Article author: Diana Ploscaru.
On November 20, the Google search volume for 'Memecoin' surged to an all-time high. Although it still pales in comparison to the peak interest during the NFT boom, it indicates that the excitement around Memecoins is on the rise, perhaps even beginning to break into mainstream awareness.
In 2024, Memecoins have become the fastest-growing cryptocurrency sector, with an average return rate reaching an astonishing +1300%. This performance has led some crypto traders and analysts to speculate that the Memecoin market may be entering a supercycle, officially recognized as a sector compared to the brief boom of Dogecoin in 2021.
So, how is the Memecoin sector currently developing? What key factors will influence its future?
Memecoin market statistics.
The earlier Memecoin market was highly volatile, with the total market cap of Memecoins reaching a historical high of $89.95 billion in May 2021, but subsequently fell below $20 billion in 2022, with a decline of nearly 80%. However, this year's Memecoin market has generally remained high.
According to CoinTelegraph, Memecoins have become the fastest-growing cryptocurrency sector in 2024, with the best-performing memes averaging a return of +1300%.
As of June 2024, year-to-date performances of various cryptocurrency sectors, source: Cryptonary.
In fact, the performance of Memecoins at the beginning of 2024 surpassed all other cryptocurrency sectors by 10 times. Although the RWA and AI sectors have also seen significant growth since then, Memecoins remain the standout sector, with a year-to-date growth rate of 449% as of June.
The Memecoin trend is heating up in 2024.
The attention towards Memecoins is particularly evident on social media. According to Cryptonary's data, since December 2023, discussions about Memecoins on social platforms have consistently increased, especially on the X platform.
With over 8 million interactions, the X platform accounts for 75% of the share, far ahead of other social platforms. This is not surprising, as many Memecoin projects choose to announce presales on the X platform. Additionally, CoinGecko's survey shows that over a third of cryptocurrency participants prefer X as their platform for obtaining crypto news and updates.
As of October 2024, the number of interactions related to Memecoins on major social media platforms, source: Cryptonary.
YouTube ranks second, accounting for 20.5% of all observed cryptocurrency content, likely due to the increasing number of crypto analysis channels and videos on the platform.
According to the same survey data from CoinGecko, 23.4% of crypto participants primarily rely on YouTube for crypto news.
In addition to social media, interest in Memecoins appears to have reached unprecedented heights in 2024, with the latest search trends confirming this.
Given that most seasoned crypto users primarily obtain news through X (Twitter) and YouTube, the surge in search volume may partly come from new crypto investors entering the space.
This indicates that the public's awareness of Memecoins is continuously improving during this cycle. In fact, we have also observed an increase in the adoption rate of Memecoins. During March 2024, the number of active PEPE wallets doubled. Other top Memecoins such as DOGE and WIF may also have attracted a large number of new crypto investors.
Record number of Memecoin projects in 2024.
With the rise of blockchains like Solana and BSC, as well as launchers like Pump.fun, a plethora of new Memecoin projects have emerged in recent years. Between April and August 2024 alone, over 500 new Memecoins were added to CoinMarketCap, with April setting a historical high of 138.
As of October, CoinMarketCap has listed over 3,000 Memecoins. However, considering that Pump.fun has launched over 1.7 million Memecoins to date, this is just the tip of the iceberg. This trend reflects the heightened attention on current Memecoin projects but also exacerbates the fragmentation of market liquidity.
As Memecoins often rely on attention and community support, the increasing number of them has led to intense competition, gradually lowering the potential of new projects—many of which have an average lifespan of only 5 days. According to the latest report from Web3 consulting firm BDC, 89% of Memecoin projects have a market cap between $0 and $1,000, and 43% of projects have zero trading volume. More notable is that only 5% of Memecoins have a market cap exceeding $10 million in 2024 (this data is based on a sample analysis of 2,000 projects). In other words, market competition has reached an all-time high, and most Memecoin projects are destined to fail.
