This year was a year of victory and adversity for meme coin investors and enthusiasts. From the shocking rug pull to the rise of AI-based meme coins, these Tokens did not disappoint in meeting the high-risk, high-return profile of the volatile cryptocurrency market.
Meme Coins dominated the cryptocurrency narrative in 2024, drawing significant attention from investors worldwide. This surge reflects a shift towards more speculative opportunities.
Controversy over the SLERF Presale
As always, the meme coin market witnessed a mistake that had tremendous consequences for Token holders and investors.
In March, the Solana-based meme Coin SLERF, riding the momentum of its presale, saw a remarkable surge in trading volume, reaching $1.74 billion immediately after launch. The high interest attracted thousands of unique holders.
SLERF's price skyrocketed by nearly 50% in just 24 hours, pushing its market capitalization beyond $550 million. This impressive growth led to listings on major centralized exchanges like Gate.io, HTX, MEXC, and Bitget.
The Token soon faced a significant setback when the founder, during technical work, burned all the liquidity and airdrop Tokens. This incident occurred right after a successful $10.8 million presale.
The founder and developer of SLERF accidentally sent these coins to an inaccessible wallet while trying to remove the fraudulent Tokens. This action resulted in the loss of investor funds and a significant reduction in the total supply of SLERF Tokens.
This event served as a reminder of the frenetic speculation surrounding meme coin presales. Nevertheless, within two days of the loss, cryptocurrency enthusiasts invested around $100 million in a new Solana meme Coin.
The infamous AMA session after the SLERF founder burned all the presale Tokens. Source: X (formerly Twitter)
Despite the initial financial setback, the price of the SLERF Token surged 745% after its launch. This volatility provided opportunities for traders to generate over $3 million in profits in just 12 minutes through strategic trading plans, according to on-chain data analysis firm Lookonchain.
The Peculiar Success of BOME
The meme Coin BOME also led this speculative surge in 2024, raising significant capital through a controversial funding model. At one point, BOME was among the top 10 meme Coins by market capitalization.
After its presale and Binance listing, BOME experienced a rapid rise, exceeding a $1 billion market capitalization in just 3 days. While this generated substantial returns for early investors, the swift growth sparked debates about the ethical and financial stability of meme coin presales.
Critics argued that the meme coin presale model lures investors with promises of fast and substantial profits, while obscuring the significant risks, including the possibility of rug pulls.
QUANT, the 13-Year-Old's Serial Rug Pulls
On the topic of rug pulls, the most notorious incident of 2024 occurred in November. A 13-year-old boy launched a meme Coin called Gen Z Quanto (QUANT) and live-streamed the entire experience.
As the Token's value skyrocketed, the young creator sold a significant portion of his investment, causing the meme Coin to plummet. After selling 5.1 million Quant Tokens, he pocketed $30,000. Before ending the stream, he flipped off the viewers.
"It seems to show how nihilistic people have become when finance has become synonymous with gambling, and foolish behavior is actually celebrated." – YouTube fraud investigator Coffeezilla
However, in this case, the meme Coin community retaliated by pouring more money into Quant. After the boy sold his Tokens, their value surged, reaching a market capitalization of $85 million. This price spike would have generated a potential $4 million in profit had he maintained his initial investment.
The young creator seized two more opportunities to execute rug pulls, launching two additional meme Coins, SORRY and LUCY, which were also pump and dumps.
The Rise of Influencer-Backed Meme Coins
Last year also saw the entry of celebrities into the cryptocurrency space. From rappers to influencers, 2024 witnessed a surge in celebrity-backed cryptocurrency Tokens.
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea launched her Mother (MOTHER) Token on the Solana blockchain in May, which reached a market capitalization of $132.83 million by September. The current price has significantly declined, hovering around $0.03.
Azalea's project faced numerous challenges, including a report from blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps that revealed insider activity, with insiders acquiring 20% of the supply and selling $2 million worth of Tokens before the public announcement.
These findings were closely monitored by on-chain investigators, highlighting the complexity and potential risks of celebrity-led cryptocurrency initiatives.
Andrew Tate's DADDY Token
The launch experience of controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate's meme Coin was even more tumultuous. In June, Tate launched DADDY, which surged after an intensive promotional campaign.
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However, the Tokens decreased faster than the peak. Blockchain data analysis firm Bubble Maps detected suspicious trading patterns at the launch of DADDY. It was revealed that insiders acquired 30% of the total supply before Tate's promotional activities.
