Author: David C, Bankless; Translated by: Wu Zhu, Golden Finance
Perhaps not surprisingly, as we look back on the year, one category of tokens has outperformed all others—memecoins.
Initially, memecoins shone brightly in 2024 due to increasing criticism and disappointment over token issuances entering the market with high fully diluted valuations. Many traders leaned towards memecoins due to their simpler narratives, (often) reduced insider allocations, and low transaction costs, making them a core pillar of cryptocurrency growth in 2024.
Let’s take a look at how memecoins maintain this momentum, exploring the roles of Solana and Pump.fun in accelerating their growth, discussing their evolution and impact on token values, and analyzing their effects on AI agents in this evolving landscape.
Meme Pump of Solana
In addition to being positioned as the Year of Meme, 2024 may also be remembered as the year Solana solidified its status in the space.
The rise of Solana and the popularity of memecoins are closely linked trends. Due to low costs, fast transaction speeds, and the excellent meme infrastructure of Pump.fun, Solana has become a major hub for memecoin activity.
Pump.fun launched in January 2024, shaking up the entire field by allowing anyone to create and trade new tokens at low or no cost. Since then, nearly 5 million tokens have been issued, successfully driving a surge in trading volume on Solana-based decentralized exchanges, leading to capital influx and stimulating activity across the entire chain, while also solidifying Solana’s de facto core position in this cycle of speculation.
Transforming token deployment into a fast, user-friendly no-code operation has facilitated the rapid creation of memecoins, regardless of how fleeting their cultural relevance may be.
New Meme Trends
In 2024, we saw celebrity memecoins open in extraordinary ways. Since Caitlyn Jenner abandoned her token, we have witnessed a surge of interest in the rapid growth of wealth from memecoins, paving the way for a wave of celebrity-backed 'offline only' projects.
We have also seen pop culture references quickly transform into new tokens, with memecoins themed around everyone's favorite hippo (MOODENG) or the slain squirrel (PNUT) surging to billions in market cap—embodying the long-held argument in cryptocurrency that 'everything will be tokenized.'
It has been shown that Solana's speed and scale of launches are highly profitable, helping it surpass Ethereum in a range of critical metrics such as daily decentralized trading volume, active users, and even revenue during certain periods. While Ethereum has also seen blue-chip memes achieve significant premiums and degen activity sparked on Base, degens have largely settled on Solana.
Critics argue that there are many reasons to question the sustainability of these new trends. The opaque networks of memecoin schemes and the deep concentration of many memecoin assets seem to provide a challenging environment for bad actors.
However, despite the prevalence of fraud, poorly executed launches, and on-chain crime, the free-flowing nature of the Solana token environment continues to attract participants seeking fast-paced opportunities. By the end of the year, Pump.fun accounted for the majority of on-chain transactions within the Solana ecosystem, making it a decisive force in reshaping the network around meme and 'crypto nativeness' identities.
What Memecoins Show Us
While many memecoins can quickly disappear, those that successfully form strong, engaged communities prompt deeper analysis of the broader 'Memecoin Supercycle.'
This phrase, popularized by Murad, emphasizes how memecoins prompt us to rethink how token value arises from shared identity and how it evolves. Unlike 'technical substitutes' that rely on staking or complex governance to participate, memecoins leverage the core social behaviors of the internet, such as creating, sharing, and enjoying memes, using these methods to maintain shared ideas and form communities.
If these tokens can form a unique, clear, and interesting identity, they can provide strong price appreciation as users become part of the Meme. Furthermore, by starting with tokens that come without any 'real utility' promises or expectations, these tokens and their holders can build a foundation themselves, gradually rolling out grassroots products tied to the tokens. Whether it’s BONK with Bonkbot and bonkSOL; or MOTHER integrated with Motherland, there are examples of emerging developments within the Meme community.
This model can offer a new pathway for product-market fit in the cryptocurrency realm, starting with the formation of a strong identity and sense of social belonging, rather than upfront technology, defining a clear user base in the process, and then building products to serve that community.
AI agent tokens expand ambitions
In recent months, AI agent memes have entered the public consciousness, showcasing how tokens can evolve from simple memes into tokens with meaningful fundamentals.
This trend began with GOAT, a token autonomously adopted by the Twitter agent Terminal of Truths, whose rapid price rise indicated the opportunities brought by the fusion of AI agents and memecoins.
Since then, other agents and their respective tokens have launched successively, gaining attention through different new features, before adding more substantive functionalities or use cases. For instance, FXN, ZEREBRO, and AI16Z have all announced plans to launch AI infrastructures using their tokens, which have been fairly launched, adhering to meme standards. This model echoes a broader memecoin approach—first gathering a community, attracting target users, and then adding products or revenue streams that drive utility.
A Year of Meme Bounty
As the year comes to a close, it is clear that Meme coins have demonstrated their influence on the direction of cryptocurrency.
Solana's low fees and fast throughput, supported by Pump.fun, have fostered a highly active launch environment where Memes thrive and sometimes evolve into lasting communities. The success of these Meme coins, in turn, highlights a new approach to product-market fit: first establishing identity, then adding features for a user base that already trusts the project. AI agent tokens are now built on this model, indicating that even highly experimental technologies can benefit from a lean, meme-driven foundation.
Looking ahead, it is clear that fostering active communities, rather than promising immediate technical utility in predatory token economics, is becoming a powerful way to promote adoption and sustain the growth of cryptocurrency. By combining strong social identities with targeted development, these meme-driven ecosystems provide a new pathway to true product-market fit—one that, if it withstands fleeting speculation, could ultimately shape a more user-centered future for digital assets.
