Opinion by: Igor Zemtsov, chief know-how officer at TBCC
Following “Libragate,” memecoin costs crashed, with their market cap falling practically 60% from 2025’s highs. However meme tokens, lifeless? They’ve obtained extra lives than a cat on caffeine.
Regardless of the chaos, memecoins have been nonetheless holding a $47.9-billion market cap as of March 10. It’s not precisely spare change. In the meantime, degens are nonetheless out right here “shopping for the dip” prefer it’s a Black Friday sale, satisfied that absurdly named tokens like Unicorn Fart Mud, Fartcoin and Buttcoin will print them a 100x revenue earlier than yr’s finish.
Some name it irrational. Others name it degeneracy. However when has that ever stopped anybody in crypto?
Down unhealthy, however not lifeless but
Positive, memecoins aren’t precisely outshining Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Solana (SOL) proper now. They’ve been getting completely obliterated. Costs have tanked, liquidity has dried up, and merchants who thought they’d be sipping cocktails on a yacht by now are busy coping in Telegram teams.
Let’s not fake that is the primary time memecoins have been pronounced lifeless. Each time the world writes them off, they by some means claw their means again — generally with an much more absurd rally than earlier than.
In any case, logic has by no means been crypto’s sturdy go well with. If it have been, we wouldn’t have seen billion-dollar valuations for fart-themed tokens within the first place. And if human nature tells us something, it’s that individuals will all the time chase the subsequent huge hype cycle — particularly when it comes wrapped in humor and the promise of in a single day riches.
Memecoins are down unhealthy proper now. However lifeless? Not an opportunity. The second one other ridiculous development takes maintain, the cash will come flooding again. As a result of in crypto, what goes down finally goes means again up — usually in essentially the most surprising, meme-fueled methods.
Higher advertising and marketing than critical crypto startups
Overlook white papers, roadmaps or safety audits. Memecoins don’t want any of that. All it takes is a viral meme on X, a 10-minute token launch, and inside a number of weeks, it may very well be sitting at a $50-million market cap. In the meantime, official initiatives spend years creating merchandise, hiring builders and elevating funds, solely to look at their tokens wrestle to achieve traction.
Current: Solana income slumps 93% from January excessive after memecoin bubble bursts
For memecoins, neighborhood is all the things. The larger it’s, the higher the pump. It’s not simply the sort that retweets undertaking updates 10 occasions each day, however one which totally embraces the joke. These communities don’t simply speculate — they consider. And when sufficient folks purchase the meme, the token pumps.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) constructed a cult following because the so-called Dogecoin (DOGE) killer. It by no means killed DOGE, however it advanced right into a $9-billion token with its personal blockchain. Others took an excellent weirder strategy. Fartcoin turned flatulence into finance. Unicorn Fart Mud captured the magic of fully nonsensical branding. And Buttcoin, a 2013 meme mocking Bitcoin, made a comeback to troll the whole trade.
The formulation is clear: The extra absurd the title, the larger the hype. Typically, “it’s humorous” is the one funding thesis you want.
Positive, the crash worn out some beneficial properties, however let’s not act like memecoins vanished. They didn’t go to zero, which, in crypto phrases, makes them survivors. A powerful neighborhood, relentless memes and top-tier shitposting can hold even essentially the most ridiculous property alive.
Memecoins are a rise up towards conventional finance
Individuals are investing cash in Dogecoin as a substitute of Apple inventory, and for good motive. Properly, form of. Crypto has turn out to be the go-to escape hatch for these fed up with conventional finance. Banks freeze accounts. Regulators add extra pink tape. Insider buying and selling runs rampant. In the meantime, memecoins are a free-for-all, the place anybody can win huge or lose all the things. No middlemen. No guidelines. Simply vibes.
The identical Buttcoin proves that individuals will pump something only for enjoyable. What began as a joke now has a devoted neighborhood making an attempt to make it the subsequent Bitcoin. It’s full madness, which is exactly why it really works.
If the world has gone mad, why not revenue from the chaos? With monetary markets changing into extra centralized, restrictive and managed, memecoins provide an anarchic different. They characterize the monetary Wild West, the place something goes; even essentially the most absurd property can see billion-dollar valuations.
Memecoins as web tradition
Memecoins have been round since 2013, when Dogecoin launched as a joke about speculative buying and selling. Nobody — not even its creators — took it severely till Elon Musk obtained concerned and have become its unofficial CEO.
That very same yr, Buttcoin was born from a YouTube video. It wasn’t a token again then, only a meme. However years later, the neighborhood determined to show the joke into an precise cryptocurrency. It exploded as a result of folks love jokes — and a few consider it may very well be the subsequent Bitcoin.
Every new wave of memecoins pushes the absurdity even additional — first DOGE, then Shiba, then Bonk (BONK). Now now we have a whole market of tokens impressed by farts, crap and butts. And by some means, they hold outperforming critical initiatives.
So long as folks love memes, memecoins may have a spot in crypto. It’s web tradition that has became an asset class.
Are memecoins right here to remain?
Most memecoins begin as a joke, however some have discovered precise use instances. DOGE is already accepted for funds by Tesla, AMC and GameStop. SHIB holders can store at Gucci, Nordstrom and Entire Meals. Even newer initiatives like Solcat are launching video games to develop their ecosystems.
Memecoins aren’t simply memes anymore. They’re shaping a brand new monetary actuality the place virality, hypothesis and web tradition outline worth. However let’s handle the apparent: The current crash has slashed valuations, leaving many questioning what’s subsequent.
Are they right here to remain, or are we watching them fade into irrelevance? If historical past tells us something, it’s that memecoins are like cockroaches — resilient, unpredictable and all the time resurfacing. Traders ought to brace for extra chaos as a result of these tokens are as unstable as ever.
Memecoins might not be operating the present proper now, however let’s be sincere: The following huge meme token might be already brewing in a Telegram group, simply ready for its second to blow up (or implode).
Opinion by: Igor Zemtsov, chief know-how officer at TBCC.
This text is for basic data functions and isn’t meant to be and shouldn’t be taken as authorized or funding recommendation. The views, ideas, and opinions expressed listed here are the writer’s alone and don’t essentially replicate or characterize the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.