Market recovery and speculation of a supercycle.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the Memecoin market quickly rebounded in the first quarter of 2024, with a total market cap exceeding $60 billion.
Although the total market cap has declined since the end of the second quarter, it remains above the levels of 2022-2023. In October of this year, the Memecoin market stabilized at around $50 billion and showed signs of short-term recovery. The current market indicates that this positive trend has continued.
Some crypto traders believe that a new Memecoin supercycle may emerge this year, with potentially more mid-cap tokens outperforming compared to the past few tokens with huge increases. However, it will not be as intense as the first explosion of DOGE and SHIB in 2021. The main reason is that the number of Memecoins in the market has significantly increased since 2021.
Although the performances of OG Memecoins (like DOGE and SHIB) are still far below their peaks in 2021, Cryptonary's analysis for 2024 shows that these assets' returns in this cycle are nearly twice that of mainstream crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and BNB. According to the same analysis, OG Memecoins have shown relatively stable performance, while second and third-generation Memecoins are expected to reach new historical highs by the end of 2024.
In fact, despite market volatility due to the continuous price adjustments of multiple tokens, top emerging Memecoins like PEPE, POPCAT, and BONK performed strongly in the second and third quarters.
POPCAT showed strong performance from April to September 2024, source: CoinMarketCap.
Despite the overall market sentiment being bearish mid-year, we have still seen many projects performing exceptionally well. For example, as of October 25, POPCAT's increase this year has reached +8900.77%.
Memecoins have driven the development of Solana.
Overall, the number of Memecoins on the Solana platform is the highest, with several outstanding tokens among them.
Solana appears to be the most popular blockchain for Memecoins in recent years, likely due to its fast transaction speeds, user-friendliness, and lower fees. Nowadays, many emerging and rapidly growing Memecoins like WIF and BONK are primarily based on Solana, not to mention the numerous projects launched through Solana's Pump.fun platform.
According to DEX aggregator data provided by BDC, these leading blockchain platforms see an average of 40,000 to 50,000 new tokens daily, with Solana accounting for nearly half of the Memecoin projects. In comparison, the BNB chain is Solana's biggest competitor, but its daily new token count is only 5,400.
As of March 2024, the blockchain with the most recorded new crypto tokens, source: BDC.
Editor's note: According to the latest CoinGecko data, the top rankings of the Solana ecosystem have not changed since the first quarter of research; it continues to lead by a wide margin, but some other ecosystems are intensifying efforts to attract more attention, and their share of investor interest is gradually shrinking.
For example, the BNB chain recently announced an initiative to support Memecoin innovation, aimed at helping users launch, migrate, and enhance the liquidity of new tokens. Given this, we are likely to see more BNB-based projects soon.
The Base chain also ranks among the top five in terms of new projects, with an average of about 1,700 new tokens added daily. Considering the recent popularity of the Base chain, especially under the explosive popularity of BRETT, it could soon become a strong competitor to BSC and Solana.
Despite the Ethereum chain having an average of 1,600 new tokens added daily, it remains highly active in the Memecoin sector, with 95% of multi-chain Memecoins supporting Ethereum. Additionally, approximately 40% of multi-chain Memecoins support both Ethereum and BNB. Notably, the popularity of Ethereum-native tokens like SHIB, PEPE, and FLOKI also proves that Ethereum remains one of the dominant forces in the Memecoin market.
Latest Memecoin trends.
Since the first quarter of 2024, we have seen an increasing number of promising Solana Memecoins, as well as some notable Base chain Memecoin projects.
Among these projects, several categories of Memecoins have been particularly popular this cycle:
1) Animal coins like dogs and cats.
Doge-themed coins remain the most popular category of Memecoins currently. The globally recognized Dogecoin (Doge) showcases how animal-related memes can garner strong community support in the cryptocurrency space. The success of the two OG tokens, DOGE and SHIB, is a powerful testament to this phenomenon. This trend continues into 2024, with DOGE and SHIB still being the highest market cap Memecoins.
