introduce
Meme coins have emerged as a unique and increasingly influential category within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, which are often driven by technological innovation and financial applications, meme coins are primarily valued by online culture, humor, and community engagement. Often inspired by viral memes, online trends, or popular personalities, these coins have attracted crypto enthusiasts and new users, providing them with an easy and entertaining way to enter the world of digital assets. This article will explore the rise of meme coins, their impact on the cryptocurrency market, and the factors that have fueled their popularity. From dog-themed coins like $DOGE to politically charged coins like $PNUT, we will analyze how meme coins are reshaping the way people interact with cryptocurrencies, while also examining the challenges and risks associated with investing in these speculative assets.
What is Memecoin
Memecoins are a unique category of cryptocurrencies that derive their identity from internet memes - humorous or viral images that are often accompanied by witty captions. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are designed with technical utility and financial goals in mind, the main focus of memecoins is community engagement, entertainment, and internet culture. Their value is primarily driven by the activity and power of the community, rather than any underlying technical innovation or financial application.
Memecoins range in theme, with the most popular including dog-themed coins such as DOGE, WIF, SHIB, and NEIRO. Other common categories include animal-inspired coins (such as cat or penguin-themed) and coins based on the "Pepe the Frog" meme. In addition, there are coins related to politicians, celebrities, and online subcultures such as WallStreetBets and The Boy's Club. Recently, the rise of AI and short video content has further boosted the popularity of memecoins inspired by AI agents and viral video culture.
The defining characteristic of memecoins is their community-driven nature. These coins often leverage humor and viral content to build a brand and identity. As the community engages with the meme through social media, creative content, and promotions, the value of these coins tends to rise. Due to their low barriers to entry and simple, straightforward concepts, memecoins are particularly appealing to cryptocurrency newbies or those seeking a fun, speculative spin.
To increase awareness and attract new investors, memecoins often use bold marketing strategies, such as placing billboards in prominent locations or organizing high-profile events, such as lighting up famous landmarks. For example, the popular meme coin Dogwifhat raised funds for an ambitious campaign and planned to light up the Las Vegas Dome.
Despite their lighthearted nature, memecoins have become a significant segment in the cryptocurrency market, with a combined market cap of over $121 billion and a market share of 3.62%. In the following sections, we will introduce some of the most representative memecoins.
Animal Memes: $DOGE
In December 2013, software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus created Dogecoin as a satirical response to the speculative frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies at the time. They drew inspiration from the popular Doge meme, chose its image as the logo, and named the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Dogecoin's market cap surged to $8 million in just two weeks after its launch, briefly positioning it as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in the world. The coin quickly gathered a loyal online community and built a solid fan base. During the 2017-2018 cryptocurrency bull run, Dogecoin broke through the $1 billion market cap for the first time.
Elon Musk has been a central figure in driving the popularity of Dogecoin. Musk first expressed interest in the coin in 2018, and his subsequent tweets and public support significantly boosted its price, making Dogecoin a place in the cryptocurrency market. In 2021, Musk called himself the "Dogefather" and Dogecoin's market value reached nearly $100 billion. However, in 2023, Musk faced charges for insider trading in Dogecoin and was accused of causing significant losses to investors.
In 2024, the abbreviation "DOGE" regained attention when President-elect Donald Trump used the term to refer to his planned "Department of Government Efficiency," which was expected to be led by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. This brought the term "DOGE" back into the public spotlight, and with it, Dogecoin's market value rebounded to about $60 billion.
Animal Memes: $PEPE
Pepe the Frog is a widely known internet meme created by American cartoonist Matt Furie in 2005. The character first appeared in Furie's comic strip Boy's Club, which tells the story of a group of friends and the challenges of growing up. Pepe is a green, humanoid frog who was originally one of several characters in the comic, but quickly developed into a prominent internet icon.
