Cope (noun and verb) describes the act of rationalizing a bad trade, a missed opportunity, or a failed prediction — constructing a post-hoc story that makes an unfavorable outcome seem acceptable, inevitable, or even wise. The term comes from internet slang ("just cope") and is used both as a noun ("that's pure cope") and as a verb ("he's coping hard after selling the bottom"). It is distinct from honest reassessment; cope involves motivated reasoning to avoid accepting that you were wrong.
In the memecoin context, cope manifests as: telling yourself a rugged token will recover, claiming you "knew it was a rug but held anyway for the culture," rationalizing that selling the top was right because "you can't go broke taking profits," or insisting that your thesis is still intact when evidence suggests otherwise. The community uses "cope" to call out this behavior, though often with affectionate humor rather than genuine contempt.