Meme Coin MIKAMI Loses 80% Value in Five Hours Post-Launch

Yua Mikami, a Japanese entertainment personality, launched the MIKAMI meme coin on 8 May 2025. The token, which was built on the Solana blockchain, experienced a dramatic drop in value, losing over 80% of its peak value within just five hours of its launch. Despite raising over 23,000 SOL, approximately $3.4 million, during its pre-sale, the token's post-launch performance has been met with significant scrutiny.

Ask Aime: What factors led to the dramatic drop in value of MIKAMI meme coin?

More than 17,000 contributors participated in the pre-sale, which concluded on 3 May. However, many of these participants now face losses exceeding 60%. The pre-sale attracted widespread attention and reportedly filtered out over 21,000 spam transactions of less than 0.002 SOL. According to the MIKAMI Coin account on X, 17,560 valid wallets contributed a total of 23,320.74 SOL. Each participant received tokens proportionate to their input, with an average pre-sale price of $0.245.

Within five hours of the token’s official airdrop and listing on 8 May, the price dropped to $0.10, resulting in a 60% drop for early investors. At its peak, the token traded around $0.828 before plunging to $0.1. The current market cap stands at roughly $7 million, a stark contrast to expectations set during the pre-sale period.

The collapse of MIKAMI aligns with broader patterns seen in the meme coin market, particularly those driven by celebrity influence. A breakdown of its tokenomics shows that 50% of the total supply is locked under Yua Mikami’s name until 2069, while 20% was allocated to pre-sale investors, 15% to liquidity, 10% to the community, and 5% to marketing. The 15% liquidity pool has drawn criticism for being significantly lower than the typical 20–25% standard used in similar tokens. This limited buffer left the coin vulnerable to sharp downward price swings when subjected to heavy sell pressure.

Blockchain data indicates a pattern of large token dumps immediately following launch, suggesting pre-sale whales cashed out early. The absence of robust liquidity also limited the token’s ability to absorb sell-offs, making it harder for smaller holders to exit without incurring losses. This dynamic has become a hallmark of meme coins that are short on utility and long on hype.

MIKAMI’s fall also reflects broader headwinds in the meme coin segment. Since December 2024, overall market capitalisation for meme tokens has dropped, creating an environment of risk aversion and uncertainty. This makes it more difficult for new meme coins to retain investor confidence post-launch, especially when price action trends downward. Social media users have commented on the psychological element of such investments, noting that many hope a new meme coin will help them recover from previous losses — a cycle often leading to impulsive decisions based on hype rather than fundamentals.

This cycle was evident with MIKAMI, as the initial excitement surrounding Mikami’s name failed to translate into lasting demand or support. The rapid decline in value post-launch and the absence of Yua Mikami’s continued engagement or roadmap have left many wondering whether this was simply a speculative play by those seeking short-term gains. With limited liquidity and poor timing amid a broader market slump, the MIKAMI token now serves as another cautionary tale in an increasingly crowded and volatile meme coin space.