The current bullish trend in the cryptocurrency market has dragged memecoins along, with prominent performers surging in value.
According to the latest update from CoinGecko, memecoin's market capitalization has reached $55.4 billion, marking a 9.4% increase over the past 24 hours.
Memecoin trend
Among the prominent gainers, Neiro [NEIRO], a dog-themed memecoin, surged 46.9%, making it one of the day's trending assets.
Similarly, Dogwifhat [WIF] and Popact [POPCAT] recorded gains of over 19%, confirming the strong momentum among memecoins in this context.
However, while the emerging memecoins have exploded, Dogecoin [DOGE] and Shiba Inu [SHIB] have seen more modest gains, with 24-hour gains of just 4.6% and 6.9% respectively.
In terms of weekly performance, the contrast is even more evident as NEIRO leads the way with a 39.7% gain, while WIF and POPCAT are up an impressive 9.3% and 53.1%.
Meanwhile, DOGE and SHIB faced declines, losing 6.8% and 0.6% over the past week, indicating a shift in market enthusiasm towards emerging memecoins.
This trend highlights the strong rise of new memecoins, raising an important question: Are we witnessing the decline of original meme giants like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu?
Are the original memecoins dying out?
Going back in time, since their initial boom, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have struggled to recapture the level of fandom that once defined their success.
While both still maintain dedicated communities, they face challenges in maintaining momentum.
The novelty that once boosted their appeal has faded, and without innovative updates or new applications, they struggle to gain widespread attention.
At the same time, the cryptocurrency market is increasingly favoring new memecoins, driven largely by social media momentum rather than intrinsic value.
That's also why celebrity memecoins made headlines for months in 2024.
What is behind this shift?
So, with little new service or value proposition, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu remain popular but fail to gain the impact needed to make a full-blown comeback.
On the other hand, new memecoins are leveraging recent trends, innovative token techniques, and well-planned marketing efforts to gain momentum.
For example, POPCAT has tapped into the popularity of the popular meme of Oatmeal the cat meowing at a bug, attracting retail investors looking for a connection to internet culture.
Similarly, WIF has revived interest in the Solana ecosystem by introducing a community-focused Token, re-energizing its user base.
Unlike previous memecoin runs, these new tokens are backed by teams with strategic marketing plans, improved token distribution, and most importantly, partnerships with influencers, helping them maintain visibility.
Low entry prices and smaller market capitalizations have attracted investors looking for high short-term returns, helping new memecoins outperform their predecessors.
Accordingly, as market trends change, these new tokens, with their flexibility and smart technological approach, seem poised to overtake the original memecoins, unless they innovate significantly.
