Online discussions about memecoins have reached a year-to-date high, attracting significant attention, especially after a period of cooled sentiment earlier this year, as reported by on-chain analytics platform Santiment. Two weeks ago, discussions surrounding Bitcoin (BTC) and layer-1 protocols surged amidst market volatility triggered by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. However, the focus has since shifted to high market cap memecoins. Santiment’s marketing director, Brian Quinlivan, noted in a May 1 blog post, “Discussions about these high-risk tokens have proliferated as traders embrace a gamble mindset instead of a calculated investment approach.”
This trend suggests that traders are increasingly making investments based solely on speculation and the pursuit of short-term gains. Quinlivan stated, “The overall crypto market surged by 10% over the past eight days, yet Bitcoin only saw a 7% increase, indicating that traders are gravitating towards more speculative assets.” He explained that when Bitcoin leads an initial rally and subsequently moves sideways, investors commonly take larger risks in the hopes of garnering higher returns through more speculative purchases.
Dogecoin Discussions Spike on ETF Buzz
One particular memecoin, Dogecoin (DOGE), has experienced a notable uptick in positive crowd sentiment following a major decline in interest during April. This renewed enthusiasm coincides with various applications for DOGE exchange-traded funds being filed in the United States. Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission delaying decisions on these filings until mid-June, Quinlivan highlights that traders are in a state of cautious anticipation. “Until late April, DOGE had been on a significant decline in terms of crowd interest. However, its social dominance has surged to its highest level in nearly three months, fueled by discussions and filings surrounding Nasdaq’s ETF listings,” he stated.
Furthermore, data from DefiLlama reveals that PumpSwap, the decentralized exchange for the memecoin launch platform Pump.Fun, saw a remarkable spike to $11 billion in monthly trading volume during April, up from just $1.7 billion in March. This surge underscores the increasing traction of memecoins within the crypto market. Pump.Fun’s monthly trading volume also experienced growth, rising to $3.3 billion in April from $2.5 billion in March.
The surge in memecoin activity can be traced back to the launch of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin on January 18, with Pump.Fun recording an unprecedented weekly trading volume of $3.3 billion. However, following this peak, interest in memecoins cooled considerably, as noted by CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong in a March 6 report, which attributed this downturn to a series of unsuccessful launches, particularly the fallout from the Libra token launch in February.
As investors navigate this ever-evolving landscape, the growing prominence of memecoins serves as a reminder of the speculative nature of the crypto market. With fluctuating interests and the potential for quick returns, it will be intriguing to observe how this trend continues to develop in the coming months.
