Memecoins are not finished despite the current market downturn and reduced interest, according to Keith A. Grossman, president of payment infrastructure firm MoonPay. He believes memecoins will return in a new form.
The true innovation of memecoins lies in the ability to easily and affordably tokenize attention through blockchain technology, thereby democratizing access to the attention economy, Grossman stated. He proceeded:
“Prior to crypto, only platforms, brands, and a select group of influencers could monetize attention. Everyone else generated value and gave it away for free. Likes, trends, inside jokes, and communities produced enormous economic value.”
However, that value largely remained in the hands of large, centralized platforms, as Grossman noted.
He likened the bleak outlook for memecoins to earlier predictions of social media’s death after the failure of the first generation of social platforms in the early 2000s, which preceded a wave of companies that transformed the niche market into a cultural sensation.
According to crypto market data provider CoinGecko, memecoins were among the top-performing crypto asset sectors in 2024 and dominated the narrative that year for crypto investors.
Nonetheless, strong criticisms suggesting that memecoins and other social tokens lack value, coupled with several high-profile token failures, ultimately led to a market collapse and a shift away from that narrative.
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Presidential antics and the downfall of the memecoin sector
The memecoin market fell apart in Q1 2025 following multiple high-profile token failures and substantial drawdowns labeled as “rug pulls.”
U.S. President Donald Trump launched a memecoin ahead of the January 2025 inauguration, which peaked at $75 before plummeting over 90% to about $5.42 as of this writing, per CoinMarketCap.
Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, endorsed a social token called Libra in February, which also crashed, leaving 86% of LIBRA holders with losses exceeding $1,000.
The token had a market cap of $107 million before its downfall and was labeled a rug pull by the crypto community.
Although Milei tried to distance himself from the token launch, a government investigation was initiated regarding his involvement, resulting in lawsuits from retail investors and impeachment calls from Argentine lawmakers.
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