A report out yesterday offers a sobering reminder of the perils of investing and trading in the currency of internet humor. So-called memecoins—like Dogecoin, Pepe, and Shiba Inu—have become the fastest-growing niche of the cryptocurrency industry’s revival this year. The number of meme-related projects is up over 440% over the past two years, making the sector the fourth most valuable in crypto, ranking higher than decentralized finance and blockchain-related services, according to BDC Consulting.
A new Chainplay report, however, offers a sobering take on how little is behind many memecoin projects. Titled the State of Memecoin 2024, the report notes the average life span of one of these coins is just one year—a third the life span of an average crypto project. Aligning with this high turnover rate, nearly 60% of memecoin investors view these assets as short-term investments, and 97% of memecoins have already ceased to exist.
