Meme coins, once riding high on speculative hype, have suffered a sharp decline in the past few weeks, shedding $44 billion from their market cap.
From a peak of $117 billion in mid-January, the market cap has now dropped to approximately $70 billion. This dramatic shift comes amid a wider downturn in the cryptocurrency market, influenced by global economic factors such as Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
The introduction of new meme coins, including TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, further drained liquidity, contributing to the price declines of established coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
As investors seek more stable, utility-driven tokens, meme coins are struggling to hold their ground. The rise of platforms like Pump.Fun, which allows users to launch new tokens easily, has also led to market flooding.
This has disrupted the typical altcoin cycles, which were characterized by an upward trajectory in early 2024. Analysts now point to this surge of new tokens as a catalyst that diverted attention away from established coins, leaving the meme coin sector vulnerable.
With altcoin season on the horizon, meme coins may face an uphill battle to regain their previous highs, as market liquidity is now spread thinner than ever before. As such, many investors are reassessing their positions, aware that the future of meme coins remains uncertain.
Solana kicked off 2025 with an impressive revenue milestone, pulling in $369.5 million in just the first quarter—half of what it earned over the entire previous year.
Pi Coin has seen a noticeable price uptick following the long-anticipated release of its tokenomics blueprint and migration plan.
Sui has been making waves lately, with its ecosystem drawing in fresh attention thanks to a spike in speculative trading and DeFi interest.
Swiss bank Sygnum sees brighter prospects ahead for altcoins, citing a wave of regulatory improvements that could set the stage for a market rebound in the second quarter of 2025.