Are community-driven tokens still worth watching?

I used to be really into community-driven tokens because they felt authentic, projects built by people, for people, without the heavy influence of venture capital or centralized control. There was something exciting about seeing a group of individuals rally behind a shared vision, creating value through collaboration and shared belief. Back then, it felt like the spirit of decentralization was alive and well.

But over time, I’ve noticed that many of these tokens lose momentum after the initial hype fades. The memes, the viral marketing, and the diamond hands energy can only carry a project so far. Once the novelty wears off, a lot of them seem to struggle with long-term sustainability, development, or utility. It’s rare to see a community coin evolve into something with consistent growth, real use cases, or a self-sustaining ecosystem.

So I’m genuinely curious, are there any newer community-driven projects that have managed to maintain traction and continue delivering value? Or was that golden age of community tokens just a passing phase from the last bull run?