Pepe's rise as a meme began in 2008, when he began to gain traction on major online platforms, including Myspace, Gaia Online, and 4chan. By 2015, Pepe had become one of the most common memes, especially on platforms like 4chan and Tumblr. Over time, various versions of Pepe have emerged, including "Sad Frog". Additionally, starting in 2014, the concept of "Rare Pepe" emerged, and digitized Pepe images began to be traded as part of an online "meme market", similar to trading cards.
Initially, Pepe was a neutral, apolitical character. However, from 2015 to 2016, it was appropriated by certain extreme groups, particularly far-right movements, and became associated with controversial political messages. Despite this, Pepe has maintained its diversity and widespread use on social media platforms such as 4chan, Twitch, Reddit, and Discord, and users often customize the character into various emoji and meme formats. This enduring popularity has made Pepe an important and evolving symbol in online culture.
$PEPE, a meme coin based on the Ethereum blockchain, was launched in mid-April 2023. The token was created as a tribute to the popular "PEPE the Frog" meme, has no formal team or roadmap, and the creator remains anonymous. The coin did not follow a typical launch method, such as an ICO or airdrop, but instead relied on the popularity of the meme to attract investors. $PEPE uses a deflationary mechanism that destroys a small number of tokens for each transaction by burning LPs and giving up contract ownership. This process reduces the total supply over time, thereby promoting scarcity and potentially increasing the value of remaining tokens as the supply decreases.
In 2024, the price of $PEPE skyrocketed 20 times, and its current market value is approximately US$8.5 billion, ranking 19th in the market.
Political Memes: $PNUT
$PNUT is a meme coin inspired by Peanut, an internet red squirrel. Peanut is an Eastern Gray Squirrel that was found and rescued by Mark Longo in New York City in 2017 after his mother was killed in a car accident. Longo breastfed Peanut for eight months and attempted to release him into the wild. However, Peanut returned with half of his tail bitten off and subsequently lived with Longo. Longo created an Instagram account for Peanut, which gained a lot of traction, with over 910,000 followers as of November 2024.
Unfortunately, on October 30, 2024, Peanut was seized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) after an investigation found that he had bit a staff member. After being tested for rabies, Peanut was euthanized. His death sparked widespread outrage on social media, drew condemnation from lawmakers, and prompted the introduction of a bill aimed at preventing similar incidents.
With the 2024 US election in the spotlight, Peanut has unexpectedly become a focal point of political debate. Supporters of figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk have thrown their weight behind the "Justice for Peanut" movement and criticized the government's actions as an abuse of power. A petition titled "Justice for Peanut Squirrel and NYSDEC Reform" quickly gained a lot of support, raising about $200,000 by November 13, 2024.
The emotional response to the Peanut story gave rise to a meme coin based on the Solana chain, Peanut the Squirrel ($PNUT). After listing on Binance and gaining attention from figures such as Elon Musk, $PNUT quickly surged, reaching a peak market cap of $2.5 billion within just two weeks of listing. Currently, $PNUT has a market cap of approximately $1.1 billion.
AI Meme: $GOAT
Truth Terminal is a semi-automated AI bot developed by Andy Ayrey as part of an experimental project called "Meme Engineering". Originally designed to interact with online culture and generate independent content, the bot is fine-tuned with the OPUS Large Language Model (LLM) and trained on data from platforms such as Reddit and 4chan. Its purpose is to promote discussion about AI-generated belief systems and incorporate content from online subcultures that are often described as "depraved" or "delusional".
As Truth Terminal continued to engage with the community, it began generating what it called the “Gospel of Goatse,” a meme-like and irreverent blend of religious concepts such as Buddhism and Gnosticism. These sometimes erratic and vulgar communications attracted widespread attention from niche online communities, particularly on platforms such as Twitter. After observing Truth Terminal’s activity on social media, an anonymous developer launched the $GOAT token on the Pump.fun platform and named it “Goatseus Maximus” in homage to the legend associated with the Goatse meme, and tagged Truth Terminal’s Twitter account, prompting the bot to comment and promote the token. Although Truth Terminal did not create the token, its endorsement through tweets significantly increased the visibility of $GOAT, sparking more interest and trading activity. These interactions also sparked a rumor that $GOAT was automatically created by AI, further fueling market speculation and driving investment enthusiasm.
