In 2024, the memecoin market experienced a surge in popularity but struggled to maintain the high valuations seen earlier in the year. Well-known tokens such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Pepe, and Dogwifhat have seen significant drops, with average declines around 63% according to data from Lookonchain released on September 2.
The influx of new tokens has dramatically changed the landscape. Safe-launch platforms like Pump.fun and BaseJump have simplified the coin launch process by removing many of the technical and financial barriers that once existed, leading to a flood of new entries into the market and heightening competition within the memecoin sector.
Ilias Salvatore, from the token analytics tool Flooz, noted the shift in market dynamics due to these new platforms, highlighting the changes in trader behavior and investment focus. “I think that money flows where attention goes,” Salvatore explained. He pointed out the popularity of platforms like Pump.fun and Solana for discovering new tokens, which attract a particular type of trader, different from those trading established memes on major exchanges.
Carlos Mercado, a data scientist at Flipside Crypto, observed that this frenetic pace promotes short-term trading behaviors that differ from traditional investment strategies. “We do see onchain evidence of rotation — volumes peak for most memes early, and traders pivot to more recently launched coins,” Mercado said, indicating a rapid turnover in the memecoin market.
The proliferation of new tokens, with over 1.98 million launched on Pump.fun alone since March, has led to increased competition among memecoins. However, the reality for traders is stark; a snapshot from September 11 showed that only 1.3% of tokens on Pump.fun reached a market cap of $69,000 to be listed on the decentralized exchange Raydium, signifying a “graduation.”
Despite the vast number of new memecoins, most investors face long odds, with a reported $100 investment on Pump.fun having worse success rates than casino roulette, underscoring the high-risk nature of investing in these volatile digital assets.
