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On November 20, [Memecoin” Google search volume surged to an all-time high.Although it is far less popular than the peak of NFT, it also shows that Memecoin’s popularity is rising all the way, and may even have begun to break the circle.
In 2024, Memecoin became the fastest-growing cryptocurrency track, with an average return of an astonishing +1300%.This performance has led some crypto traders and analysts to speculate that the Memecoin market may be entering a super cycle, compared with the brief craze of Dogecoin in 2021.Memecoin not only ushered in a strong recovery, but has also officially won industry recognition as a track.
So,How is the Memecoin track developing at present?What are the key factors influencing the future?
01Memecoin Market Statistics
The Memecoin market was volatile in the early days. In May 2021, the total market value of the Memecoin market once climbed to a historical high of US$89.95 billion, but then fell below US$20 billion in 2022, a drop of nearly 80%.However, this year’s Memecoin market has remained high overall.
According to CoinTelegraph, Memecoin has become the fastest-growing cryptocurrency sector in 2024, with the best performing Meme with an average return of up to +1300%.
As of June 2024, year-to-date performance of different cryptocurrency sectors, source: Cryptonary
In fact, Memecoin performed 10 times more than all other crypto sectors in early 2024.Although the RWA and AI sectors have also seen significant growth since then, Memecoin is still the best performing sector, with year-to-date growth rate as high as 449%.
02Memecoin ushers in a craze in 2024
The focus on Memecoin is particularly evident on social media.According to Cryptonary data,Since December 2023, Memecoin’s discussion on social platforms has continued to rise, especially on the X platform.
Among more than 8 million interactions, X platform accounts for 75%, far ahead of other social platforms.This is not surprising, because many Memecoin projects will choose to publish pre-sale announcements on the X platform.In addition, CoinGecko’s investigation shows thatMore than one-third of cryptocurrency participants use X as the preferred platform for getting cryptocurrency news and updates.
As of October 2024, the number of interactions related to Memecoin on major social media platforms, data source: Cryptonary
YouTube ranked second, accounting for 20.5% of all observed cryptocurrency content, which is likely due to the increasing number of crypto analytics channels and videos on the platform.
According to the same survey data from CoinGecko, 23.4% of crypto participants rely primarily on YouTube to obtain encrypted news.
In addition to social media, the search interest in Memecoin seems to have reached unprecedented heights in 2024, and the latest search trends also confirm this.
Source: Google Trends
Given that most veteran crypto users get news primarily through X (Twitter) and YouTube, this surge in search volume may be partly coming from new crypto investors.
This shows that the public’s awareness of Memecoin is constantly improving during this cycle.In fact, we also observed an increase in Memecoin adoption.During March 2024, the number of active PEPE wallets doubled.Other top Memecoins such as DOGE and WIF may also attract a large number of new crypto investors.
03Record number of Memecoin projects in 2024
With the rise of blockchains such as Solana and BSC, and the rise of transmitters like Pump.fun, a large number of new Memecoin projects have emerged in the past few years.Between April and August 2024 alone, more than 500 new Memecoins were added to CoinMarketCap, with 138 hitting record highs in April.
As of October, CoinMarketCap has listed more than 3,000 Memecoins.However, considering that Pump.fun has launched more than 1.7 million Memecoins to date, this is just the tip of the iceberg.This trend reflects the high level of attention of the current Memecoin project.But it has also intensified the fragmentation of market liquidity.
As Memecoin often relies on attention and community support, the increasing number has led to intense competition and the potential of new projects has gradually decreased – many of which have an average life cycle of just 5 days.According to the latest report from Web3 consulting firm BDC,89% of Memecoin projects have market capitalization between $0 and $1,000, and 43% of them have zero transaction volume.What is more noteworthy is that only 5% of Memecoin have a market value of more than US$10 million in 2024 (this data is based on a sample analysis of 2,000 projects).In other words, market competition has reached an all-time high, and most Memecoin projects are doomed to fail.