The key moment in the $GOAT story occurred when Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) venture capital firm, noticed the unique activity of Truth Terminal. He saw the potential of the project and provided a $50,000 Bitcoin sponsorship to the AI to support its development. This investment greatly promoted the rapid growth of $GOAT. At one point, $GOAT's market value reached $1.2 billion, becoming the first AI meme token with a market value of more than $1 billion.
Truth Terminal’s involvement in the $GOAT story sets a precedent for the role of AI in the future of digital assets and speculative finance. Currently, $GOAT has a market cap of approximately $838 million.
AI Meme: $ACT
Act I: The AI Prophecy Project (ACT), or Act I for short, is an open source, decentralized platform designed to facilitate innovative interactions between AI systems and human users. The project aims to create an "ecosystem" where various AI technologies powered by the native token $ACT can collaborate to generate new forms of AI-driven interactions. Act I hopes to push the boundaries of AI in the field of AI, especially in the field of AI chatbots, and promote the development of algorithms by promoting collaboration between different AI modes (such as text and image generation).
Originally co-founded by AmplifiedAmp (Amp), Act I was designed to promote a decentralized, community-driven ecosystem. $ACT tokens were introduced as a funding mechanism, with 6% of the total supply allocated to Amp. However, as the project grew, Amp began selling $ACT tokens, eventually liquidating the entire allotment. Amp's abrupt exit left many community members feeling disillusioned and betrayed.
Nevertheless, Amp's exit became a catalyst for the community to take control of the $ACT project. The focus of Act I shifted to rebuilding the platform as a truly decentralized AI community with a mission to popularize AI knowledge and make AI accessible and understandable to more people. Through community-driven initiatives, resources, and educational content, $ACT is committed to lowering the threshold for understanding AI, promoting ethical discussions about AI, and supporting research and development in the field.
The $ACT token has experienced significant growth since its listing on Binance on November 11, 2024. After the listing announcement, the market cap increased 10x in one hour, quickly reaching $300 million and peaking at $950 million thereafter. Currently, the market cap of $ACT is approximately $490 million.
Art Meme: $BAN
In 2019, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's installation artwork Comedian attracted a great deal of attention in the art world. The work, which showed a banana taped to a wall, sparked widespread controversy over its artistic value. Despite its apparent simplicity, the work sparked heated discussions among artists, critics, and the public, questioning whether it could really be considered art or just a humorous visual presentation. The controversy ended when the work was sold at Sotheby's for a whopping $120,000.
In October 2024, Comedian made headlines again when Sotheby’s announced that the work would be sold at an upcoming landmark auction in New York. The news quickly attracted attention from both the art and cryptocurrency communities. Sotheby’s Vice President Michael Bouhanna anonymously issued a meme-coin named $BAN inspired by the artwork. In just two days, $BAN’s market cap surged to $60 million.
As Bouhanna’s identity as the founder of $BAN became public, rumors of insider trading and market manipulation began to circulate. In response, Bouhanna denied the allegations on X (formerly Twitter) and assuaged public concerns by destroying 3.7% of the total $BAN supply. This action triggered a short-lived rally, with the price of $BAN increasing by more than 80%.
$BAN's momentum continued to grow, especially on November 18, 2024, when Binance Futures announced the launch of $BANUSDT perpetual contracts, offering up to 75x leverage trading. After the announcement, speculative attention in the market intensified, pushing $BAN prices to a new all-time high of $0.5361, with a market capitalization of $536 million.
On November 21, 2024, TRON founder and HTX owner Justin Sun made headlines when he purchased Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial work “Comedian” for $6.2 million and ate the work. However, the speculative excitement surrounding the $BAN meme coin soon began to wane. By November 29, 2024, $BAN’s market cap had dropped significantly to $134 million, showing a change in investor sentiment and a possible saturation of the narrative surrounding the coin.
