Memecoin Market Cap Plunges by $100 Billion in 2025, CoinGecko Report

RBK-cryptoPublished on 2025-12-26Last updated on 2025-12-26

Abstract

In 2025, the memecoin market capitalization plummeted by over $100 billion, according to a report by CoinGecko titled "2025 State of Memecoins." The decline began at the start of the year, coinciding with controversial token launches, including those of TRUMP, supported by Donald Trump's team, and LIBRA, which was promoted using the image of Argentine President Javier Milei without consent. The total market cap of memecoins had surged to a record $150 billion at the beginning of 2025, tripling the previous peak from the 2021 crypto bull run. This growth was fueled by platforms like Pump.fun, which facilitated the daily launch of thousands of new tokens. Dozens of these memecoins were even listed on major exchanges, including Binance and the typically cautious U.S.-based Coinbase. However, from the end of January and throughout the year, the sector's combined capitalization fell sharply, dropping to $47.2 billion by November. The report notes that despite the emergence of thousands of new tokens, the majority of the market's value remains concentrated in the "old guard" of memecoins: DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE. The report also highlights the "dark side" of the memecoin ecosystem, detailing prevalent fraudulent schemes such as "rug pulls" (sudden liquidity withdrawal), "sniping" (bot-driven instant token buys at launch), "bandling" (creating fake buy pressure), fake copies of popular tokens, and "honeypots" (tokens that become unsellable after purchase). The launch of the TRUMP to...

Since the launch of memecoins by Donald Trump's team, prices and trading volumes in meme tokens have been falling almost non-stop throughout the year.

Analysts from the popular cryptocurrency aggregator CoinGecko have released a report titled "2025 State of Memecoins" with an overview of the memecoin market. Among other things, the authors noted that the end of another "memecoin season" came at the beginning of 2025 and coincided with the controversial launches of TRUMP tokens with the support of the team of US President Donald Trump and LIBRA, whose advertising campaign creators attracted Argentine President Javier Milei.

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Since the end of January and throughout the year, the total market capitalization of memecoins has fallen, and by November it amounted to $47.2 billion, according to the authors' calculations. The report's authors trace the entire history of memecoins, starting with the launch of Dogecoin in 2013, and note that despite the emergence of thousands of new tokens, the main share of capitalization is still concentrated among the "old-timers" — DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE.

The chart below shows historical trading volumes (indicated in purple), the total market capitalization of memecoins (green curve), and key events for the niche — the launch of the major memecoin SHIB, the historical price maximum of DOGE, the launch of the BONK memecoin, the launch of the PEPE memecoin, the launch of the Pump.fun platform, after which capitalization soars, and the launch of the TRUMP token, after which the market has been falling almost non-stop.

Trading volumes, total market capitalization, and key market events of the memecoin sector since 2020. Source: CoinGecko Research

In a separate section of the report, CoinGecko notes the "dark side" of memecoins. Among the most common fraudulent schemes, they name rug pulls (sudden withdrawal of liquidity), sniping (instant token buyout by bots at launch before further price growth), bandling (creating the illusion of demand with purchases from insider wallets), fake copies of popular tokens, and honeypots (the inability to sell a token after purchase).

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Related Questions

QWhat was the peak market capitalization of memecoins in 2025, and how much did it fall by the end of the year according to the CoinGecko report?

AThe peak market capitalization of memecoins in 2025 was $150 billion. By November, it had fallen to $47.2 billion, representing a decline of over $100 billion.

QWhich platform was primarily responsible for the growth of the memecoin sector in 2025, and how did it contribute?

AThe platform Pump.fun was primarily responsible for the growth. It facilitated the daily launch of thousands of new tokens, fueling the memecoin boom.

QWhat two major events in early 2025, involving political figures, are cited as contradictory launches that marked the end of the 'memecoin season'?

AThe two events were the launch of TRUMP tokens supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump's team and the launch of LIBRA tokens, which involved the promotion of Argentine President Javier Milei in their advertising.

QDespite the launch of thousands of new tokens, which three 'old guard' memecoins continued to hold the majority of the sector's market capitalization?

AThe three 'old guard' memecoins that held the majority of the market capitalization were DOGE (Dogecoin), SHIB (Shiba Inu), and PEPE.

QWhat are some of the 'dark side' scams and fraudulent schemes mentioned in the CoinGecko report that are prevalent in the memecoin market?

AThe report mentions several scams including 'rug pulls' (sudden withdrawal of liquidity), 'sniping' (bots instantly buying tokens at launch), 'bandling' (creating fake buy pressure with insider wallets), fake copies of popular tokens, and 'honeypots' (tokens that become impossible to sell after purchase).

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