An Assessment of Attention, Utility and Community in Token Investing
-- Paul Hsu, CEO and Founder, Abdul Al Ali, Venture Investor, Decasonic
Today, we are excited to share with the Web3 community our Altcoin Spectrum. At Decasonic, we embrace narratives in token investing to underwrite the powerful network effects that aspirational visionaries have. The spectrum is divided into two categories: Attention tokens and Utility tokens, with each category having three subcategories.
Attention Tokens:
Pure Attention Token
Attention Tokens with Access
Attention Tokens with Access and Community
Utility Tokens:
Utility Tokens with Governance
Utility Tokens with Product(s)
Utility Tokens with Value Accrual
Despite the two distinct categories, those categories can intersect - and successful ones do. Tokens can exist at the intersection positioning in the Altcoin Spectrum - having elements and characteristics of Attention and Utility. A token may initially begin trading as a Pure Attention token, but eventually develop utility over time through community embrace and subsequent product releases. A leading example is $BONK, which started as a Pure Attention Token within Solana and eventually became the “social and community meme coin of Solana,” providing utility through adoption in Web3 dApps and Protocols. We believe that tokens at the intersection are united by strong community support, durable narratives, and a focus on product adoption.
For institutional investors like us, the primary sentiment regarding attention token investing is muted, underrated, and lazily dismissed. However, a brewing shift amongst institutions primarily catalyzed by the launch of President Trump’s $TRUMP token and the Executive Orders embracing digital assets and our AI and crypto Czar, David Sachs, labeling NFTs and memecoins as “digital collectibles,” is forcing a reassessment. Attention tokens are here to stay, and our altcoin spectrum serves as a universal guide for attention token investing.
At Decasonic, we are guided by a core philosophy of being product first investors, who embrace communities and narratives. This principle is applied in our cross-asset investing, accross both venture and liquid opportunities. The principal is supported by three key pillars of opportunity assessment: Community strength, narrative durability, and potential for product-adoption. These tenets enable us to deliver cross-asset excellence across both venture and liquid investments.
Our core philosophy and guiding principle is augmented by our belief in the importance of investing in strong communities, as those communities often provide durability in narrative and attention.
Why Attention Matters
Attention drives capital growth, which, in turn, fuels community expansion. This cycle underscores the importance of narrative resonance and engagement in the altcoin market. Our investments in liquid tokens are grounded in this philosophy and mapped through our Altcoin Spectrum.
The past year has seen a surge in meme tokens and community-driven launches, reflecting a growing emphasis on community-first, fair-launch tokens like those introduced via pump.fun. Many tokens launched on the platform have transitioned from Pure Attention Tokens to Utility Tokens with products and value accrual mechanisms, including those from AI token founders leveraging the platform. Recently, community and attention tokens including $TRUMP, $PENGU, and $ANIME (the Azuki Community Token) have entered the market, highlighting the sustained demand for community tokens. Some OG NFT community collections like Doodles are also anticipated to join this trend by launching their token, with more launches likely as regulatory clarity intensifies and on-chain adoption accelerates.
The dashboard below highlights the accelerating number of total deployed tokens on pump.fun.
The institutional investor community has initially approached attention tokens—and the broader spectrum they represent—with skepticism. This response largely stems from a misunderstanding and undervaluation of the critical role narratives and community play within the spectrum between Attention and Utility tokens. The nuances and distinctions within this spectrum are pivotal, as they unlock opportunities for adoption by enhancing accessibility and diversifying product offerings.
Building on our Altcoin framework, we’ve outlined the following summary, investor perspective, and representative examples for each subcategory to guide subsequent evaluations.
Breaking Down the Altcoin Spectrum
Attention Tokens:
Pure Attention Tokens
Summary: Attention tokens are narrative-driven assets thriving on cultural, social, or speculative trends without inherent utility or value accrual mechanisms. Typically fair-launched, they gain traction through hype tied to social sentiment, meme culture, or thematic narratives. Their growth depends entirely on community engagement and marketing, with no expectations of development or functional use.
Investor Perspective: These tokens are highly speculative, relying on social momentum and narrative strength. Investors must evaluate community engagement, founder activity, and tokenomics like inflation or wallet distribution. A diversification strategy is key due to high failure rates, with focused bets reserved for tokens that demonstrate unique narratives or strong community growth and traction.
