The aggregate value of cryptocurrencies influenced by memes exceeded $150 billion in December 2024, primarily driven by politically-themed tokens in the wake of the U.S. elections. This unprecedented spike documented in CoinGecko’s 2025 State of Meme Coins report was abruptly followed by a significant 69% decline within a year, emphasizing the asset class’s volatility and dependence on public sentiment.

The 2025 Memecoin Rollercoaster

The meme coin market has seen astounding growth, soaring to $150.6 billion last December, surpassing the prior record of $88 billion from 2021, as highlighted by a report from CoinGecko. This increase was largely fueled by the “PolitiFi” trend, especially tokens like Official Trump (TRUMP) during the U.S. presidential elections. However, the introduction of other political tokens, including LIBRA, associated with Argentinian President Javier Milei, coincided with a substantial market downturn.

By November 2025, the market capitalization had plummeted to $47.2 billion despite a surge in new tokens kicked off by platforms such as Pump.fun and BONK.fun, which together launched upwards of 73,000 tokens daily during January 2025.

The report highlighted that the U.S. showed the highest public interest in meme coins throughout the year, increasing its share of global attention from 20% to nearly 30% while worldwide interest waned by over 80% since January, paralleling the market’s decline.

The sector was rife with dangers, such as insider-driven launches and the emergence of numerous issues like rug pulls—where developers abandoned their projects—and bundling, which creates a false demand for tokens through multiple wallet manipulations.

From Internet Joke to Mainstream Phenomenon

Meme coins originated with Dogecoin (DOGE) in 2013, intended as a playful satire of the crypto scene. While DOGE dominated for years, the 2021 bull market, spurred by celebrity endorsements, led to a proliferative wave of tokens like Shiba Inu (SHIB). The current cycle, started in early 2024, has seen a broad diversification from its Solana roots across Bitcoin, Base, and BNB Chain, with DOGE retaining around 47% of the market.

Recent developments show increasing popularity for political and AI-themed narratives within the sector. Meanwhile, some tokens are evolving into advanced ecosystems, as seen with BONK and FLOKI, which are now compatible with DeFi applications. The report forecasts that the future integration of centralized exchanges with DeFi may set the stage for the next evolution in meme coins, with major platforms like Coinbase and Binance facilitating on-chain token trading.