However, this year has also seen the emergence of other top dog-themed Memecoins like WIF, FLOKI, and BONK, whose performances cannot be overlooked.
According to Cryptonary's data, by March 2024, dog-themed Memecoins accounted for over half of the total market cap of Memecoins, with a market cap of approximately $36 billion and a return rate of 2.5 times.
Growth of different Memecoin categories in 2024, source: Cryptonary.
However, cat-themed Memecoins have also experienced significant growth, becoming the fastest-growing category in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. By March 2024, the market cap of cat-themed coins skyrocketed from $50 million to $1.8 billion, providing investors with a tenfold return.
Recently popular themes like pufferfish and goats seem far from over. In the future, we are likely to see more animal-themed tokens enter the Memecoin market.
2) PolitiFi Memecoins.
With the US election being a hot topic, PolitiFi has become one of the most active Memecoin categories in the first half of this year. However, with the dust settling from the election, this trend has cooled off.
According to Cryptonary's analysis, the market cap of the PolitiFi category broke $1 billion at the beginning of this year, with some prominent Memecoins providing investors with returns as high as 27000% at their peak.
However, many crypto assets have significantly retraced since then. As of October, the market cap of PolitiFi has dropped to $634 million, covering 133 listed tokens on CoinMarketCap.
It is important to note that the market caps of many PolitiFi coins are self-reported, so actual data may differ significantly. Currently, ConstitutionDAO is the largest project in this field, with a market cap exceeding $400 million. On the other hand, many PolitiFi coins have dropped 80%-90% from their historical peaks.
Overall, PolitiFi coins exhibit high volatility (more severe than other Memecoins), and few tokens maintain lasting community support.
3) Celebrity-themed Memecoins.
Although celebrity-themed Memecoins have attracted significant attention in recent years, they have also faced considerable skepticism and criticism.
Celebrity-backed Memecoins often generate temporary buzz, but the vast majority of projects have a very short lifespan. Additionally, these tokens are often viewed as tools for scamming investors, as project teams typically use investor funds as exit liquidity.
For instance, TrumpCoin (DJT), launched in June 2024, has one wallet address controlling 67% of the token supply. This situation often signals a rug-pull risk, and the asset is difficult to recover. In fact, as of October, DJT's price has dropped 97.72% from its historical peak.
Celebrity-themed memes tend to have shorter lifespans.
This concerning trend of dubious projects has even drawn public criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who has explicitly stated that many celebrity-themed Memecoins have little actual value for investors.
The failure of TrumpCoin (DJT) is not an isolated case. According to CryptoPotato's analysis, data from July 2024 shows that since June, the average price of all new celebrity Memecoins launched on Solana has dropped by 94%. Even the better-performing projects have generally seen price declines of over 70%. Today, celebrity coins like JENNER and LILPUMP are still priced far below their historical highs.
Nonetheless, a few projects remain active in the market, primarily due to ongoing discussions on social media. A notable example is Iggy Azalea's token MOTHER, which has increased by 192.8% as of 2024, despite a drop from its historical peak.
However, like the PolitiFi category of Memecoins, celebrity-themed Memecoins, while often sparking hype, appear doomed to short-lived existence.
What are the most popular Memecoins currently?
Although most Memecoins struggle to escape the fate of failure, there are still a few that have withstood the test of time thanks to strong community support. Especially in recent months, some emerging Memecoins have gradually established themselves in the market with a solid community foundation.
The following are the top ten Memecoins ranked by market cap as of November 20, 2024.
1) Dogecoin (DOGE)
DOGE is the earliest launched and most resilient Memecoin on the market, having weathered over a decade of challenges and still standing strong. DOGE was released on the BNB chain in December 2013, with early adoption being slow. Although it reached its historical high of $0.7376 between April and May 2021, the subsequent meme coin market saw a significant correction in 2022. It wasn't until this cycle that it experienced a breakthrough, with DOGE leading the rebound, rising from early February and breaking $0.2 in March, reaching its highest level since December 2021. Despite some price retreats during this period, its growth this year remains considerable, with a market cap far exceeding other Memecoins, reaching approximately $57.62 billion as of November 20, ranking first.