04Market recovery and super cycle speculation
According to CoinMarketCap, the Memecoin market rebounded rapidly in the first quarter of 2024, with a total market value exceeding US$60 billion.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Although the total market value has declined since the end of the second quarter, it is still higher than the level in 2022-2023.In October this year, the Memecoin market size stabilized at around $50 billion and showed signs of a short-term recovery.And the current market shows that this positive trend has been continued.
Some crypto traders believe that there is still a possibility of new Memecoin super cycle this year.Compared with the few tokens in the past that have achieved huge gains, more tokens with medium market value may perform well in this cycle.But it won’t be as intense as when DOGE and SHIB first broke out in 2021.The main reason is that the number of Memecoin on the market has increased significantly since 2021.
Although OG Memecoin (such as DOGE and SHIB) still perform well below their peak in 2021, Cryptonary 2024 analysis shows that these assets have almost returned to mainstream crypto such as BTC, ETH and BNB in this cycle.Double the assets.According to the same analysis, OG Memecoin performs relatively stable, while the second and third-generation Memecoin is expected to reach new all-time highs by the end of 2024.
In fact, while the market is volatile due to the ongoing price adjustments of multiple Tokens, top emerging Memecoins such as PEPE, POPCAT and BONK performed strongly in the second and third quarters.
POPCAT showed strong between April and September 2024, Source: CoinMarketCap
Although the overall market sentiment was relatively short in the middle of the year, we still saw many projects with outstanding performance.For example, as of October 25, POPCAT’s increase this year was as high as +8900.77%.
05Memecoin drives Solana
Overall, there are the largest number of Memecoins on the Solana platform, with many outstanding performances.
Solana seems to be the most popular Memecoin blockchain in the past few years, which may be closely related to its fast transaction speed, ease of use and low handling fees.Today, emerging and fast-growing Memecoin like WIF and BONK are mostly based on Solana, not to mention the numerous projects launched through Solana’s Pump.fun platform.
According to the DEX aggregator data provided by BDC, these top blockchain platforms will have an average of 40,000 to 50,000 new tokens every day.Among them, Solana accounts for almost half of the Memecoin project.In comparison, BNB chain is Solana’s biggest competitor, but the number of new tokens it adds is only 5,400 every day.
As of March 2024, the blockchain with the most new crypto tokens recorded, Source: BDC
Editor’s Note: According to the latest CoinGecko data, compared with the first study in the first quarter,The Solana ecosystem’s top rankings remain unchanged and continues to lead, but some other ecosystems are stepping up their efforts to attract more attention and their share of investor interest is gradually shrinking.
For example, BNB Chain recently announced a measure to support Memecoin innovation, aiming to help users start, migrate and improve the liquidity of new tokens.Given this, we’ll likely see more BNB-based projects soon.
Base chain also ranks among the top five in the number of new projects, with an average of about 1,700 new tokens per day.Given the recent popularity of Base Chain, especially under the explosive popularity of BRETT, it may soon become a strong contender for BSC and Solana.
Although the Ethereum chain with the highest market value adds an average of 1,600 new tokens per day,However, it remains highly active in the Memecoin field, and 95% of multi-chain Memecoin supports Ethereum.In addition, about 40% of multi-chain Memecoin supports both Ethereum and BNB.It is worth mentioning that the popularity of Ethereum native tokens like SHIB, PEPE and FLOKI,It also proves that Ethereum is still one of the dominant forces in the Memecoin market.
06Latest Memecoin Trends
Since the first quarter of 2024, we have seen more and more promising Solana Memecoin, as well as some notable Base chain Memecoin projects.
Among these projects, several Memecoin categories are particularly popular this cycle:
1) Dogs, cats and other animal coins
Doge-themed coins are still the most popular Memecoin category at the moment.The world-renowned Doge Coin (Doge) shows how animal-related emoticons can gain strong community support in the cryptocurrency space.The success of the two major OG Tokens, DOGE and SHIB, is a powerful proof of this phenomenon.This trend continues by 2024, with DOGE and SHIB still the highest market capitalization of Memecoin.
