Meme coins such as Dogecoin, PEPE, and WIF continue to gain acceptance, with recent data showing that demand for them has hit new highs.
This certainly strengthens the prediction that this category of crypto tokens will become one of the dominant narratives in the market cycle.
Dogecoin, PEPE and WIF Lead Demand for Meme Coins
Market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock recently revealed that demand for Meme coins reached its highest level since 2021 in the first quarter of this year.
Additionally, increased demand led to the launch of new meme coins, driving the crypto category’s market capitalization to its highest level in two years.
They are currently valued at more than $56 billion, meaning their combined value has almost tripled this year.
As expected, Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe (PEPE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have been leading the way. The price of Dogecoin has doubled in 2024, while PEPE and SHIB have recorded 5x and 2.5x gains, respectively.
Meanwhile, newcomer Dogwifhat (WIF) also earned a spot, posting a 20x return for the year and rising to become the third-largest meme coin by market cap. WIF’s growth was largely attributed to its “enthusiastic community,” which includes well-known crypto influencer Ansem.
IntoTheBlock further revealed that Meme coins have thrived in the low-fee ecosystem, and Solana has surpassed Ethereum in terms of transaction volume for many consecutive days since the beginning of this year. Due to the Meme coin craze, Solana's network activity has also increased, and Bitcoinist reported that Solana is currently facing unprecedented congestion.
Meme Coins Will Live On
IntoTheBlock noted that Meme Coin was able to achieve this record despite interest rates remaining high and no stimulus checks being sent out. The platform further speculated on possible reasons for the increased demand for crypto tokens, which have been widely criticized for lacking any real-life utility.
Regardless of the reasons, one thing has become clear: Meme coins have become one of the main talking points in the crypto space over the past few months.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin also recently published an article in which he acknowledged this fact and declared that the best approach would be to determine how these crypto tokens can gain practical utility.
Despite their perceived lack of utility, the buzz surrounding meme coins could be good for the cryptocurrency space due to their ability to attract a new wave of cryptocurrency users.
Crypto expert Scott Melker recently highlighted how the hype surrounding DOGE ushered in mainstream demand for crypto tokens during the 2021 bull run, and the same thing may happen in this market cycle. #Meme币 #币圈狂热
