Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has noted that memecoins have repeatedly undermined the momentum of previous crypto cycles. According to him, memecoins have not only dominated the market, but have also made it difficult for other projects to gain traction. He believes that this cycle is 90% memes and only 10% real products.
Memecoin is stealing all the attention
The current cycle is no exception, as memecoins continue to dominate and capture the majority of the market's attention, much like what happened during the DeFi summer, leading to the existence of many products based solely on market value.
If this analysis is correct, he believes that this could be a positive thing for the industry. No more blind hype, projects need to prove their worth. The memecoin market is currently chaotic, driven by influencers, celebrities and hype, but that is the reality of the moment.
As of writing, the memecoin market has reached a total capitalization of $55.4 billion, with a daily trading volume of about $7.9 billion. The three largest memecoins today are Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE), with DOGE having a market capitalization of $16.7 billion, SHIB at $10.9 billion, and PEPE at $4.45 billion.
Celebrity involvement this year has added to the hype surrounding memecoins. Figures like Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, and Nigerian artist Davido have launched their own tokens. The JENNER token launched on May 26, quickly reaching a market cap of $40 million, but is now down 68.4% from its peak.
Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER also experienced significant growth but then plummeted due to scam rumors. Davido’s token was accused of being a pre-mine shortly after its launch, leading to insiders selling off.
Yakovenko's theory that memecoins are draining other cycles seems to be correct. Solana-based memecoins are now becoming key players in this cycle, even outperforming Ethereum-based options.
