In the current bullish crypto market, the spotlight has shifted to the memecoin sector, surpassing the performance of even the highly active AI tokens.
Anticipation was high for sectors like Layer 2s, vital for scaling blockchain for wider adoption, and the convergence of crypto and AI, to lead the market.
Technical advancements such as restaking, modular blockchains, and DePIN projects were also poised as potential frontrunners.
Yet, contrary to expectations, it’s the cat-themed coins, dog-themed coins, memes, and fractionalized NFTs that are driving the market momentum.
Substantial gains have been posted by meme coins.
Cat-themed tokens such as Taylor Swift’s Cat, Banana Cat, and Pop Cat have demonstrated remarkable growth, particularly Taylor Swift’s Cat token, which has surged 25-fold in the last seven days.
Despite the seemingly modest market cap of $730 million for the cat coin sector, the meme category has emerged as a formidable player. With an astounding market cap of $55 billion, meme coins have outpaced liquid staking, Layer 2s, and gaming tokens in terms of valuation.
In the meme category, dog-themed coins hold sway, led by Doge, the original meme coin, which commands a market cap exceeding $20 billion.
The sector as a whole has witnessed an 84% surge in the past week, with notable performers like SHIB, PEPE, BONK, WIF, FLOKI, and POPCAT more than doubling in value, adding billions of dollars to their market caps.
Other notable gainers include MYRO and MOG.
Solana has risen as the favored blockchain for meme coins.
Renowned for its minimal transaction fees, Solana has become the favored platform for meme coin trading.
A slew of new coins on the platform showcase caricatures of prominent figures such as Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
The viral narrative of a trader transforming $260 into nearly half a million dollars with ‘Jeo Boden’ has spurred the inception of coins like ‘Doland Tremp’ and ‘Olen Mosk’.
No way they just dumped $BODEN on Biden’s terrible state of the union speech? 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/Eyybd0kxWV
— Bones Senpai 🧞♂️ (@EVNFT) March 8, 2024
According to DeFiLlama, Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) recorded trading volumes exceeding $2 billion on March 5. Solana’s share of DEX volumes has steadily risen to around 15%, up from less than 2% six months ago.
Currently, Solana stands as the third-largest blockchain network by DEX volume, trailing behind Ethereum (ETH) and Arbitrum.
Ethereum, which hosts the largest DeFi ecosystem, logged approximately $4.7 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, experiencing a positive weekly change of 54%.
Meanwhile, Arbitrum DEXes witnessed a daily trading volume of $2.1 billion, marking an 85% increase over the past week.
According to the Solana Foundation, the Solana ecosystem now boasts over 2,500 monthly active developers. The foundation highlighted the network’s consistent range of 2,500 to 3,000 monthly active developers over the past year, indicating the ecosystem’s capacity to attract and retain talent.
This surge in developer activity coincides with Solana’s growing prominence in the crypto community, marked by several significant milestones. Notably, the network has surpassed Ethereum in 7-day stablecoin trading volume for the first time.
