CoinGecko reports that meme coins soared above $150 billion after the US election and then fell nearly 70% within a year.
The collective value of meme-inspired cryptocurrencies soared above $150 billion in December 2024, driven by a wave of politically themed tokens following the US elections.
This record-breaking peak, documented in CoinGecko’s recently released 2025 State of Meme Coins report, was followed within a year by a steep 69% decline, illustrating the extreme volatility and sentiment-driven nature of this asset class.
The Memecoin rollercoaster of 2025
According to CoinGecko’s report, the meme coin industry experienced a historic rise and a dramatic fall in a short period of time to show the value of the market rose to $150.6 billion last December, significantly surpassing the previous record of $88 billion in 2021.
This growth was largely driven by the ‘PolitiFi’ trend, with tokens such as Official Trump (TRUMP) gaining popularity around the US presidential election. However, the launch of other political tokens, such as LIBRA linked to Argentine President Javier Milei, coincided with the start of a major downturn.
By November 2025, the total market capitalization had collapsed to $47.2 billion. This decline occurred despite a period of intense creation where, at the height of the frenzy in January 2025, new token launch pads such as Pump.fun and BONK.fun were powering over 73,000 new token launches every day.
The report noted that the United States consistently showed the highest public interest in meme coins throughout the year, with their share of global attention growing from 20% to almost 30%. However, overall global attention fell by more than 80% from January levels, reflecting the market’s pullback.
The landscape was also marked by significant risks. Beyond insider-heavy launches, the ease of creating tokens led to other widespread problems, including an increase in “back pulls,” where developers abandon projects, and “bundling,” where insiders use multiple wallets to spoof organic demand for coins.
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From internet joke to mainstream phenomenon
The journey of meme coins started in 2013 with Dogecoin (DOGE), created as a light-hearted parody of the crypto market. It dominated the market for years, but the 2021 bull run fueled by celebrity support opened the door for a wave of successors like Shiba Inu (SHIB).
The current cycle, which started in early 2024, was much more diverse, spreading from the Solana epicenter to networks such as Bitcoin, Base and BNB Chain. Still, DOGE commands about 47% of the sector’s total market value, recovering ground after a brief dip below 30% during the height of the Solana-based meme trade earlier this year.
Today, dog-themed tokens remain the largest category, but new stories surrounding politics and artificial intelligence have also captured significant market share. But speculation aside, CoinGecko noted that some projects are building broader ecosystems. Tokens like BONK and FLOKI now support decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and gaming platforms, while DEGEN has evolved into the native currency for a full social media layer 3 network.
Looking ahead, the report suggested that the integration of centralized exchanges (CEXs) with DeFi could shape the next chapter, with major platforms such as Coinbase and Binance now offering in-app access to on-chain token trading. This has blurred the lines and could potentially attract more users to the meme coin ecosystem, according to the study.
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