2) Shiba Inu (SHIB)
SHIB was initially a project on Ethereum, aiming to replicate DOGE's success, and it has achieved remarkable results. Since its launch, SHIB has cumulatively increased by hundreds of thousands of times, reaching its historical peak during the Memecoin boom in 2021, but subsequently experienced declines in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, SHIB has risen again, with a market cap of approximately $14.5 billion as of November 20, currently ranking second on CoinMarketCap.
3) Pepe (PEPE)
PEPE launched on Ethereum in April 2023 and has seen its price increase by hundreds of thousands of times. The significant rise of PEPE began in March 2024, largely fueled by the Certik audit report released in December 2023, which gave its code security a high score of 91%. In the recent Memecoin frenzy, it surged again, with a market cap of approximately $8.54 billion as of November 20.
4) Bonk (BONK)
BONK is one of the many Doge-themed Memecoins released last year, and its price has steadily increased since October 2023. It is also one of the few Memecoin projects that has extensive cross-chain interoperability, allowing transfers across five major blockchains including Ethereum, BNB, Solana, and Polygon. As of November 20, its market cap is approximately $4.1 billion.
5) Dogwifhat (WIF)
WIF is another emerging Doge-themed Memecoin, launched in mid-December 2023 on Solana. It began trading in March 2024 and quickly became the first top Memecoin to break $1. This news further propelled WIF's popularity, reaching its historical highest price of $4.85 on March 31, 2024. At one point, WIF's market cap even surpassed PEPE, but then the price experienced fluctuations. Currently, WIF is priced around $3.4, with a market cap of approximately $3.4 billion as of November 20.
6) FLOKI (FLOKI)
FLOKI is one of the earlier Memecoins, experiencing a resurgence recently. This coin is inspired by Elon Musk's Shiba Inu, Floki, and was launched in mid-2021 on Ethereum and BNB chains. Within four months of its release, the price reached a historical high, but then entered a downward trend. In 2024, market enthusiasm reignited as FLOKI could become an asset in the upcoming Valhalla NFT game. In June 2024, this coin reached a new historical high of $0.0003462, but subsequently saw a price drop. As of November 20, FLOKI's market cap is approximately $2.32 billion, still one of the leading Memecoins.
7) Brett (BRETT)
BRETT is one of the few top Memecoins on the Base blockchain and is also the second most popular Pepe-themed Memecoin in 2024. This meme was released in March 2024, initially underperforming but started to rise from mid-May and reached its historical highest price of $0.193 in early June. As of November 20, its market cap is approximately $1.73 billion.
8) Popcat (POPCAT)
POPCAT is one of the stars of this Memecoin supercycle. Launched on Solana in December 2023, it initially saw a drop before starting to rebound in early 2024. Since March, POPCAT has entered a rising channel and reached its first historical high price of $0.97 in July. Despite significant volatility in the third quarter of 2024, it strengthened again in early September. As of November 20, its market cap reached $1.67 billion, a remarkable performance for a Memecoin launched less than 12 months ago.
9) Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT)
PNUT is a Memecoin launched on the Solana chain in November 2024, inspired by a euthanized internet-famous squirrel named Peanut. The event sparked heated discussions on social media, propelling the token to rapid fame. PNUT surged 800% within a week of launch, with its market cap reaching $1.6 billion at one point, and it has been listed on exchanges such as Binance and OKX, becoming a market highlight, with a market cap of approximately $1.61 billion as of November 20.
10) Goatseus Maximus (GOAT)
GOAT officially launched in October 2024, founded by Andy Ayrey. Initially an AI humor experiment, GOAT gradually evolved into a phenomenon of 'AI doctrine' with a cult-like follower culture due to its viral spread on social media. GOAT was initiated on the Pump.fun platform on Solana, quickly gaining attention after being promoted by an AI account named Truth Terminal, attracting significant attention with a market cap that once surpassed $500 million, leading to airdrop frenzy for many memecoins and related projects, and becoming a dark horse in the 2024 memecoin trend. As of November 20, its market cap is approximately $1.1 billion.
