Author: David C, Bankless; Translator: Wuzhu, Jinse Finance
Perhaps not surprisingly, when we look back on this year, one token category has outperformed all others - memecoins.
Initially, due to growing criticism and disappointment over the issuance of tokens entering the market at highly inflated valuations, memecoins shone brightly in 2024. Due to their simpler narratives, (often) reduced insider allocations, and low transaction fees, many traders have gravitated towards memecoins, making them a core pillar of crypto's growth in 2024.
Let's look at how memecoins have maintained this momentum, explore the role of Solana and Pump.fun in accelerating their growth, discuss their evolution and impact on token value, and analyze their implications for AI agents in this evolving landscape.
Solana's Meme Pump
In addition to being positioned as the Year of the Meme, 2024 may also be remembered as the year Solana solidified its position in this domain.
The rise of Solana and the proliferation of memecoins are closely intertwined trends, with Solana becoming a primary hub for memecoin activity due to its low costs, fast transaction speeds, and the excellent meme infrastructure in the form of Pump.fun.
Pump.fun, launched in January 2024, shook the entire space by allowing anyone to create and trade new tokens at minimal cost or for free. Since then, nearly 5 million tokens have been issued, successfully driving a surge in trading volume on Solana-based decentralized exchanges, leading to an influx of capital and stimulating overall chain activity, while also cementing Solana's de facto core position in this cycle of speculation.
Transforming token deployment into a fast, user-friendly, no-code operation has facilitated the rapid creation of memecoins, regardless of their fleeting cultural relevance.
New Meme Trends
In 2024, we saw celebrity memecoins unfold in extraordinary ways. Since Caitlyn Jenner abandoned her token, we've seen a growing fascination with the rapid wealth accumulation in memecoins, paving the way for a wave of "downline-only" projects backed by celebrities.
We've also seen pop culture reference materials turn into new tokens by the second, with memecoins themed around everyone's favorite hippopotamus (MOODENG) or the slain squirrel (PNUT) soaring to multi-billion dollar market caps - embodying the long-standing crypto argument that "everything will be tokenized".
Solana's launch velocity and scale have proven highly profitable, helping it surpass Ethereum on a range of key metrics like daily decentralized trading volume, active users, and even revenue at times. While Ethereum has also seen blue-chip memes command massive premiums, and degen activity has been sparked on Base, degens have largely made their home on Solana.
Critics argue there are many reasons to question the longevity of these new trends, with opaque memecoin conspiracy networks and the deep concentration of many memecoin assets seemingly providing a formidable playground for bad actors.
However, despite the abundance of fraud, shoddy launches, and on-chain criminality, the free-flowing nature of the Solana token ecosystem continues to attract participants seeking fast-paced opportunities. By year-end, Pump.fun has come to dominate the majority of on-chain transactions in the Solana ecosystem, making it a decisive force in reshaping the network around meme and "crypto-native" identity.
What Memecoins Reveal to Us
While many memecoins are prone to quick disappearance, the successful memecoins that form strong, highly engaged communities have prompted deeper analysis of the broader "Memecoin Supercycle".
This term, coined by Murad, emphasizes how memecoins make us rethink how token value can arise from shared identity and how it can evolve. Unlike "tech alternatives" that rely on staking or complex governance to participate, memecoins leverage the core social behaviors of the internet, such as creating, sharing, and enjoying memes, and use these methods to sustain ideation and form communities.
If these tokens can cultivate a unique, clear, and engaging sense of identity, they can provide powerful price appreciation as users become part of the Meme. Moreover, by starting with tokens that make no promises or expectations of "actual utility", these tokens and their holders can build their own foundations, gradually rolling out grassroots products tied to the token. Whether it's BONK with Bonkbot and bonkSOL, or MOTHER's integration with Motherland, there are emerging developments in the Meme communities.
This model can provide a new path for aligning products and markets in the crypto space, starting with the formation of strong identity and social belonging, rather than upfront technology, defining a clear user base in the process, and then building products to serve that community.
AI Agent Tokens Expand the Ambition
In the past few months, AI agent memes have entered the public consciousness, demonstrating how tokens can evolve from a simple meme into a token with meaningful fundamentals.
This trend started with GOAT, a token self-adopted by the Twitter agent Terminal of Truths, whose rapid price appreciation signaled the opportunities arising from the convergence of AI agents and memecoins.
Since then, other agents and their corresponding tokens have also been launched, gaining attention through different new features, and then adding more substantive functionality or use cases. For example, FXN, ZEREBRO, and AI16Z have all announced plans to launch AI infrastructure using their tokens, which have already been fairly launched, a standard for memes. This pattern echoes the broader memecoin approach - first gather a community, attract the target users, and then add products or revenue streams to drive utility.
A Bountiful Year for Memes
As the year draws to a close, Memecoins have clearly demonstrated their impact on the direction of cryptocurrencies.
Solana's low fees and fast throughput, supported by Pump.fun, have spawned a highly active launch environment where Memes have thrived, occasionally evolving into enduring communities. The success of these Memecoins, in turn, has highlighted a new product-market fit approach: first establish identity, and then add functionality for the user base that already trusts the project. AI agent tokens are now building on this model, indicating that even highly experimental technologies can benefit from a lean, meme-driven foundation.
Looking ahead, it is clear that cultivating active communities, rather than promising immediate technical utility in a predatory token economics, is becoming a powerful way to drive adoption and sustain crypto's growth. By combining strong social identity with targeted development, these meme-driven ecosystems offer a new path to true product-market fit - a model that, if it can withstand the fleeting speculation, may ultimately shape a more user-centric future for digital assets.
