CryptoQuant CEO Ki Younger Ju just lately stated that memecoins and the artwork market share related valuation mechanisms, with each counting on the facility of narrative creation to drive worth appreciation.
Ju predicted that the memecoin market would mature over the subsequent 5 years and will not disappear or go to zero regardless of short-term points like rug pulls and faux tokens.
The CEO in contrast the economics of the artwork market to the memecoin market in a Jan. 26 social media submit:
“Each markets legitimize intangible worth by way of narrative. If the very basis of the memecoin market is taken into account a rip-off, then, by the identical logic, the artwork market should even be seen as a rip-off.”
Memecoins proceed to be a controversial subject within the crypto neighborhood as market contributors debate whether or not memecoins characterize a fundamental shift in value creation or scams with a high degree of risk.
An illustration of the place memecoins are within the crypto hype cycle. Supply: Ki Young Ju
Associated: Mark Cuban mulls memecoin to pay US debt
Memecoins dominated mindshare and crypto markets in 2024
In response to a December 2024 report from CoinGecko, memecoins had been the most popular crypto narrative in 2024, capturing greater than 30% of worldwide crypto investor curiosity.
Information from CoinMarketCap reveals that the full present market capitalization of the memecoin sector is over $101 billion, with Dogecoin (DOGE) accounting for a staggering $51 billion of the market cap.
In November 2024, Dogecoin’s market cap surged to over $56 billion — eclipsing the market capitalization of Porsche — the famend luxurious automotive producer.
Memecoin sector complete market capitalization. Supply: CoinMarketCap
Memes come into sharper focus following Official TRUMP launch
Memecoins stole the highlight once more in January 2025, after United States President Donald Trump launched the Official Trump token (TRUMP).
Inside 48 hours of launching, TRUMP reached a completely diluted valuation of roughly $71 billion and climbed to the number 15 spot by market capitalization on CoinGecko.
A Jan. 20 survey performed by NFT Night, which polled 1,092 adults, discovered that roughly 42% of those that bought Trump household memecoins had been first-time crypto investors.
The memecoin launch captured the headlines and created debate amongst market contributors, business executives, and even attorneys.
Consensys legal professional Invoice Hughes informed Cointelegraph that the President’s memecoin represented a fundamental shift in policy and signaled optimistic developments for crypto laws in the US underneath the brand new administration.
Conversely, Lawyer David Lesperance argued that the TRUMP token launch is a transparent violation of the Overseas Emoluments Clause of the US Structure.
In a written assertion to Cointelegraph, the legal professional stated the clause was designed to stop overseas affect on US officers by way of bribery.
On Jan. 22, Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into the Trump memecoin, citing the potential for undue overseas affect.
Following the accusations by Senator Warren and others, crypto czar David Sacks fired again and likened the TRUMP token to a baseball card.
The senior coverage advisor stated the TRUMP memecoin is a collectible and doesn’t characterize a battle of curiosity.
Journal: Memecoins: Betrayal of crypto’s ideals… or its true purpose?