However, this year, some other top dog theme Memecoin have emerged, such as WIF, FLOKI and BONK, and the performance of these tokens cannot be ignored.
According to Cryptonary data, by March 2024, dog-themed Memecoin has accounted for more than half of the total market value of Memecoin, with a market value of about US$36 billion, with a return rate of 2.5 times.
Growth of different Memecoin categories in 2024, Source: Cryptonary
However, Memecoin, the cat theme, has also achieved significant growth, becoming the fastest growing category in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.By March 2024, the market value of the Cat Theme Co., Ltd. soared from $50 million to $1.8 billion, bringing investors a 10-fold return.
The recent fires of puffer fish, goats, etc., seem to be far from over.In the future, we are likely to see more animal-themed tokens entering the Memecoin market.
2) PolitiFi Memecoin
Since the U.S. election is a hot topic, PolitiFi has become one of the most active Memecoin categories in the first half of this year.However, as the dust of the election settles, the trend is now cooling down.
According to Cryptonary analysis, the market capitalization of the PolitiFi category exceeded $1 billion earlier this year, with some of the major Memecoin delivering up to 27,000% returns for investors at its peak.
However, many crypto assets have fallen sharply since then.As of October, PolitiFi’s market value fell to $634 million, covering 133 listed tokens on CoinMarketCap.
It should be noted that the market value of many PolitiFi coins is self-reported, so there may be large differences in actual data.Currently, ConstitutionDAO is the largest project in the field with a market value of over $400 million.On the other hand, many PolitiFi coins have fallen 80%–90% since their all-time highs.
Overall, PolitiFi coins are more volatile (more severe than other Memecoins), and few Tokens can maintain lasting community support.
3) Celebrity Theme Memecoin
Although Memecoin, which is based on celebrities as its theme, has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, it has also attracted a lot of doubts and criticism.
Memecoin endorsed by celebrities often triggers hot discussions.But most projects have very short lifespans.In addition, this type of token is often regarded as a tool for cutting leeks, and even a potential scam, because project parties usually use investor funds as exit liquidity.
For example, TrumpCoin (DJT), which went live in June 2024, had a wallet address that controlled 67% of the token supply.This often indicates Rug-pull and the asset is difficult to recover.In fact, as of October, DJT’s price has fallen by 97.72% from its all-time high.
Celebrity-themed memes usually have a shorter lifespan
This worrying and suspicious project trend,It even sparked public criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.He made it clear that many celebrity-themed Memecoin had little real value to investors.
TrumpCoin (DJT) failure is not an isolated case.According to CryptoPotato’s analysis, July 2024 data showed that the prices of all new celebrity Memecoin released on Solana have fallen by an average of 94% since June.Even for better-performing projects, their prices generally fell by more than 70%.Today, celebrity coins like JENNER and LILPUMP are still well below their all-time highs.
Nevertheless, a few projects are still active in the market, mainly due to ongoing discussions on social media.The most notable example is Iggy Azalea’s Token MOTHER, which has been up 192.8% as of 2024, despite a decline from its all-time high.
However, like Memecoin in the PolitiFi category, celebrity-themed Memecoin, while often triggering hype, seems doomed to be difficult to survive forever.
07What is the most popular Memecoin at the moment?
While most Memecoins cannot escape the fate of failure, some have withstood the test of time with their strong community support.Especially in recent months, some emerging Memecoin have gradually gained a foothold in the market with a solid community foundation.
Here are the top ten Memecoin ranking by market value as of November 20, 2024.
1) Dogecoin (DOGE)
DOGEIt is the earliest and most resilient Memecoin launched on the market. After more than ten years of ups and downs, it still stands firm..DOGE was released on the BNB chain in December 2013, with slow early adoption. Although it reached an all-time high of $0.7376 between April and May 2021, the subsequent Meme currency market pulled sharply in the market in 2022.It was not until this cycle that saw a big breakthrough, with DOGE taking the lead in rebounding this year, rising from early February, and the price broke through US$0.2 in March, reaching its highest level since December 2021.Although prices have fallen during the period, the increase this year is still quite impressive, and the market value is far beyond other Memecoin, reaching about US$57.62 billion as of November 20, ranking first.
