“Which CA are we pumping today?”
With the emergence of endless meme coins, players tirelessly mine for potential “gold dogs”. In some meme groups, players share the contract addresses of the meme coins they have just bought. The launch of new meme launch platforms has lowered the difficulty of issuing coins, and KOLs continue to drive various meme projects to dominate the market. PANews has also analyzed the reasons why memes are currently “overwhelming” mainstream coins.
Although among the thousands of new memes launched daily, only a few survivors can succeed, how can we grasp the potential stocks among those that do? Is the rise of leading memes accidental, and what characteristics are worth noting? In this article, PANews has compiled a list of the top 12 popular meme coins on Ethereum and Solana by market capitalization (selecting the highest-valued projects with the same name in each chain, as of October 18).
Table of Contents
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Over 70% of memes became popular this year, with significant profits requiring holding for at least five months
Most experienced significant pullbacks, with average holdings reaching tens of thousands of dollars
Analyzing the multiple logics behind the rise of memes
Enduring time tests and establishing strong community consensus
Enhancing appeal through the wealth effect
Celebrity effect with inherent influence
Seizing user mindshare through the first-mover effect
According to CoinGecko data, as of October 18, the market capitalization of the meme sector has surpassed $61 billion, reaching a historical high. Among them, 10 meme coins have entered the top 100 in the cryptocurrency market, including not only the veteran players like Doge, SHIB, and PEPE but also newcomers like WIF, BONK, and POPCAT.
The 12 popular meme coins selected by PANews have all emerged after 2023, with the majority becoming popular this year, accounting for over 70%. In terms of market size, these projects have a cumulative market capitalization of over $5.54 billion, accounting for nearly 9.1% of the overall meme market. Among them, POPCAT, Neiro, MOG, SPX, and SPX have the largest market capitalization. This also demonstrates the level of participation in the meme market.
Looking at the time it took for each meme project to reach its token’s all-time high, the average duration is 162.7 days. Projects like BITCOIN (HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu), MOG, SPX, and GIGA took longer, often requiring at least a year or more, indicating that memes that have been validated over a certain period are more likely to gain community recognition. On the other hand, MOODENG, GOAT, and Daram experienced strong surges to their peaks within a month, with the shortest taking only a few days. Of course, this is directly related to the current community enthusiasm.
Looking at the change in the number of holding addresses after each meme coin’s all-time high, the average increase is 39.3%. Among these meme coins, APU and MOODENG had the highest growth rates, with increases of 135.7% and 119.9%, respectively. In comparison, the growth rates of projects like BITCOIN, POPCAT, and Neiro were not significant, with increases of only 5.3%, 3.2%, and 1.5%, respectively. This may be related to factors such as listing on mainstream exchanges, accumulating a sufficient user base in the early stages, and the timing of price increases.
Moreover, these meme coins have brought astonishing returns. Based on statistical data, the average highest return on investment of the 12 meme coins is over 37,000 times. Excluding the extreme value of GIGA, which reached 245,000 times, the highest average increase of the other meme coins is 18,000 times. Among them, BITCOIN, SPX, MOODENG, and GOAT have performed particularly well, while Daram and POPCAT have lagged behind. Of course, these returns are based on market capitalization data, and it is unlikely that any player will capture all of these gains. However, some players have still achieved returns of thousands or even tens of thousands of times. PANews has previously analyzed the profitable routes of GOAT and MOODENG.
When measuring the ability to control price risks, the maximum drawdown rate is undoubtedly one of the commonly used indicators and a psychological test for holders. From the data, excluding GOAT and Daram, which have just become popular and are still in an upward trend, the other meme coins have experienced varying degrees of pullbacks from their historical highs, with an average maximum drawdown rate of about 49.1%. Among them, MICHI, APU, MOG, and MOODENG experienced the largest declines, with drops of 87.7%, 87.5%, 71.1%, and 65.4%, respectively, indicating that holders who bought at the peak face significant risks of losses. In comparison, GIGA, FWOG, POPCAT, and Neiro had maximum drawdown rates far below the average.
