David Edwards
Investor enthusiasm for memecoins has significantly declined following a series of failed launches and fraudulent schemes that have eroded market confidence, according to CoinGecko co-founder Bobby Ong.
In a March 6 report, Ong highlighted a sharp downturn in Pump.fun, a token launchpad platform, after the collapse of Libra (LIBRA). The number of newly created and daily graduated tokens on the platform plummeted by more than 90% since their peak in February.
“The launch of TRUMP and MELANIA marked the peak for memecoins, draining liquidity and attention from the rest of the cryptocurrency market.”
Memecoin Market Faces a Reckoning
The downturn is in stark contrast to the January 18 launch of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s memecoin, which drove Pump.fun’s weekly trading volume to a record $3.3 billion. However, trading volumes have since plunged 63% from January to February.
According to CoinMarketCap, the total market capitalization of memecoins hit an all-time high of $124 billion on December 5, but has since collapsed to $54 billion—a 56% decline.
Ong suggests that the launch of LIBRA was the breaking point, shattering the illusion of “fair launches” and exposing insider manipulation. The LIBRA token, which was controversially linked to Argentine President Javier Milei, saw insiders cash out $107 million, wiping out nearly 94% of its value within hours.
Memecoins Are Seasonal but Not Gone for Good
Despite the downturn, Ong believes memecoins are inherently cyclical and will eventually make a comeback.
Onchain analytics firm Santiment recently suggested that the shift away from memecoins could signal a healthier market cycle, with investor interest returning to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other layer-1 altcoins.
Ong speculates that the market may move toward an “extreme case of power law,” where 99.99% of memecoins fail while a select few—such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Bonk (BONK)—continue to endure through market cycles.
“These surviving memecoins offer valuable lessons for creators looking to build sustainable, long-term assets,” Ong added.