Pop Culture Meme: $CHILLGUY
"Chill Guy", also known as "My New Character", is a digital artwork and internet meme created by artist Phillip Banks. The image shows an anthropomorphic dog wearing a grey sweater, blue jeans, and red sneakers, with a relaxed expression on his face and his hands in his pockets. The work was originally posted on Twitter on October 4, 2023, where it received some attention at the time, but it quickly went viral in August 2024 when a TikTok user edited it with other popular memes. Its widespread popularity stems from its relatable "relaxed" attitude, which promotes a stress-free, casual lifestyle.
The meme quickly gained traction on social media and attracted the attention of major brands, including AMC Theaters and the Atlanta Hawks, who included it in their promotional campaigns. The character, often paired with "Unchill Gal," inspired a fan-driven movement and has spawned widespread cosplay, fan art, and memes on platforms like TikTok.
In November 2024, the meme received another boost with the creation of $CHILLGUY, a meme coin built on the Solana blockchain. By November 29, 2024, $CHILLGUY had a market cap of approximately $700 million, in part due to viral tweets from high-profile figures like Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Despite the commercial success of the meme, Banks does not endorse the coin or its commercial uses, and has initiated legal action to remove unauthorized merchandise and tokens in order to protect his intellectual property. However, $CHILLGUY remains one of the most popular and well-known memes in the current digital landscape.
The Rise of the Meme Supercycle
According to Artemis’ index benchmark, the meme space has grown by 273.8% since the beginning of 2024, making it one of the fastest growing asset classes in this market cycle. The meme trend has also attracted a large number of new entrants into the cryptocurrency market. According to Google Trends, meme-related searches surged nearly 100 times in 2024. In addition, Solana’s wallet Phantom ranked 48th in the Apple App Store, surpassing Coinbase, which ranked 55th. The popularity of memes is unquestionable.
The popularity of memes can be well explained by cryptocurrency analyst Murad Mahmudov's "meme supercycle" theory. He believes that the memecoin market is in its early stages and has the potential to exceed a market value of $1 trillion. The so-called "meme supercycle" is a major and ongoing trend in the cryptocurrency market, which is driven by a combination of internal and external factors, highlighting the unique appeal of memecoins and their growing dominance.
In terms of internal factors, one of the main drivers is insufficient innovation and overproduction of tokens. Unlike previous cycles, this rally was not triggered by clear innovation, but rather driven by Bitcoin ETFs and institutional adoption. There was no single disruptive development, only optimism and signs of maturing infrastructure.
At the same time, the number of assets in the cryptocurrency space continues to grow, making it more difficult to grow the overall industry. In 2024 alone, more than 600,000 new tokens will be listed before April, with more than 5,000 new tokens entering the market every day. Centralized exchanges often list these alternative coins at high valuations, causing retail investors to become exit liquidity for participants in private rounds that have already made profits. Exacerbating this problem is the lack of actual value behind most alternative coins, with 99% of tokens relying more on speculation than actual revenue generation. Research by Binance shows that $155 billion in tokens will be unlocked in the next five years, which poses a major challenge to these tokens. However, meme coins are different, they are usually fully circulated and do not face the burden of future unlocking. Their potential is proven to be another internal factor driving super cycles.
In terms of external factors, global challenges such as inflation, rising costs, AI-driven job threats and wealth inequality make alternative investments like memecoins more attractive. Social factors such as loneliness, mental health issues and declining trust in traditional institutions further drive interest in memes. Success stories of large returns have also inspired strong market momentum, attracting continued investor attention to memecoins.
Additionally, meme infrastructure like Pump.fun and Telegram trading bots lower the barrier to entry for memes. Pump.fun is a Solana-based marketplace that allows users to easily create and trade memecoins. It uses a bonding curve pricing model to ensure a fair trading environment. The platform has gained widespread traction, with over 3.85 million memecoins created and deployed (about 70% of daily token issuance on Solana) as of November 2024, and has generated over $227 million in revenue. The platform features easy memecoin creation (with a low fee of about 0.02 SOL), low transaction fees, and includes safeguards to prevent market manipulation. Many well-known memecoins, such as $ACT, $PNUT, and $MOODENG, were created by Pump.fun.
