Author: Wu Tianyi, DeThings
Recently, a Solana meme token called PNUT has become a sensation, listing on the Binance exchange on Monday, with its market capitalization soaring to $1.5 billion. According to CoinGecko, the token has surged 1,524% in the past seven days, with a current price of $1.65.
PNUT is one of the few MEME coins that have risen in the past 24 hours. The leading MEME coin Doge (DOGE) fell 6%, while its biggest competitor Shiba Inu (SHIB) plummeted 11%.
Other memes affected by the ongoing market adjustment include POPCAT (-9%), BRETT (-11%), NEIRO (-12%), and MEW (-12%).
"Musk Trade" Reappears
The MEME coin prototype is similar to DOGE, as a pet in the real world, which was confiscated and euthanized by the authorities in New York State earlier this month due to rabies. Subsequently, Donald Trump and local candidates accused the New York Democrats of "overstepping", making the squirrel a Republican "battle" slogan on social media.
Moreover, Elon Musk has posted multiple tweets about the pet squirrel, stating that "President Donald Trump will save the squirrel" and "a squirrel and a MEME coin saved America", dragging the topic into the political arena. Similar to the DOGE surge driven by Musk's tweets, the "Musk Trade" has reappeared with PNUT.
Another catalyst is Binance's recent listing strategy, which has overlooked many larger MEME coins and chosen to list two smaller-cap tokens, PNUT and ACT. Furthermore, Binance co-founder He Yi stated that the listing fees for these two tokens were waived.
PNUT and ACT have seen their prices soar over 1000% after listing on Binance, allowing early investors to profit handsomely. Other Solana-based MEME tokens have also experienced similar surges after listing on Binance.
CoinGecko data shows that AI Prophecy (ACT) has seen its market cap rise from $20 million to over $650 million, with its price climbing from $0.02 to $0.6, after listing on Binance on Monday. According to on-chain analyst Ai_9684xtpa, Binance has already listed 15 MEME coin projects this year, including futures and spot trading.
AI MEME Hype Remains Unabated
Another Solana-based MEME coin, called "Act: AI Prophecy", has surged over 1,720% after listing on Binance.
The token was initially issued on October 19th, with a weekend market cap of around $20 million. After the listing, trading volume skyrocketed, reaching $293 million on the decentralized exchange Raydium and $60 million on Binance, with its market cap now at $422 million as of the time of writing.
According to its official website, ACT represents the AI community token and claims to focus on "driving AI research, education, and collaboration". The MEME coin's website states that it was co-founded by the pseudonymous Twitter user Amplifiedamp (also known as Amp), who decided to sell all his tokens and leave the community shortly after feeling "betrayed".
The surges of PNUT and ACT indicate that Binance is starting to favor projects with lower market caps that are driven by the community, rather than those with stronger liquidity or larger market caps.
However, some have raised concerns, with the famous Ordinals developer Leonidas warning that Binance has become an "engine for pumping prices", intentionally harming retail investors and creating an unhealthy MEME coin market. Some crypto participants claim that whales and large investors often buy and sell these tokens within a few hours or a week, trapping small investors.