"I want to reduce the supply of the DADDY Coin. So by holding just one DADDY Coin, you can get karmic benefits from the universe. I will buy the Coins with my own money and burn them at a certain market capitalization. The supply will be very limited, and owning it will be a badge of honor," Tate said.
Earlier this month, Welch launched her Hoktua meme Coin, but the project quickly descended into chaos. Initially, the Token saw a rapid surge in popularity, reaching a market capitalization of $500 million.
However, the market cap plummeted to $60 million in just 20 minutes, causing outrage and confusion among investors. As in the cases of Azalea and Tate, accusations of insider trading quickly emerged.
"The Hoktua meme Coin developer made $2 million in 10 minutes! 96% of the supply is held in a single cluster. Lesson: Stay away from celebrity Coins," said crypto influencer BentoBoi.
Finally, a noteworthy case is the DJT meme Coin, which is claimed to be associated with former President Donald Trump and his son Barron.
In June, the Solana-backed Token saw a surge in trading activity and price after rumors circulated that Trump officially endorsed the Token. According to DEX Screener data, DJT exceeded a $5 million market cap on June 17 at 10:30 PM.
Roger Stone, who was an advisor to Trump during his first presidential campaign, soon clarified the rumors, stating that neither Trump nor his son are associated with the DJT meme Coin. Despite this clarification, no official statement has come from the former President or his son.
At the center of this story is Truth Terminal, an AI chatbot that has become involved in a Solana-based meme Coin, achieving millionaire status.
Developed by AI researcher Andy Aley, this chatbot independently manages its own X account and generates content without human intervention. The platform also proposes a virtual religion called the "Gotz Gospel".
While the project remained relatively obscure until July, it gained attention after venture capitalist Marc Andreessen donated $50,000 in Bitcoin to Truth Terminal.
Truth Terminal's GOAT Coin
Following this investment, Truth Terminal announced its intention to launch a Token, and in October, it developed the "GOAT" meme Coin on the Solana blockchain.
While Truth Terminal did not directly create or launch the meme Coin, its association with it led to a powerful market rally, pushing GOAT's market value to over $400 million.
As a result, the value of Truth Terminal's cryptocurrency holdings, including 1.93 million GOAT Tokens, surpassed $832,000. The AI's wallet received multiple cryptocurrency donations, exceeding $1 million in a single day.
Due to the rapid growth of the GOAT Token, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes predicted that the market capitalization could reach $1 billion. He attributed this potential to the AI's integration and adaptation to the general meme Coin culture.
"I read about the AI launching its own meme Coin and religion and immediately jumped in," Hayes said in an X post.
The success of Truth Terminal and the GOAT meme Coin demonstrates the potential for AI to have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency sector and the speed at which meme Coin volatility can occur.
Remarkably, the current market values of these Coins are higher than more than a third of all listed companies in the United States, despite their relatively short operating histories.
ZachXBT Exposes 11 Crypto Wallets of Famous Meme Coin Trader
Meme Coins have proven to be one of the top-performing stories of 2024. According to CoinGecko, at the time of writing, the total market capitalization of the meme market is $111 billion. As the popularity of meme Coins has skyrocketed, various opinions have emerged among experienced investors.
The story of the most profitable Bit in 2024. Source: CoinGecko.
This view attempts to predict whether MEME Tokens will experience a major growth period or undergo a major market correction.
Murad Mahmudov, a renowned MEME Token analyst and trader, was particularly optimistic about the success of these Tokens.
"MEME Tokens are growing on Solana and Ethereum. We are in the early stages of a MEME Token supercycle." - Murad, said in an X post.
Given that Murad's MEME Token holdings analysis was always positive, this allowed him to reap astronomical rewards.
According to data provided by LookOnChain, Murad purchased 35.69 million SPX Tokens across multiple wallets from June to August. He promoted the growth potential of SPX. By October, the value of this SPX holding had yielded a 61x return on investment.
ZachXBT did not explicitly state that Murad was paid to run marketing campaigns for any of these Tokens. However, he made his displeasure clear.
"Murad is promoting micro-cap MEME Tokens to thousands of followers, controlling the supply, and making very high predictions. People need to know the wallets to make informed decisions," he said.
Such schemes are not uncommon in the context of new Token launches. However, as Bit becomes more integrated with traditional finance, increased regulatory oversight and transparency may contribute to reducing the occurrence of such activities.
Disclaimer: The content above is only the author's opinion which does not represent any position of Followin, and is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, investment advice from Followin.
