Investment products in traditional finance are currently at unprecedented levels, yet interest in speculative assets within the cryptocurrency realm is notably low.
The demand for speculative assets is dwindling among crypto investors, with the dominance of memecoins in relation to altcoins reaching a nearly two-year low last seen in February 2024, as reported by the crypto data platform CryptoQuant.
“The memecoin market is effectively dead,” stated Ki Young Ji, co-founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, in a recent X post.
In contrast, the appetite for speculation is increasing among equity investors, as traditional leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) achieved an all-time high of $239 billion in assets under management during the third quarter of 2025, according to Bloomberg data released by Barchart.
This trend highlights a decreasing enthusiasm for high-risk digital assets, with investors shifting their speculative interests towards regulated, TradFi leveraged products in more stable equity markets.
This market dynamic indicates a maturation phase in both crypto and equities, as risk-taking is now predominantly expressed through regulated, established products that offer defined safeguards, rather than through memecoins that are plagued by “thin” liquidity and regulatory uncertainty, remarked Lacie Zhang, market analyst at Bitget Wallet, to Cointelegraph.
”A resurgence in interest would likely necessitate a strong catalyst — such as a new viral narrative, significant exchange listings, or pivotal price movements — to rekindle retail enthusiasm.”
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Crypto investor sentiment yet to recover from October market crash
The mood among crypto investors remains subdued for the majority of cryptocurrencies since the significant market crash at the start of October, affecting more than just memecoins.
While crypto investor sentiment has seen a slight improvement from the “Extreme Fear” rating of 10 recorded on Nov. 23, the current reading of 29 still indicates “Fear,” remaining significantly below the 62 “Greed” level noted on Oct. 7, prior to the $19 billion market crash, according to CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed Index.
Meanwhile, traders identified as the industry’s best performers, also referred to as “smart money” traders on Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform, are betting on declines in both leading memecoins and most cryptocurrencies.
Smart money was net short on Fartcoin (FART) by $3.5 million and on Pump.fun (PUMP) by $1.5 million, as data from Nansen reveals.
Nevertheless, this group shows a more optimistic outlook for Ether (ETH) and Hyperliquid’s (HYPE) token, suggesting a preference for cryptocurrencies backed by genuine revenue-generating blockchain protocols.
Related: Crypto nears its ‘Netscape moment’ as industry approaches inflection point
The behavior of this investor cohort may also indicate fatigue with the meme coin launches from recent cycles, as concerning data emerges about certain coins.
On Thursday, blockchain data from Bubblemaps suggested that around 30% of the supply from the Pepe (PEPE) token’s inception was grouped under an entity that sold $2 million just a day after the coin was launched, raising questions about the fairness of the memecoin’s launch.
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