Furthermore, in terms of the time required for drawdown recovery, these projects averaged about 23.9 days. Among them, MICHI, APU, MOG, and MOODENG, which had the highest drawdown rates mentioned earlier, took longer to recover, with some taking over a hundred days. On the other hand, GIGA, BITCOIN, FWOG, POPCAT, SPX, and Neiro had single-digit recovery times. The length of the price adjustment period also affects holders’ confidence, with longer periods being more challenging.
In addition, looking at the current holding value of these 12 projects, excluding the top 10 holding addresses, the average current holding value is nearly $9,837.6 (calculated based on the October 18 exchange rate). Among them, SPX, MOG, POPCAT, Neiro, and BITCOIN have the highest holding values, at $26,560, $17,504, $16,337, $15,120, and $11,297, respectively, while Daram, GIGA, GOAT, and MOODENG are below the average, all being below $5,000. Looking at the ratio of holding value to the highest increase in multiples, holders of POPCAT, Daram, FWOG, and Neiro have invested more, while GOAT, MOODENG, and GIGA have invested less.
From internet memes to multi-billion-dollar cultural narratives, the success of the aforementioned meme projects provides the following insights:
Time is always an important tool for testing value, and projects that span longer periods are often more recognized by the market. Take BITCOIN (HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu) as an example. It is an abstract meme combining elements such as Harry Potter, Obama, and Sony, which gained attention in 2023 due to a surge in price. Since then, its price has experienced fluctuations for nearly a year until it began to rise continuously in September of this year. During this period, BITCOIN’s holders also continued to increase, achieving a nearly 88.2% increase within a year. SPX (SPX6900) is also an abstract meme launched in 2023, with a story about an anime girl surpassing the market capitalization of the S&P 500. From the price trend, SPX also experienced a long period of stagnation until September of this year. According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi’s analysis, the meme’s developers and their associated addresses have not interacted for a long time, indicating that SPX has been completely handed over to the community.
Using POPCAT as another example, the meme’s market capitalization exceeded $1.3 billion even before it landed on major exchanges, thanks to its strong community support. Although POPCAT’s surge is not as high as other memes, it already has over 77,000 holding addresses, the highest among the aforementioned projects.
For many meme players, the continuous decline in the value of valued coins has made them no longer “buyers”. The meme field has become one of the means for the community to resist venture capitalists. The higher wealth effect undoubtedly attracts funds and new users in a simple and crude manner, especially for users with small capital who can leverage low costs for potentially imaginative returns.
For example, GIGA (GigaChad) is a meme that commemorates the legendary figure Ernest Khalimov. Since its launch, it has seen a maximum increase of 245,000 times, far surpassing other meme projects mentioned earlier. MOG (Mog Coin) is the first emoticon culture coin, and since its launch, it has experienced a maximum increase of over 16,000 times and has almost recovered all of its significant pullbacks. MOG has also gained more supporters as its price increased, showing a stable growth trend in the number of holding addresses.
Memes can also be understood as a monetization of attention economy. As a scarce economic resource, the stronger the ability of a project to attract attention, the more consensus it gains, and the greater its potential for growth. Among them, the celebrity effect often possesses attractiveness and influence, and it has been an important factor in the success of past memes.
For example, APU (Apustaja) is one of the widely used frog emoticons on the internet, similar to the PEPE image, and has a strong cultural foundation. MOODENG is backed by the internet-famous animal Moo Deng and has significant influence and traffic support. According to a survey by crypto KOL Rasmr, MOODENG is currently the most favored meme coin among ordinary people. However, these types of memes are often affected by changes in the underlying supported value. For example, MOODENG’s market capitalization dropped significantly after the Moo Deng frenzy subsided.
“Being the first is a shortcut to entering the minds of others.” Among the many meme narratives, novel narratives often attract players more easily. For example, GOAT (Goatseus Maximus) is the first meme coin created and promoted by AI agents and gained popularity with the reputation of a16z. In just over a week, the meme achieved a market capitalization of over $300 million and a maximum increase of over 24,000 times. Daram combines BRC20 and meme characteristics, opening up the issuance channel for meme assets, and achieved a market capitalization of over $50 million within just one week of its launch.
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This article is authorized for reprinting from PANews.
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