Thousands of election-themed memecoins have been created on Ethereum and Solana over the past 24 hours.
Memecoins issued in line with real-world events have historically been associated with scams and rug pulls.
The Donald Trump-themed MAGA token topped a $150 million market cap following a surge in volume.
While the U.S. election has directed investor focus to bitcoin {{BTC}} and the Polymarket betting platform, the murky memecoin market is also heating up, with thousands of election-themed tokens being created over the past 24 hours.
According to Dextools, more than 40 tokens referencing presidential candidate Donald Trump were issued on the Ethereum blockchain between 06:00 and 14:30 UTC. On Solana, over 100 tokens were created between 13:30 and 14:40. In the past 24 hours, the total on Solana has topped 1,000 tokens.
It's worth noting that memecoins are volatile by nature and the vast majority of these tokens are likely to turn out to be rug pulls or scams.
There are, however, more established election-related memecoins including MAGA and the Kamala Harris-themed KAMA. Trading volume for MAGA, which launched in August 2023, has surged by 27% in 24 hours, taking its market cap above $150 million. KAMA rose by 150% on Nov. 1. It has since tumbled by 50% to an $11 million market cap.
The spike in memecoin creation alongside a real-world event is nothing new. Memecoin hunters and issuers often ride the coattails of hype-fueled narratives in an attempt to "win big" by making a viral token. This often turns sour, as seen on last year's Bitcoin Pizza Day anniversary, when memecoin creators made more than $200,000 by rug pulling a series of different projects.
World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project backed by Trump's family failed to impress last month. Although the token sale remains live, fewer than 1 billion of the 20 billion tokens up for sale have been taken. The project has raised $14.75 million out of an initial target of $300 million.
