Memecoins have continued to dominate the narrative within the cryptocurrency space in 2024, as reported by CoinGecko. This year saw a significant increase in interest, with memecoins accounting for 31% of overall investor focus, a remarkable 4x growth from the previous year’s 8.32%. Initially driven by dog-themed coins, the trend expanded into new territories, including animal- and personality-themed tokens.
Investors have shown a preference for speculative opportunities that prioritize cultural virality over traditional fundamentals, as exemplified by the success of the memecoin launchpool Pump.fun. The platform saw nearly 5 million new memecoins deployed on Solana alone, with fees totaling over $335 million, according to data from a Dune Analytics dashboard.
The primary memecoin narrative claimed the top spot among crypto narratives, comprising 14.36% of investor mindshare. Additionally, four memecoin trends ranked in the top 20, including Solana memecoins (7.65%), Base memecoins (2.13%), AI memecoins (1.49%), and cat-themed memecoins (1.19%). Memecoins proved to be the third most profitable narrative in 2024, generating an average yearly return of 201%.
Despite the growing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, memecoins outperformed AI tokens in terms of investor interest and performance. AI-related trends captured 15.67% of investor mindshare, with the core AI ecosystem accounting for the second-largest overall popularity. However, AI tokens experienced a negative 11.6% performance, mainly attributed to Worldcoin’s WLD 39% drawdown.
Other noteworthy narratives in 2024 include the rise of real-world assets (RWA), which gained traction to claim the third spot with an 8.64% share of investor interest. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) also saw a significant increase in popularity, moving from 13th to 8th place. On the flip side, blockchain gaming (GameFi) experienced a decline in interest, dropping from 10.49% in 2023 to 3.72% in 2024.
Solana and Base-related narratives stood out in the blockchain ecosystem, with Solana narratives capturing a 14.30% share and Base narratives totaling 4.87%. These ecosystems were bolstered by the success of memecoins within their respective platforms. Overall, memecoins continue to have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, appealing to investors seeking high returns in a culturally viral environment.
