[Coin Report] 7 of the Top 10 Coins by Growth Rate Are 'Meme Coins'... "New Liquidity Means Emerge"

The virtual asset market is experiencing an unprecedented bull market. The cryptocurrency that is attracting the most buying interest from investors is 'meme coins'. According to CoinMarketCap on the 15th, 7 out of the top 10 virtual assets with the highest weekly gains are meme coins. The meme coin Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), which symbolizes the squirrel 'Peanut' that has become a social media (SNS) sensation, recorded a record high increase of 1581%, and Doge (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE) also showed a surge of around 90%.

The total market capitalization of meme coins has surpassed $100 billion (about 140.12 trillion won) for the first time due to the investment frenzy in meme coins. It has nearly doubled compared to a month ago. As liquidity is concentrated in the market, there are also views that meme coins are seen as more than just speculative assets. Jen Yoo, co-founder of Web3OS, a virtual asset wallet infrastructure company, said, "Meme coins are creating a unique market where pop culture and finance converge, generating significant trading volume," and "Meme coins have become a new liquidity instrument in the modern financial system." He also predicted that "the core value of meme coins lies in liquidity, and they will become more mature with technological advancement."

The cultural value of meme coins based on the community is also being highlighted. The meme coin PNUT, which surged nearly 1600% this week, is a representative example. PNUT was issued to commemorate the 'Peanut' squirrel that was euthanized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) despite the objections of its caretakers, due to the possibility of rabies infection. This meme coin contains a protest against the coercive action of the authorities.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, used the squirrel Peanut as a political symbol during the US presidential election campaign. Musk emphasized on his X account that the squirrel was "kidnapped and executed by the government's abuse of power," and supported Trump's policy of minimizing government intervention. After Musk posted a critical message about the Democratic Party's transgender-friendly policies along with a peanut emoji on the 13th, the price of PNUT soared.

Major global virtual asset exchanges are rushing to list meme coins due to their unprecedented popularity. Binance, the world's largest exchange, has listed 15 meme coins in the spot and futures markets so far this year. Upbit, the largest domestic exchange, also listed PEPE on the KRW market on the 14th. PEPE surpassed 70 billion won in trading volume within 3 hours of listing, and as of 3 pm on the 15th, its daily trading volume exceeds 700 billion won. Due to the Upbit listing effect, the market capitalization of PEPE briefly exceeded $100 billion (about 13.992 trillion won), making it the third largest meme coin after Doge and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

However, due to the high volatility of meme coins, which are heavily influenced by community buzz, investors need to be cautious. PEPE, which soared to 0.06199 won at the time of Upbit listing on the 14th, is now trading at 0.02826 won, more than halving in just one day. When the virtual asset market entered an adjustment phase in August, the market capitalization of Solana (SOL)-based meme coins evaporated by 16% in a single day. Binance Research recently pointed out in a report that "97% of meme coin projects fail or become inactive shortly after token launch," and "meme coins can be abused for 'pump and dump' schemes led by a few, causing massive damage to individual investors and hindering the growth of blockchain projects focused on development."

Reporter Kim Jeong-woo

woo@decenter.kr