The memecoin market, once the playground of viral trends and overnight riches, is entering a new phase. In 2024, it ballooned into a $60 billion ecosystem, according to BDC Consulting—a 169% surge driven by coins like Dogecoin, valued at $35.91 billion, Shiba Inu at $8.97 billion, and PEPE at $6.12 billion. But this explosion has brought saturation. Thousands of tokens now flood platforms like Ethereum and Solana, fragmenting liquidity and thinning investor focus.
From what I’ve observed on Raydium’s liquidity pools, coins often hold only 20–40% of their market cap in liquidity. That leaves little margin for volatile assets. Gone are the days of 7,000% rallies like Pepe’s 17-day sprint in late 2024. Today, most investors are chasing 1.5x returns with significantly higher risk.
The Shift Toward Trust
This crowded market has sharpened investor expectations. No longer will a meme and a mascot suffice. The winning tokens now build trust—through transparency, accountability, and community engagement.
CAPTAINBNB is one such example. Its 100% circulating supply and renounced contracts signalled integrity, helping it build a loyal base. This kind of trust—backed by open AMAs, clear roadmaps, and genuine developer commitment—often sustains projects through downturns. In contrast, countless memecoins launched with fanfare in 2023–24 are now abandoned, unable to survive a single market dip.
The Decline of Influencer Power
Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) once ruled the memecoin narrative. A tweet from a prominent name could spike a market cap to $10 million overnight. But by 2025, skepticism has caught up. From my experience speaking at Cointelegraph panels and watching the market closely, over 60% of KOL-backed coins pump briefly before collapsing. Most fail to sustain a $1 million market cap, let alone deliver returns.
Communities are growing wary. Past failures of influencers are haunting new launches. On platforms like X, followers openly question the motives of “clown” promoters. Even those with a million followers struggle to raise momentum if their track record is marred by rugs or failed projects.
In short, the influencer model is no longer a guarantee. In many cases, it’s a liability
Utility and Community: The New Edge
Where hype is fading, utility and grassroots support are taking its place. Shiba Inu’s transformation offers a blueprint—evolving into a broader ecosystem with ShibaSwap and Shibarium, giving holders reasons to stay beyond the meme.
PEPE has also built around partnerships and community-led initiatives. These projects prove that even memecoins can benefit from real use cases in DeFi, gaming, or DAOs. Investors are noticing. Communities that offer governance, creator monetization, or Web3 tooling are starting to attract more serious participants.
Some projects are pivoting to super app models that empower user decisions and foster participation. This bottom-up governance reflects a maturing memecoin scene, where communities are not just holders but stakeholders.
Bots and Market Integrity
Another challenge in 2025 is the rise of trading bots—particularly sniper bots—on decentralized exchanges. These tools manipulate launches, grabbing tokens before retail traders can react, inflating prices artificially before dumping them.
I’ve seen launches where bots scoop up early supply, cause brief spikes, and leave latecomers holding the bag. In response, projects are now deploying anti-bot tools and locking liquidity to protect early investors. While not foolproof, these developments show that the space is adapting, prioritizing fairness and sustainability.
Regulatory Changes on the Horizon
The regulatory backdrop is shifting too. With the U.S. Bitcoin Act and banks now allowed to custody crypto, a more structured environment is emerging. This could bring KYC and AML obligations to memecoins—difficult for anonymous teams, but appealing for institutional entry.
While some tokens may not survive this scrutiny, others could flourish. The prospect of memecoin ETFs or regulated products isn’t far-fetched. But to succeed, projects will need more than clever marketing—they’ll need transparency, compliance, and vision.
The Trust Era Begins
In 2025, memecoins are at a crossroads. The frenzy of 10x gains is waning. Saturation has forced investors and developers to recalibrate. What remains is a landscape where trust, not trend, determines success.
KOLs can no longer drive sustained growth. Trading bots pose structural threats. Regulation is tightening. And in this complex terrain, the only lasting edge is a community built on truth, purpose, and utility.
To developers: build with transparency, plan for the long haul, and invite your community in. To investors: do your due diligence, question hype, and look for teams that show up every day.
Ask yourself: What’s your trust metric in a memecoin? Is it contract renouncement, team visibility, roadmap clarity, or community voice? Whatever it is, let that guide your decisions. The market no longer rewards shortcuts—but it still honors conviction.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.
