Memecoin Market Crash: $70 Billion Wiped Out in Five Months

The memecoin market has experienced a significant downturn, with a 56% decline in value since its peak in December 2024. According to CoinMarketCap data, the total market capitalization of memecoins stood at $54 billion on March 5, down from $124 billion on Dec. 5, 2024.

The memecoin market reached its peak on Dec. 8, with a record-breaking market cap of $137 billion. However, it has since declined gradually, with brief periods of rise and fall following the launch of memecoins by Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in January.

Industry observers have attributed the massive memecoin slump to various factors, including volatile global economic conditions, lack of regulation, insider trading scandals, and endorsements by public figures. Zeta Markets co-founder Anmol Singh told Cointelegraph that the "memecoin bubble has burst" due to economic uncertainty and the involvement of celebrities and social media influencers in pumping tokens before selling for profit.

Following the significant sell-off, the memecoin market is expected to consolidate into major memecoins, while others may fade out of relevance. Singh cited established memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe (PEPE), Bonk (BONK), Dogwifhat (WIF), and the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin as potential survivors. He also predicted that investors would approach new memecoin launches with more caution in the future.

At the time of writing, Dogecoin, a favorite memecoin of Trump's senior adviser Elon Musk, is the largest memecoin on the market, accounting for 53% of the entire memecoin market cap. SHIB and PEPE rank second and third, respectively, with market caps of $7.7 billion and $2.9 billion. The Official Trump memecoin is currently the fourth-largest memecoin, with a market cap of $2.6 billion.

Some prominent crypto community figures, like tron founder Justin Sun, have expressed optimism about the future of memecoins, but have advised investors to focus on well-established memecoins like DOGE.