and development activity.
• Official Website/Whitepaper: The official website is usually the best source for the latest and most accurate information. Some sources mention
  internationalmemefund.fun
  as the official site, as well as its "Research" or "Whitepaper" sections.

Project Summary

International Meme Fund (IMF) is an innovative and experimental project in the cryptocurrency space. By building a decentralized credit protocol on Ethereum, it provides unique financial services for meme tokens—a new and highly volatile asset class—aiming to unlock their liquidity and convert their cultural value into real economic utility. Its "takeover token" governance model is also noteworthy, forming a sharp contrast with traditional DAO voting mechanisms.

IMF's vision is to stabilize the "meme economy" and offer meme holders a way to access capital, filling a gap in the current DeFi market. However, as a project focused on high-volatility assets, it also comes with significant risks, including market volatility, smart contract security, and the potential centralization risk posed by its unique governance model.

For those interested in meme culture and DeFi innovation, IMF offers a unique case to observe and learn from. But again, cryptocurrency investment is extremely risky—be sure to fully understand project details, assess your own risk tolerance, and make decisions cautiously. For more details, please conduct your own research.