Memecoins are not over despite the market’s downturn and a waning narrative, according to Keith A. Grossman, president of the payment infrastructure company MoonPay. He believes that memecoins will return, but in a transformed way.
The true innovation of memecoins lies in their ability to easily and affordably tokenize attention through blockchain technology, thus democratizing access to the attention economy, Grossman stated. He elaborated:
“Before crypto, attention could only be monetized by platforms, brands and a small group of influencers. Everyone else generated value and gave it away for free. Likes, trends, inside jokes and communities created massive economic value.”
However, that value did not revert to participants and remained largely confined to major centralized platforms, he added.
Grossman drew parallels between the bleak outlook for memecoins and the predictions of social media’s downfall after the first generation of platforms failed in the early 2000s, before a new wave turned the niche into a cultural phenomenon.
Memecoins were among the top-performing crypto sectors in 2024 and were the leading narrative that year among crypto investors, as per data from the crypto market platform CoinGecko.
However, severe criticisms asserting that memecoins and other social tokens lack value, combined with several high-profile token failures, ultimately led to a market decline and a shift in investor focus.
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Presidential antics and the decline of the memecoin sector
The memecoin market collapsed in Q1 2025 following several notable token collapses and significant drawdowns referred to as “rug pulls.”
United States President Donald Trump introduced a memecoin prior to the January 2025 inauguration, which peaked at $75 before plummeting over 90% to around $5.42 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, endorsed a social token named Libra in February, which also faced a crash, resulting in 86% of LIBRA holders experiencing realized losses of $1,000 or more.
The token had reached a market cap of $107 million before its decline and was labeled a rug pull by the crypto community.
While Milei tried to dissociate himself from the token launch, a government investigation was initiated into his involvement, leading to lawsuits from retail investors and calls for impeachment from Argentine lawmakers.
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