Prominent Example: dogwifhat ($WIF)
Attention Tokens with Access
Summary: These tokens offer exclusive features like token-gated access to events, VIP experiences, or premium content, representing a step toward utility. This stage demonstrates growing community alignment, stronger engagement, and founder-led promotion, with narratives becoming more durable and appealing to audiences.
Investor Perspective: With slightly lower risk than pure attention tokens, success depends on the relevance of access features and organic community growth. Key considerations include token lockups, whale activity, and narrative durability. Small allocations remain prudent, with investments in tokens that show potential to sustain growth through access utility and long-term community support.
Prominent Example: Shiba Inu ($SHIB)
Attention Tokens with Access and Community Identity
Summary: These tokens evolve into social and cultural catalysts, driven by highly engaged communities. Cross-platform social media presence and light utility integrations (e.g., staking, payments) begin to position tokens as recognized players in Web3. Partnerships and early product discussions may emerge at this subcategory stage.
Investor Perspective: Tokens in this category show more stability and potential for broader market reach. Risks center on sustaining community engagement and transitioning from hype to durable value. Investors should focus on partnerships, tokenomics, and the ability to expand into other sectors. Allocations can increase for tokens with tangible signs of growth and cross-sector appeal.
Prominent Example: Dogecoin ($DOGE)
Utility Tokens
Utility Tokens with Governance
Summary: These tokens provide governance rights, enabling holders to influence protocol or ecosystem decisions. Typically associated with DAOs, they align incentives between stakeholders. While governance offers value to active participants, its utility often remains abstract when unaccompanied by value accrual mechanisms or product development. Tokens at this stage might expand to beyond core DAO offerings, with product offering(s).
Investor Perspective: Governance tokens are appealing for investors seeking alignment with a project’s trajectory but carry risks like whale influence or ineffective fund allocation. Evaluating token distribution and governance quality is critical. Moderate allocations can be considered for projects with engaged communities and well-structured governance mechanisms that have a path towards providing valuable product offering(s).
Prominent Example: CookieDAO ($COOKIE)
Utility Tokens with Products
Summary: These tokens provide direct utility within a project’s ecosystem, facilitating transactions or granting access to features within dApps. As adoption grows, tokens tied to multiple products or services expand their use cases and strengthen demand drivers.
Investor Perspective: With lower risk than governance-only tokens, these tokens are validated by user adoption and product traction. Investors should analyze active user metrics and product stickiness to gauge sustainability. On-chain activity can be evaluated at this stage. Larger allocations are warranted for projects with proven product-market fit and ecosystem growth.
Prominent Example: Orbit ($GRIFT)
Utility Tokens with Value
Summary: These tokens represent mature ecosystems with token value accrual accrual, often through transaction fees, staking rewards, or profit-sharing. They align token value with the underlying economic activity, offering strong value propositions.
Investor Perspective: Tokens with value accrual streams are the most traditionally investable due to their clear economic value. Investors can evaluate them with metrics, focusing on profitability, value growth, and ecosystem health. Risks include competition or governance misalignment. Allocations can be significant for tokens demonstrating strong financial performance and ecosystem scalability.
Prominent Example: Empyreal ($EMP)
AI Agents in the Spectrum
Tokens like $AIXBT embody the essence of the Altcoin Spectrum, serving as both a testament to innovation and a test case for narrative durability. Initially, these tokens function as pure attention tokens, leveraging AI’s capacity to generate content around the clock and foster engaged communities by replacing traditional Crypto KOLs. This enables them to attract both capital and community in a dynamic, high-velocity manner. However, their long-term viability hinges on their ability to sustain narrative relevance, a challenge that remains open to scrutiny. Tokens like $AIXBT also explore utility-driven opportunities, offering token-gated access to platforms like their Terminal, which aims to deliver investment alpha to its users. Their durability—and ultimately their market leadership—is defined by their success in maintaining mindshare and reshaping narrative control in the evolving crypto ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
At Decasonic, we are driven by our product-first, consumer lens mindset. Looking ahead, we believe on-chain adoption by both institutions and retail participants is accelerating. Enhanced by the recent regulatory policies, we are excited for the on-chain future.
The content of this material is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute investment advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or a solicitation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Decasonic does not endorse investments in any specific tokens, and nothing in these blog posts should be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult with a qualified professional advisor before making any financial decisions. Decasonic provides no warranties, whether expressed or implied, on the content provided in these blog posts, including its accuracy, completeness, or correctness. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Decasonic. Please note that Decasonic may hold a position in some of the tokens mentioned, including Virtuals. Decasonic is not liable for any errors or omissions in the content of this material or for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.
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