The world of memecoins is fast-paced and sentiment-driven, and many indicators help figure out where the market may head next. One such indicator is the altcoin smart money, which, on April 20, 2023, was analyzed via on-chain metrics.
Results from that analysis showed that the memecoin smart money has taken a decidedly bearish stance – in fact, a heavy outflow of capital from memecoins was observed in this time frame.
The total volume of smart money movements within the memecoin market reached $3.9 million for the day. However, rather than a bullish build-up, the majority of this volume reflected exits, with $2.7 million leaving positions compared to just $1.2 million in fresh inflows. This led to a net volume deficit of -$1.5 million—a clear signal that the big players may be cooling off after a period of hype-fueled action.
Inflow Into Select Tokens Signals Targeted Interest
Even with the wider pullback, not every project took a hit from the market sell-off. A select few tokens managed to pull in some of the smartest money, which seemed to suggest that maybe there was still some broad-based, if not exactly enthusiastic, optimism hanging around out there. Why else would a handful of tokens have managed to pull in such money?
Among the beneficiaries was EURC, which saw the largest inflow at $114,000. A euro-pegged stablecoin with growing traction in DeFi applications, EURC’s relative stability may have made it an attractive parking spot for funds exiting higher-risk memecoins.
Another entry of interest was PENGU, with inflows of $40,000. This quirky memecoin, inspired by the meme-penguin trend, has been slowly but surely building community momentum. The level of inflows suggests it’s on the radar of some smart money for a more sustained move in its direction in the near future.
TITCOIN attracted $39,000, POPCAT saw $34,000, and WBTC brought in $37,000—tokens that most definitely would not appear in this same context had they existed, say, five years ago. Yet unlike in 2018, when most of these assets were being traded under the radar, WBTC is now showing up alongside memecoins, with what could be read as a promise from still-more-legitimate assets for profit, amid the kind of volatility that has maybe-been borderline traded securities in the past.
Major Outflows Indicate Rotations and Potential Trend Reversals
Dramatic outflows were seen in some of the memecoins. This suggests that smart money is either locking in profits or shifting its focus to other types of assets.
The most famous specific case was FARTCOIN, which experienced an astonishing smart money exit of $790,000. Once a favorite of short-term memecoin traders because of its viral nature and comedic branding, this level of outflow shows a strong sentiment of de-risking. It remains to be short-term cooling off or the beginning of a long-term downtrend.
RFC trailed closely behind with $445,000 in outflows. Once regarded as a token driven by fans that bridged pop culture and crypto, the recent sell-off may signal hype that is fading or apprehensions about the project’s fundamentals. In just the same way, JUP, down $143,000, GIGA, down $106,000, and ALCH, down $97,000, also observed sizeable exits.
Recap: Smart money on chain activities in the memecoin market for 20/04/25
Yesterday, there was more outflow than inflow
Inflow: $1.2M
Outflow: $2.7M
Volume: $3.9M
Net Volume: -$1.5MThere was inflow into: $WBTC ($37K) #TITCOIN ($39K) $POPCAT ($34K) $PENGU ($40K) $EURC… pic.twitter.com/4BHd0LNYMS
— Stalkchain (@StalkHQ) April 21, 2025
The aggregate data tells us something we can easily understand: that there has been a movement away from high-risk investments and toward more stable, if not actually safer, positions with possibly undervalued new entrants. In the meme-stock market, where sentiment swings widely, that is a market with a lot of traders and a lot of movement; these periods of investor agreement about movement in a moment often precede a trend-reversal moment or a period of consolidation.
What This Means for Traders and Observers
Although a $1.5 million net outflow might not seem earth-shattering when considering the context of the broader markets, in the memecoin space—where liquidity is generally thinner and volatility higher—it is a significant directional cue.
The behavior of smart money often dictates what retail traders do. Large holders of certain tokens are pulling back and reducing their exposure, which suggests that those retail traders are likely to be chasing after the noise and momentary upticks driven by the trades of a few. Profit-taking from large sellers isn’t generally a sign that we should be flipping into the tokens they are flipping out of.
April 20 was a wake-up call. The memecoin mania may be entering a new phase, with funds moving away from pure hype and toward tokens with more resilient communities or unique value propositions. Whether this is a temporary shakeout or the start of something bigger will be determined by how the market behaves in the next few days.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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