Has the Meme Coin Boom Finally Exhausted? Market Momentum Collapses to Historic Lows

The crypto community is locked in heated debate: Are meme coins experiencing a temporary pullback or facing terminal decline? Recent market data suggests the sector faces its most severe downturn yet. The conversation intensified as meme coins’ market mindshare crashed from approximately 20% in late 2024 to a mere 2.5% by October 2025—a staggering 90% erasure of sector attention.

The Numbers Tell a Sobering Story

Multiple indicators paint a consistent picture of diminishing enthusiasm for meme coins. Public search behavior mirrors trading sentiment precisely. Google Trends data shows global searches for “meme coins” plummeted from a peak score of 100 in early 2025 to just 7 by October—a dramatic 93% decline in informational interest.

On-chain activity reinforces this reality. Solana’s decentralized exchange ecosystem witnessed meme coins’ trading volume share contract sharply, falling from roughly 60% in early 2025 to approximately 30% by October. This represents a fundamental shift in how traders allocate capital across different asset categories on the network.

Price action delivered perhaps the harshest verdict. Even as Bitcoin (BTC) surged to new heights around $90.53K and Ethereum (ETH) climbed toward $3.11K, prominent meme tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE)—currently trading near $0.14—failed to challenge their previous peaks. Shiba Inu (SHIB) similarly underperformed the broader bull run narrative that propelled traditional cryptocurrencies to record levels.

The newly created token landscape reinforces the slowdown. Over 13 million meme coins launched during the past year, yet creation velocity has decelerated sharply. September saw 56% fewer launches compared to January, signaling exhaustion among token creators and diminishing capital sources.

Concentration within the ecosystem tells another story. Tokens minted through Pump.fun collectively commanded over $4.8 billion in fully diluted market capitalization by early October. Remarkably, just 12 projects represented more than 55% of this total, indicating that the vast majority of launched tokens failed to gain traction or secure sustainable community support.

Why Is the Meme Sector Losing Its Grip?

Industry analysts point toward shifting regulatory clarity as a potential catalyst. According to a16z’s recent assessment, sound policy and bipartisan legislative frameworks are enabling “more productive blockchain use cases.” This shift redirects investor capital toward narratives perceived as having genuine utility.

AI agents have emerged as the new focal point of speculative interest. Tokens within this ecosystem category recorded triple- and quadruple-digit appreciation this year. Simultaneously, perpetual decentralized exchanges captured explosive growth, drawing traders seeking leverage-enabled opportunities.

The Community Remains Split on Meme Coins’ Destiny

Despite the data, meme coin adherents refuse to concede defeat. “Memecoins will NEVER die,” asserted one prominent analyst, reflecting the ideological commitment some maintain toward the category.

Another observer, Ethan, reframed the collapse differently: the mindshare drop could represent “a generational bottom,” suggesting that when interest deteriorates to extreme lows, it paradoxically signals the potential beginning of recovery rather than total extinction.

A trader offered pragmatic perspective: “Don’t buy memecoins if you are here to complain it’s down. Memes are like this. The risks are high. The rewards are higher (at times).” This sentiment captures the speculative nature and volatility inherent to the category.

Yet skeptics maintain that the evidence points toward permanent diminishment of meme coin relevance. The sharp contraction in mindshare, transaction volume, price performance, and token creation suggests something more fundamental than cyclical correction may be occurring.

What Comes Next?

Whether this downturn represents the final chapter or merely an intermission remains uncertain. The meme coin sector continues to embody crypto’s most speculative impulses, yet with capital increasingly flowing toward utility-focused narratives and algorithmic intelligence, meme coins face an uphill battle to reclaim cultural and financial dominance.