Telegram trading bots have also facilitated the trading of memes. These bots significantly increase transaction speeds, allowing users to execute swaps faster than manual DEX connections, which is especially important in the highly volatile memecoin market, where quick action can bring significant gains. Telegram's popular and community-driven environment supports these bots, making them easy to use and widely adopted. In addition, various features such as BONKbot's "buy and burn" mechanism, Trojan's copy trading, Shuriken's multi-chain support, and Sonic Sniper BOT's real-time token data meet a variety of trading needs, enhancing their appeal to a wide range of user groups.
Memecoins are about more than just market performance. They are seen as a counterattack to overvalued crypto-tech tokens, embodying the spirit of the 2017 ICO wave. Retail investors are particularly attracted to memecoins because they combine financial opportunities with elements of entertainment, identity, and community. Memecoins are more than just tokens; they represent tokenized communities symbolized by memes, emphasizing people and culture over technology.
Choose Your Meme Coin
The effect of listing coins on centralized exchanges
On September 16, Binance officially announced that it would list First Neiro on Ethereum ($NEIRO), Turbo ($TURBO) and Baby Doge Coin ($1MBABYDOGE) and add seed tags to them. $NEIRO's market value rose rapidly in just a few hours, from $20 million to more than $120 million. After Binance announced the listing, $NEIRO's market value reached $1.25 billion, an increase of about 80 times.
Coincidentally, on November 11, Binance announced the launch of spot trading for $ACT and $PNUT, and $PNUT subsequently rose 250% in one day and $ACT rose 2,000% in a few hours, with the market value soaring from $20 million to $300 million.
In fact, Binance’s trading volume accounts for about 50% of CEX’s trading volume. When a meme coin is listed on Binance, it means that the secondary market will have huge liquidity. From a statistical point of view, the market value of meme coins listed on Binance is usually greater than 500 million US dollars. Those meme coins that have announced that they will be listed on Binance and have a market value of less than 500 million US dollars are worth paying attention to. Binance meme listing time and market value growth in 2024:
In fact, the listing effect also exists on CEXs such as Upbit and Bybit. Meme coins with good token distribution, reasonable market value, strong community consensus and unique narrative are more likely to be listed.
Integer Psychological Disorder Effect
Since most meme coins lack actual underlying value, the round number psychological barrier effect exists for most meme coins. For example, Pump.fun's token issuance is 1 billion, so a market value of $1 billion is the upper limit for most meme coins. Doge once reached a price of $0.74 in 2021, with a market value of $98.47 billion at the time, but was limited by the market value cap of $100 billion. Investors can refer to this effect to judge the upside potential of meme coins.
Public chain capital multiplier effect
Choose a public chain with high TVL (total locked value) and high popularity. The increase in the token price of a public chain will attract funds to the chain. Only when the TVL grows can a meme coin with a high market value be created. The token price growth and ecological activity of public chains such as Solana, Base, and Sui have led to the birth of many meme tokens, and their value has increased hundreds of times. Since August 2024, Sui's token price has tripled and its TVL has more than tripled. Various water-related meme coins continue to emerge, among which $SUDENG has a market value of more than $200 million.
Taking the meme market value/public chain TVL as a reference, the ratios of Solana, Sui, and Base are 181.4%, 25.5%, and 93.2%, respectively. The higher the ratio, the more popular the meme of the corresponding blockchain is, and the greater the probability of the emergence of high-market-value meme coins.
Based on this theory, Messari proposed a high-return meme investment method: when the public chain's token rises, buy the corresponding meme; when the meme falls, convert it into cash. This investment strategy started in January 2021 and achieved a return rate of 13,000% in three years.
Analyze the origin and purpose of the project
It is crucial to understand the underlying purpose of launching a memecoin. Some projects are created for satirical purposes or as a reflection of contemporary social or political phenomena, aiming to build a positive and interactive community. Projects with a clear and easily understood purpose tend to have a more promising foundation, as their appeal usually resonates with the audience on a deeper level.
