WAGMI

Lab Classification

Specimen type: Community rallying cry / memetic affirmation First observed: ~2021, popularized during the bull run Current prevalence: Cyclical; peaks during market recovery, mutates to ironic during crashes Contagion vector: Twitter threads → Discord copypasta → real-world tattoos (irreversible)

Etymology & Mutation

WAGMI traces its genetic lineage to Zyzz (Aziz Shavershian), the bodybuilding icon who popularized “we’re all gonna make it brah” in fitness forums circa 2011. The phrase migrated to crypto Twitter around 2021, where it underwent rapid memetic mutation — shedding the bodybuilding context and absorbing pure financial hopium.

Its evil twin, NGMI (“Not Gonna Make It”), evolved simultaneously as the community’s way of marking those who sell too early, use centralized exchanges, or commit the cardinal sin of asking “what’s the utility?”

Deployment Patterns

Field observation reveals WAGMI follows strict contextual deployment rules:

• Sincere WAGMI — Posted after a portfolio hits all-time highs. Community sentiment is genuine. Everyone believes they’ve found the path to generational wealth. This variant has a half-life of approximately one market correction.
• Desperate WAGMI — Deployed at -60% drawdowns. The words are the same but the energy is different. This is less affirmation and more prayer. Often accompanied by rocket emojis that feel increasingly ironic.
• Ironic WAGMI — The most evolved form. Posted alongside screenshots of catastrophic losses. The speaker knows we are emphatically not all going to make it. The humor is the point.
• NGMI response — Reserved for paper-hands sellers, regulation supporters, and anyone who suggests maybe the market is overheated.

Psychological Profile

WAGMI functions as a memetic immune response — it activates precisely when the community is most threatened. During bear markets, WAGMI posts increase in frequency, serving as collective copium that prevents mass capitulation.

This creates an interesting paradox: WAGMI is most useful when it’s least true, and most true when nobody bothers saying it (because everyone’s too busy counting their gains to type).

The Pepe “feels good man” variant often accompanies sincere WAGMI posts, while the Wojak doomer face pairs with the ironic deployment.

“WAGMI is Schrödinger’s prophecy — simultaneously true and false until the market opens.” — Lab field notes, Q4 2021

Cross-Cultural Spread

WAGMI has escaped crypto containment and now appears in:

• Startup culture (“we’re pre-revenue but WAGMI”)
• Gaming communities (after a brutal losing streak)
• General internet optimism (any group collectively hoping for an unlikely outcome)

The term’s success lies in its perfect ambiguity — it can be sincere, ironic, desperate, or all three simultaneously. It is perhaps the only financial advice that gets more useful the less accurate it becomes.

See also: HODL (the action), diamond hands (the resolve), WAGMI (the faith).