Research: Memecoins outperformed all crypto categories in 2024

DWF Labs conducted research that reported a memecoin dominance over all other digital asset classes in 2024. A 500% surge saw the category grow from a market cap of $20B in January to over $120B by the end of the year.

The DWF Ventures report showed that what started as a satirical commentary on crypto assets with Dogecoin has evolved into a sophisticated “market vertical” attracting significant institutional attention and capital flows.

Memecoins like Andy Eth and Chill Guy, launched in 2024, reported gains of over 47,000%. Early adopters of such projects added huge profits to their portfolios. 

According to DWF Labs, the success of memecoins challenged conventional notions of asset fundamentals and intrinsic value. The report suggested social capital and community consensus in the digital economy could be as powerful as traditional financial metrics.

Memecoin generators drive asset class achievements despite drawdowns

Pump(.)fun kicked off 1st day of 2025 with a bang, raking in $14M in daily revenue

🔸They’ve deployed 5.55M tokens so far, dominated 52.8% of Solana DEX activity in December-2024

🔸Memecoin mania isn’t slowing down – Solana Meme marketcap stands at $21.5B and Pump(.)fun… pic.twitter.com/Eb6pTaKX5y

— 🔸BΞRIT🔸 (@Berit1p) January 5, 2025

The DWF report emphasized that much of the achievement seen in the memecoin sector was driven by platforms such as Pump.fun, which allow for fast and easy token creation. Pump.fun was one of the top revenue-generating dApps in 2024 despite challenging market conditions. 

Thousands of meme tokens were generated and launched within minutes in the first few months following the platform’s debut. The influx of launched memecoin tokens, however, raised a debate over the dilution of capital and attention during the course of the year. 

As per the report, memecoins were also boosted by listings on top exchanges like Binance. Over 80% of memecoins listed on Binance in 2024 witnessed significant growth as tokens like MOODENG, WIF, and POPCAT surged by 200%.

The report pointed out that memecoins had a strong appeal among young investors, signaling how this particular group perceived community engagement and wealth building. Young investors did not just view memecoins as worthless tokens but rather as representative of a digital culture that served as a symbol of community expression. 

The market expects memecoins to replicate last year’s performance as 2025 kicks off on a high. Chainalysis observed a rising interest in memecoins, particularly in Africa, where most meme token owners traded them primarily for income instead of portfolio diversification.

“Someone is always going to be interested in a token that seems like it could make you the next couple thousand dollars,”

-Moyo Sodipo, co-founder of Nigerian crypto exchange Busha

The report noted that memecoins outperformed well-established crypto assets like Bitcoin during market uptrends. Conversely, they also underperformed major crypto assets during market downtrends. 

Memecoins extend beyond speculation and value creation 

According to the DWF Labs report, memecoins represented a new form of socially coordinated value creation. The tokens served as vehicles for shared cultural experiences, community expression, and digital identity. The transformation of digital asset value creation gave rise to a new model where social capital and community-driven growth became the core drivers of success. The dissolved barriers between creators and markets were replaced by decentralized mechanisms and systems that enabled rapid deployment and community formation. 

The shift in the memecoin sector was particularly evident in 2024 when the fusion of financial markets and social dynamics created unmatched opportunities for generating value. Unique categories within the memecoin ecosystem generated value across different societal themes and trends to produce high returns. It demonstrated how the memecoin subcategories co-existed, indicating the market’s capacity to support multiple parallel utility-enhanced tokens.

Established meme tokens like SHIB and DOGE proved the viability of meme-based projects, while newer assets like WIF demonstrated the market’s appetite for well-executed memecoin launches. 

The most compelling development was the introduction of cross-vertical tokens that combined utility with the viral nature of memes. It was particularly captured in AI-themed memecoins, where the transformative potential of AI was met by the cultural resonance of memes. According to the DWF report, this created a more sophisticated value proposition that appealed to institutional and retail participants.

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