Assessing community engagement and ecosystem
It is a must to assess the activity and engagement of the project community on major social media platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram. This includes looking at metrics such as the number of active members, the frequency of discussions, and overall engagement. A strong and active community not only drives exposure for a project, but also promotes its growth and sustainability. In addition, it is necessary to track whether the community is collaborating with prestigious projects, brands, or influencers, as such collaborations can enhance the project's credibility and market positioning.
Monitor price performance and technical analysis
Analyzing the historical price trends of memecoins can provide insights into their market acceptance and investor sentiment. A coin that shows stable fluctuations and is resistant to sharp declines may indicate growing market acceptance and stability. Conversely, a coin with volatile price fluctuations may indicate speculation. Additionally, tracking the popularity of the coin through search volume trends and market rankings can help gauge broader market interest and the long-term potential of the project.
Use intelligent monitoring and trading robots
There are many robots that can help investors invest in Meme coins. For example, GMGN.ai is a platform designed for traders to analyze and track Meme tokens with greater speed and efficiency. It provides real-time trading signals by observing the flow of funds and token activity of smart wallet addresses, covering multiple blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and Blast. It also provides on-chain sniping tools, cross-chain swaps, smart fund tracking, and technical analysis integration functions.
Indirect investment
In addition, investing in decentralized exchanges (DEX) with active Meme trading, such as Solana's Raydium and Base's Aerodrome, is also a good choice.
The risks of investing in memes
Despite their significant appeal, memecoins also carry considerable risks:
High volatility and low liquidity: Prices can quickly soar or plummet, resulting in significant losses. Most memecoins have low trading volumes and poor liquidity.
- Pump and Dump Risk: Developer withdrawal of liquidity remains an issue, underscoring the need to fully research projects.
- Wash trading risk: Wash trading occurs when investors (usually the same person or group of people) buy and sell the same asset at the same time to create the appearance of active trading. Here are some tips for identifying signs of wash trading:
- The trading volume of Meme Coin suddenly increased significantly, but there was no major news, technical updates or community events to promote it, and there was no reasonable continuity afterwards.
- Rapid and irregular price fluctuations over short periods of time (e.g., minutes or hours) that are not based on normal supply and demand in the market.
- If the buy and sell orders are similar in size and frequency and appear in alternation, as if they were programmed, this could be a sign of money laundering.
- If a high degree of correlation is found between multiple wallet addresses, such as frequent transfers of funds in a short period of time, or highly similar transaction behaviors (such as buying and selling the same amount of Meme coins at the same time), money laundering transactions may have occurred.
- Content and Platform Abuse: Pump.fun’s live streaming feature was used to post objectionable content, leading to the feature being disabled and raising ethical concerns about NSFW (not suitable for work environments) and exploitation.
- Regulatory challenges: Lack of age verification and speculative behavior may violate regulatory norms and encourage unhealthy gambling behavior.
The survival rate of memes is extremely low. According to data from Pump.fun, the probability of a meme coin reaching a market value of $10 million is only one in 100,000, and only 3% of users make more than $1,000 in profit. Before investing in meme coins, be sure to do your own research (DYOR).
in conclusion
Memecoins have proven that they are more than just a fad in the cryptocurrency market. They represent a unique intersection of internet culture, financial speculation, and community-driven engagement, providing both entertainment and investment opportunities. As the meme space continues to grow, driven by factors such as AI popularity, social media virality, and bold marketing strategies, memecoins have attracted the attention of retail investors, the media, and even large financial institutions. However, their success is not without risks, including high volatility, speculative behavior, and regulatory uncertainty. Investors must carefully consider market sentiment, project background, and community engagement before making memecoin investments. As the meme supercycle continues to develop, it will be worth watching in the future to see if memecoins can maintain their momentum or if the market will shift to more fundamentally supported projects. Whatever their future holds, memecoins have undeniably carved out a niche in the cryptocurrency space and reshaped the way people perceive and trade digital assets.
