It’s been an insane week in the memecoin universe, with crazy runs, wild controversies, and even a dinner invitation from a former U.S. president hitting the news.
The market for meme tokens, often dismissed as a playground for speculators, has once again confounded the critics and is up nearly 20 percent this week to a jaw-dropping $53.13 billion market cap. That’s just a hair under the market for American Express.
The sector now ranks second on DeFiLlama, outperforming heavyweight sectors tied to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and even Solana (SOL). Showing an impressive 50% gain over 30 days, it’s clear that meme tokens are more than just a temporary trend—they’re maturing into a category that can seriously command capital, attention, and participation across chains.
Meme Market Goes Mainstream
This week saw a widespread rally in all the major chains. From old stalwarts like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu to newer niche plays on Base and Binance Smart Chain, the memecoin universe showed a remarkable strength and resilience. Every top memecoin not only held its ground but also surged in price, led by the new Ethereum-based token NEIRO, which burst onto the scene with an eye-popping 300% increase this week.
Tokens based on Ethereum took the lead, with TURBO gaining 137%, NPC up 25%, and NEIRO accumulating a staggering 265% over seven days. This push, once again, put Ethereum-based meme tokens in the spotlight, which overall helped lift the market’s mood.
Solana, another meme project, wasn’t far behind either. AI16Z went up by 53%, and PNUT saw a decent 35% jump, lifted by a strong community effort coupled with organic momentum. Over on the Binance Smart Chain, AIC and BROCCOLI posted some pretty impressive gains of 110% and 55%, respectively, showing that meme activity isn’t quite so exclusive to the chains we just mentioned.
The even Base chain, which dealt with some backlash this week, saw a rebound in key meme assets. BRETT recovered with a 60% surge, and TOSHI rose 26%—showing resilience in the face of controversy. On Bitcoin’s side, DOG was up 23%, and PUPS gained 10%—giving us solid momentum as memecoins expand across the Ordinals space.
https://twitter.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1915767858572984722?t=cBCpNyUiOsOC4hkDjZ7Ydw&s=19
TRUMP Token Grabs the Spotlight
One of the most discussed events of the week was the pronounced 53% price surge in the TRUMP token. The token’s price increased following the news that top holders of the token would be invited to a dinner with the former president. The announcement sent social media into a frenzy and led some to speculate on the future value of politically themed tokens.
Debate has been sparked over whether the event is real and, if so, what impact it might have on the token’s legitimacy. For some, this is a very clever way to market the token. For others, it’s a pretty blatant mixing of politics and financial speculation. In any case, the market reacted quickly and decisively, vaulting TRUMP into the winner’s circle this week.
Base Faces Backlash Over Zora Token
Not everything was a party in meme land, though. The Base network got caught up in controversy when the Zora token crashed. It had been pushed by official Base-affiliated accounts, which is why its poor performance reflected so poorly on both. The token had a market cap of $17 million when it started its nosedive; by the time the dust cleared, the market cap had plummeted to just $2 million. Most of the value was gone. And this thing was supposed to be a memetic money printer.
A series of wallets was identified by blockchain analysts as having profit in the approximate amount of $666,000 from what appear to be early in-and-out trades—that is, from buying Base tokens before the public could and selling them right after the public could. The analysts’ conclusion seems to be that some individuals linked to the Base project may have had inside access to the token prior to its launch or may have otherwise manipulated the token. Tokens linked to Base, like BRETT and TOSHI, managed to rally despite the scandal. This suggests that the ecosystem is retaining some faith from investors, at least for now.
While the meme market is rising dramatically, the stories of TRUMP’s dinner event and the Zora collapse remind us of both the excitement and the dangers of this vaguely defined space. From the market cap reaching a new milestone to some scandals and a fair amount of speculation, the world of meme tokens isn’t boring right now. And whatever our feelings about their worth or lack thereof, the influence of them in the world of crypto seems only to be growing.
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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