Key factors influencing Memecoin trends.
The trends of Memecoins are influenced by various factors, with the following being key drivers:
1) High return potential.
Compared to more mature cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH, Memecoins attract many investors due to their high risk and high reward characteristics. Traditional cryptocurrencies have higher prices and lower volatility, often requiring investors to put in a significant amount of capital to achieve substantial returns. In contrast, Memecoins are more attractive due to their low prices, especially in the presale phase, with lower investment thresholds.
The return potential of Memecoins is enormous, especially in the initial months after a project launches, where prices often see significant increases. For instance, since its release in December 2023, POPCAT's price has increased by +8900.77%. In other words, if $2500 were invested last December, the current investment return could exceed $220,000 (based on October data).
2) Social sentiment.
Social sentiment is one of the key factors influencing the demand and price trends of Memecoins. Simply put, the more hype and attention a Memecoin receives, the greater the community engagement, and the token's valuation tends to rise accordingly. Take the resurgence of Dogecoin in 2023 as an example: just 15 minutes after Elon Musk posted a picture of his dog Floki, Dogecoin's market cap surged by $500 million. At the same time, FLOKI also skyrocketed, with its price rising nearly 50% within an hour.
Overall, the price volatility of Memecoins is closely tied to community enthusiasm, and discussions on social media often serve as the primary catalyst for price changes.
This underscores the significant impact of social media discourse and public support on Memecoin trends. When there is enough hype surrounding a token, it can lead to dramatic market fluctuations in a short time.
3) Utility development.
A common criticism of Memecoins is that they are merely speculative assets with no real utility. Furthermore, due to quick fading of hype, many Memecoins have very short lifespans.
However, not every Memecoin is like this; some have integrated into a broader ecosystem. For instance, Memecoins like FLOKI can serve as assets in crypto games, offering unique in-game purchases, rewards, or staking opportunities.
Similar utility developments in other sectors of the crypto industry, such as gaming, AI, and DeFi, may provide real-world use cases and help maintain active communities, extending the lifecycle and relevance of these tokens beyond the initial hype cycle.
In fact, we have already seen the continuous integration of Memecoins in crypto games, with new Shiba Inu-style play-to-earn Memecoins on the rise.
4) Security and assurance issues.
Of course, Memecoins are also controversial for various reasons. Firstly, their high volatility is almost inevitable, especially when these tokens lack real-world use cases. Many people liken Memecoin investments to gambling.
Coupled with this already unstable market and the prevalence of pump-and-dump schemes, the risks of losing investments seem to outweigh the opportunities for short-term massive gains.
The above image is an example of a pump-and-dump scheme seen in PolitiFi Memecoins. Unsurprisingly, many investors may avoid Memecoins due to this. However, scams within the Memecoin market continue to emerge.
Although all cryptocurrencies have unique crypto asset IDs (UCID), malicious actors can still use the same codes and symbols to impersonate established memes in an attempt to deceive unsuspecting investors into purchasing their tokens.
The above image depicts the story of two seemingly identical PEPE tokens. Since smart contracts can be exploited, a wrong investment could lead to theft of your crypto assets.
Summary
It is evident that the current Memecoin market is thriving, surpassing levels before 2023 and performing better than other cryptocurrency sectors.
Social media interaction has also reached historical highs, indicating that overall market sentiment remains bullish. The success of new Memecoins this season has even sparked speculation about a potential supercycle. However, as thousands of new Memecoins flood the market, fragmentation increases, and many projects are destined to fail.
Thus, although the Memecoin market shows promising growth, given the current market dynamics, it is more important than ever to be cautious of risks before investing in new projects; doing your own research (DYOR) is critical.
