Meme Coins. The Hottest Crypto Trend of 2024 | Deep Dive
While some people express concerns about meme coins — such as the former Binance CEO, CZ, who referred to the memecoin mania as “weird” — others view them as tremendous financial opportunities and sources of entertainment. Regardless, it cannot be denied that meme coins became crypto’s top trend in 2024.
How did it all begin? What are meme coins today? How can you find promising meme coins and evaluate the risks associated with them? And what 2025 holds for meme coins according to analysts?
Let’s dive in.
What are Meme Coins?
Meme coins are a category of cryptocurrency that originates from internet memes and viral trends, often characterized by humorous or satirical nature. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, which typically have specific use cases or real-world applications, meme coins primarily exist as a form of entertainment and community engagement.
A Brief History
The phenomena of meme coins began with the introduction of Dogecoin in December 2013.
Dogecoin was created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a joke, drawing inspiration from the popular “Doge” meme that featured a Shiba Inu dog accompanied by multicolored text in the Comic Sans font, conveying humorous and often nonsensical phrases.
The creators intended to develop a cryptocurrency that would be a satirical and fun answer to Bitcoin, which was often viewed as overly serious technical tool.
The meme coin quickly gained popularity and received great support from crypto enthusiasts. As early as next year after the launch, the Dogecoin community crowdfunded a sponsorship deal for NASCAR driver Josh Wise.
Later, the Dogecoin Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established to promote and support the use of Dogecoin.
It is also worth mentioning that the popularity of $DOGE was fueled by Elon Musk. He encouraged community by tweets and memes about Dogecoin many times. For example, he has declared that it is the “people’s crypto”.
Following the hype around Dogecoin, the boom of the meme coins culture occurred in 2020–2021. The arrival of COVID-19 coincided with a massive surge in interest in crypto, catalyzed by retail investors and social media discussions. In this environment, new meme coins began to proliferate at an alarming rate. The most notable of these was Shiba Inu, launched in August 2020 as an “experiment in decentralized community building”.
Key Features of Meme Coins
- High Volatility & Speculative Nature: Value comes from social media influence, community enthusiasm and viral trends. Therefore, meme coins usually experience dramatic price fluctuations within short periods, driven by market sentiment and speculative trading activities
- Community-Driven: Success depends on a loyal and active community
- Limited Use Cases: The primary use of meme coins is speculation and entertainment.
- Low Entry Cost: Many meme coins are priced relatively low compared to established cryptocurrencies
Market Overview
Today, memecoins remain one of the best-performing niches in the market.
Here is the market capitalization by category as of May 2024:
The numbers are only on the rise. Since the beginning of 2024, memecoins have experienced incredible growth in value, rising from $23 billion to approximately $116 billion at the time of writing.
In November, $DOGE even surpassed the market capitalization of Porsche. Additionally, according to data, $DOGE and $SHIBA were among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2024.
However, December marked a period of losses for memecoins, coinciding with a broader market correction and a significant decrease in the prices of altcoins.
Notable Meme Coins by Blockchain
- Ethereum: SHIB, PEPE, DOGE
- Binance Smart Chain: BABYDOGE, FLOKI
- Solana: BONK, POPCAT, WIF
- Сosmos: HUAHUA, SPICE
Top Chains by Number of Meme Coins
In 2024 Solana has risen to prominence as a dominant blockchain for meme-based cryptocurrencies. Thanks to its fast transaction speeds, low fees, and robust infrastructure, it has become the preferred choice for developers aiming to introduce new meme tokens.
It is also worth mentioning that one of the most trending platforms related to meme coins — Pump.fun — is built on Solana.
Pump.fun is a marketplace that allows users to create and distribute their own tokens, primarily meme coins, without coding skills.
Another leader is the BNB Chain, which is home to an increasing number of meme coins. This blockchain attracts developers with various incentive programs designed for meme coin creators.
It’s notable that the Cosmos ecosystem hasn’t yet experienced its own meme coin mania, unlike Solana, BSC, and the aforementioned chains. At the moment, there is only one Cosmos-based meme coin that has gained popularity and gathered an active community: HUAHUA.
In November, the ecosystem also saw the launch of SPICE, a mem ecoin on Osmosis tailored for the Akash Network community. However, the project hasn’t received enough attention yet.
How to Evaluate the Risk
Although meme coins offer significant gains and exciting opportunities, they carry inherent risks as well. Evaluating the risk requires a systematic approach, as meme coins often exhibit high volatility and can be influenced by various factors beyond traditional metrics.
Here are a few important factors to keep in mind:
- Community & Social Media Presence
Is there a strong and lively community behind a meme coin? How frequent are the community updates? Assess the project’s activity on social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Discord.
- Market Sentiment
Are discussions about a coin primarily positive? Is there genuine enthusiasm? Gauge community sentiment regarding a coin. Also keep an eye on social media trends that might affect demand and pricing.
- Use cases
What value does it hold for users? Is there a practical function that can be used by holders? Consider if the coin has any practical use.
Remember: It is crucial to avoid placing a large percentage of your portfolio in a single (meme) coin. Diversifying your investments can mitigate risk.
We highly recommend to consider starting with a smaller position to gauge the market’s reaction and the coin’s performance without significant financial exposure.
2025: What Lies Ahead?
Here are some statements from influential analysts:
- A memecoin analyst and a a well-known figure in the crypto space, Murad Mahmudov, believes that meme coins will play a crucial role in crypto adoption this year.
- Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch, expressed the view that this trend has a chance of survival in 2025. “Unexpected trends like utility NFTs or viral meme coins could still dominate the spotlight,” told Bukov.
- Dario Lo Buglio, CTO at Brickken, provided a more neutral formulation. He stated that meme coins “could fade away with some time or experience some growth next year. Maybe it can find a place for itself in the market”.
- Peter Kris, CEO of Gasp, expressed a less optimistic view: “The memecoin trend is losing momentum as attention shifts to new areas like DeSci and AI agents. However, there has been some crossover with AI-related memes, so memecoins might still have a place”.
Closing Thoughts
Meme coins are highly volatile and speculative; yet, they have intrigued both the community and investors, becoming one of the hottest crypto trends of 2024. Whether viewed as a speculative gamble or a cultural phenomenon, they are certainly worthy of attention in the ever-changing world of crypto and still have the potential to influence market trends in 2025.