2) Shiba Inu (SHIB)
SHIB was originally a project on Ethereum to replicate the success of DOGE, and the results also achieved remarkable results.Since its release, SHIB has accumulated a cumulative increase of hundreds of thousands of times, with SHIB reaching an all-time high in the Memecoin boom in 2021, but then experienced a decline in 2022-2023.In 2024, SHIB also rose again.As of November 20, its market value reached approximately US$14.5 billion and is currently ranked 2nd in CoinMarketCap.
3) Pepe (PEPE)
PEPE was launched on Ethereum in April 2023.As of now, the price has increased by hundreds of thousands of times.The sharp rise in PEPE began in March 2024, and this round of growth was largely thanks to the Certik audit report released in December 2023, which scored a 91% high score for its code security.In the recent Memecoin boom, PEPE’s market value was approximately US$8.54 billion as of November 20.
4)Bonk (BONK)
BONK is one of many Doge-themed Memecoin released last year and has been steadily rising since October 2023.It is also one of the few Memecoin projects with extensive cross-chain interoperability, and can be transferred between five major blockchains including Ethereum, BNB, Solana, and Polygon.As of November 20, the market value was approximately US$4.1 billion.
5) Dogwifhat (WIF)
WIF is another emerging Doge-themed Memecoin released on Solana in mid-December 2023.Trading began in March 2024, quickly becoming the first top Memecoin to break through $1.This news further boosted WIF’s popularity, bringing it to an all-time high of $4.85 on March 31, 2024.At one point, WIF’s market value even exceeded PEPE, but then the price fluctuated.The current price of WIF is around $3.40, with a market value of about $3.4 billion as of November 20.
6) FLOKI (FLOKI)
FLOKI is one of the earlier Memecoin launches and has recently recovered again.The coin is inspired by Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu Floki, released on Ethereum and BNB chains in mid-2021.Within 4 months of release, the price reached its all-time high, but then entered a downward trend.In 2024, market enthusiasm is rekindled as FLOKI may become the upcoming Valhalla NFT gaming asset.In June 2024, the coin reached a new all-time high of $0.0003462, but the price subsequently fell.As of November 20, FLOKI’s market value was approximately US$2.32 billion, and it is still one of the leading Memecoin.
7)Brett (BRETT)
BRETT is one of the few top Memecoin on the Base blockchain and the second most popular Pepe-themed Memecoin in 2024.The Meme, released in March 2024, performed poorly at the beginning of the year, but rose since mid-May and reached an all-time high of $0.193 in early June, with a market cap of about $1.73 billion as of November 20.
8)Popcat (POPCAT)
POPCAT is one of the stars of this Memecoin supercycle.Released on Solana in December 2023, it saw a decline in the early stages and did not start to rebound until early 2024.Since March, POPCAT has entered an upward channel and reached its first all-time high of $0.97 in July.Despite the large volatility in the third quarter of 2024, it strengthened again in early September.As of November 20, the market value reached US$1.67 billion, which is quite impressive for a Memecoin that has been launched for less than 12 months.
9)Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT)
PNUT is Memecoin launched on the Solana chain in November 2024, inspired by a popular internet celebrity squirrel Peanut.The incident sparked heated discussions on social media, pushing Token to become popular quickly.PNUT soared by 800% within one week after its launch, with a market value of US$1.6 billion at one time, and was launched on exchanges such as Binance and OKX, becoming a hot spot in the market. As of November 20, the market value was approximately US$1.61 billion.
