The transformation of PING and PAYAI: Imagining the race from pure MEME to infrastructure

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about $PING and $PAYAI , and the core confusion boils down to — neither project has been actively pumping the market, so what are they really doing? One is labeled as MEME but is determined to build a Launchpad, while the other is a practical utility token pushing for migrations and pool swaps. This seems like a signal that they might be giving up. Indeed, there is a lot of uncertainty.

Honestly, in such a macro environment, no one has a clear edge. But I can share some insights based on my understanding.

Why are these two projects doing this? It actually makes a lot of sense

As long as the market fundamentals improve, these moves are definitely positive signals. The fundamental issue is that — MEME’s biggest weakness is the lack of a sustained empowerment mechanism; it relies solely on consensus and sentiment. Practical utility tokens, while technically sophisticated, have a limited ceiling, and the barriers to entry are not high. The current stage for both projects is lacking in “confidence support.”

The recent actions of $PING and $PAYAI , frankly, are about patching their own vulnerabilities. PING is using the Launchpad platform to weaken the pure MEME label, while simultaneously initiating a positive cycle — continuously issuing projects to empower the platform token. PAYAI, on the other hand, is migrating tokens with the aim of upgrading from a simple utility to a foundational infrastructure protocol layer. Both moves are about opening up new realms of imagination.

How to look at this logically

The anticipated story hasn’t fully unfolded yet, so right now it’s all about logic. It’s not surprising that PING is building a Launchpad — in a bear market, without emotional consensus to support prices, the narrative in the x402 track can easily die out due to over-MEME hype. But from another perspective, a Launchpad platform token becomes very different. Launching one project, two projects, three projects — continually trying different approaches — as long as they hit a decent liquidity node, a spectacular turnaround is possible. This strategic adjustment actually shows some thought.

As for PAYAI’s token migration, it naturally invites suspicion. Many voices say the project team just wants to wash their hands of it, using migration to control the situation. But the opposite logic applies — if they really had bad intentions, why not just FUD directly? I’m more inclined to believe that the team recognizes the ceiling of the utility property and wants to upgrade into an infrastructure layer to provide continuous empowerment for the token. Staking mechanisms, reward systems, ecological incentives, and CEX lockups could all be useful. Looking at the long term, this move isn’t bad at all.

Why does the market not understand this

The same old problem: most people rush into the x402 track with a MEME trading mindset, still thinking in terms of “buy in one wave, sell in another.” But the growth logic of the x402 track is completely different from MEME’s approach, and it won’t show results overnight.

PING’s Launchpad is just the beginning of the x402 asset issuance narrative. Whether it succeeds or fails, more Launchpad projects are in the pipeline. Just look at the signals from those projects in c402 Market — a new generation of Launchpad is not just about issuing a bunch of useless tokens. Business models like Gamefi and Socialfi, which have real-world scenarios, can be integrated. That’s a big step forward from pure chatter.

The protocol layer upgrade of PAYAI is even more intriguing. I’ve heard that the team adopts a technical, engineering-oriented mindset. This kind of attitude in a bear market is actually a good thing — it provides enough time window to prove itself. The Facilitator niche itself has significant value capture and commercial extension potential. The new positioning means the team is starting to continuously inject energy into this tool, ultimately changing the Facilitator’s status and value capture ability within the x402 ecosystem.