DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, WIF, BOME: The Memecoin Supercycle

Does Your Coin Have a Hat?

This report is cross-posted from Blockcrunch VIP and was originally published on March 18, 2024.

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Imagine a digital asset born out of internet culture, fueled by cult-like community enthusiasm and challenging traditional notions of value. Memecoins have captured the attention of specu-ahem, investors worldwide — from the retail newbie logging on to Coinbase for the first time, to hedge funds positioning themselves to capitalize on their influential and mindshare-permeating nature.

While memes offer a distinctive combination of cultural relevance and humor, memecoins add a speculative dimension to the mix.

One of the earliest memecoins to go viral was Dogecoin (DOGE). Based on the already popular meme of the same name, DOGE rocketed to just under $90 billion in market cap during the 2021 bull run. To put this in perspective, a well-established company like FedEx is currently trading at a market cap of approximately $63 billion, highlighting the staggering amount of speculative interest Dogecoin garnered from investors.

Today, memes and memecoins run almost parallel, with countless memecoins launching as soon as a new meme is created, resulting in near-instant tokenization of the attention economy and an avenue for traders to speculate on the virality of each meme. This has been made possible as gas fees on blockchains like Solana have decreased and the ease of launching tokens have increased via the development of no-code token deployers.

Source: memecoinrace.xyz, by @intuitio_

Is this the start of the “Memecoin Supercycle”?

The combined market cap of 14 popular memecoins as illustrated by memecoinrace.xyz as of the time of writing sits at just $57 billion — a far cry from Dogecoin’s peak market cap of $88 billion. With BTC reaching all time highs, surely memecoins make a comeback?

Are memecoins just a fleeting trend, or do they represent a new asset class as part of the future of finance? Let's find out.

Disclosure: The author holds positions in tokens that are mentioned in this article.