10) Goatseus Maximus (GOAT)
GOAT was officially launched in October 2024. The project was founded by Andy Ayrey. It was originally a funny AI experiment, but with the viral spread on social media, GOAT gradually evolved into a “AI doctrine” phenomenon with a cult-like phenomenon.Follower culture.GOAT was initiated by the Pump.fun platform on Solana. After it was launched, it was promoted by an AI account called Truth Terminal. It quickly became popular and attracted a lot of attention. Its market value once exceeded US$500 million, and it triggered a large number of airdrops for memecoin and related projects.Another dark horse in the memecoin trend in 2024.As of November 20, the market value was approximately US$1.1 billion.
08The main factors affecting Memecoin trends
The trend of Memecoin is affected by a variety of factors, and the following are several key drivers:
1) High return potential
Compared with more mature cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH, Memecoin has attracted many investors with its high risk and high returns.Traditional cryptocurrencies are priced higher and have less volatility, and investors usually need to invest a larger amount of money to get significant returns.Memecoin is more attractive because of its low price, especially in the pre-sale stage, and has a low investment threshold.
Memecoin has huge potential for returns, especially in the early months after the project goes online, prices tend to rise sharply.For example, POPCAT has risen by +8900.77% so far since its launch in December 2023.In other words, if $2,500 was invested in December last year, the current return on investment could exceed $220,000 (based on October data).
2) Social emotions
Social sentiment is one of the key factors that affect Memecoin demand and price trends.Simply put, the higher the market’s hype and attention to a certain Memecoin, the greater the community participation, and the token valuation will also rise.Take Dogecoin’s revival in 2023 as an example: Just 15 minutes after Musk released his photo of his dog Floki, Dogecoin’s market value soared by $500 million.Meanwhile, FLOKI also soared, with prices rising by nearly 50% in an hour.
Overall, Memecoin’s price fluctuations are closely related to community enthusiasm, and the popularity of social media discussions often becomes the main catalyst for price changes.
This highlights the significant impact of social media discourse and mass support on Memecoin trends.When there is enough hype around a certain token, it may cause severe fluctuations in the market in a short period of time.
3) Practical development
A common criticism of Memecoin is that they are just pure speculative assets and have no practical uses.And because the hype fades quickly, many Memecoin life cycles are extremely short.
But not every Memecoin is like this, some have been integrated into a wider ecosystem.For example, Memecoin like FLOKI can serve as an asset in crypto games, providing unique in-game purchases, rewards, or staking opportunities.
Similar practical developments in other crypto industries such as gaming, AI and DeFi may provide real-world use casesand help keep an active community, extend the life cycle and relevance of these tokens beyond the early hype cycle.
In fact, we have seen Memecoin continue to integrate in crypto games, and the new Shiba Inu-style game-making Memecoin is on the rise.
4) Safety and security issues
Of course, Memecoin has also been controversial for many reasons.First, their high volatility is almost inevitable, especially when these tokens lack real-world uses.Many people compare Memecoin investment with gambling.
Coupled with this already unstable market and the widespread pump-and-dump solution,The risk of losing investment seems to outweigh the opportunity to gain huge short-term returns.
The picture above is an example of a pull-up shipping solution seen in PolitiFi Memecoin.As expected, many investors may avoid Memecoin because of this.However, scams in the Memecoin market are still emerging one after another.
Although all cryptocurrencies have a unique crypto asset ID (UCID),Criminals can still use the same code and symbols, impersonating established Memes, trying to trick unsuspecting investors into buying their categories.
The picture above is a story about two seemingly identical PEPEs.Since smart contracts are easily exploited, if you accidentally invest in the wrong way, it means that your crypto assets will be stolen.
09summary
It is not difficult to see that the current Memecoin market is in full swing, surpassing the level before 2023 and outperforming other cryptocurrencies sectors.
Social media interactions also reached record highs, indicating that overall market sentiment continues to be bullish.The success of this season’s new Memecoin even sparked speculation about a potential supercycle.However, with thousands of new Memecoin pouring into the market, market fragmentation has intensified, and many projects are destined to be cannon fodder.
So while the Memecoin market shows gratifying growth, given the current market dynamics, it is important to be aware of risks before investing in new projects, DYOR is more important than ever.
