In the turbulent cryptocurrency market, Runes is experiencing a "mini bull market," while the Meme "zoo" trend is attracting attention

Author: Weilin, PANews

Recently, the cryptocurrency market has shown a turbulent downward trend, possibly influenced by multiple factors such as the fluctuations in Bitcoin ETF holdings, increased mining costs for miners, and a decline in macro market expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Despite this, the Runes in the Bitcoin ecosystem have remained active during this downturn, forming a meme market dominated by animal themes known as the "mini bull market."

This market is primarily led by various animal meme coins, including some notable representative tokens such as DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, "Billion Dollar Cat" BILLION•DOLLAR•CAT, and the wolf-themed token LOBO•THE•WOLF•PUP, with animal coins like STUPID•SILLY•CAT experiencing a significant increase of 1517.06%.

However, despite the apparent prosperity of animal coins, there are also hidden concerns behind the scenes. In this article, PANews will analyze the market performance, basic conditions, and potential risks of these Runes animal meme coins.

Market Turbulence and Bearish Trends, Runes Animal Coins Go Against the Tide

According to data from CoinGecko, as of June 18 at 3 PM, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell to $2.48 trillion, with a 24-hour decline of 2.2%. Among them, Bitcoin (BTC) holds a market share of 52.1%, while Ethereum (ETH) accounts for 17%. In the past 24 hours, the total liquidation amount in the crypto market reached $464 million, with long positions liquidating $403 million and short positions $61.26 million.

However, against the backdrop of an overall bearish market, Runes have shown strong activity. On June 18, the 24-hour trading volume reached $7.46 million, an increase of 30.30%. Notably, the performance of animal meme coins has been particularly impressive, forming a "zoo" market. In terms of market capitalization, the leading animal meme coin is DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, which had a market cap of $609 million as of June 19. This is also the 3rd Rune, initiated by Leonidas, the founder of the stone.

In second place by market cap is "Billion Dollar Cat" BILLION•DOLLAR•CAT, with a market cap of $66.14 million, hailed as the second "Cat Smart." The wolf-themed token LOBO•THE•WOLF•PUP has a market cap of $35.80 million, making it the 9th Rune, initiated by Buoyant Capital@_BuoyantCapital. Following closely is the dog-related token WANKO•MANKO•RUNES, with a market cap of $11.01 million.

Wolf-themed token LOBO•THE•WOLF•PUP

Animal "Gathering," Cat and Dog Themes Remain Central

In terms of price increases, the animal coin STUPID•SILLY•CAT, with a market cap of $1.31 million, ended its minting around 9:20 AM on June 18, with a price surge of 1517.06%. This token currently has 1,417 holders and 1,807 minters.

Meanwhile, ANIMALS•FACING•LEFT saw a price increase of 364.00%, but currently has only 164 holders.

In terms of trading volume, DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON leads with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.9 million, followed closely by BILLION•DOLLAR•CAT with a trading volume of $1.63 million. The popular STUPID•SILLY•CAT has a trading volume of $560,000. Although the animal memes on Runes have a significant market cap, their daily trading volumes are relatively low. In comparison, DOGE's trading volume was $394 million, Pepe reached $574 million, Solana's meme WIF had a trading volume of $327 million, and BONK reached $146 million.

In the Dogecoin category, besides the aforementioned DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, there are other projects worth noting, such as REST•IN•PEACE•HARAMBE, an older project based on Doge, which has been dormant for a while. DOGS•DAO•MEMECOIN attracted a retweet from Leonidas, the founder of DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON. Additionally, in the Dogecoin category, there are meme coins like BILLION•DOLLAR·DOG and SPARKY•RUNEDOG that are comparable to Billion Dollar Cat.

It is worth mentioning that the 5th Rune DOG•DOG•DOG•DOG•DOG, although the identity of the project team has not been disclosed, reportedly spent 7.6 BTC on deployment. However, the project team remains low-key, and the token has a 100% pre-mined phenomenon.

In the cat coin category, two rainbow cats NON•STOP•NYAN•CAT and POP•TART•NYAN•CAT are also attracting attention. NON•STOP•NYAN•CAT is known for its association with the original BTC cat, while POP•TART•NYAN•CAT is an earlier rainbow cat project with relatively few foreign holders.

In addition, hamster coin SAIKO•HAMSTER and elephant THE•ELEPHANT•IN•THE•RUNE are also gaining some popularity. SAIKO•HAMSTER has project team support, currently valued at $2.46 million, while the elephant also has project team support, currently valued at $124,000, although it has relatively few holders at 362.

Other animal projects include duck UNGOVERNABLE and koala KOALA•ON•IMPALA, which have also sparked some discussion and interest.

Risks of Whale Manipulation Exist, Can They Truly Drive a Bull Market?

From the perspective of investors and users, in the current crypto market, Runes and animal meme coins, as an emerging asset class, not only spark enthusiasm but also hide some risks. Particularly, as can be seen from the previous data statistics, the overall trading volume of the tokens is currently low, with few participants. If the project team controls a majority of the supply tokens, this highly concentrated holding makes market prices susceptible to manipulation by a few large holders, who can influence market trends through large-scale buying and selling operations.

On June 18, a user in the crypto market observed the performance of wizard-themed meme coins and expressed concerns: "There are seven or eight wizards in Runes, none of which haven't gone to zero." This reflects worries about market volatility and the long-term value of certain memes, with some users likening their operations on Runes to buying "lottery tickets."

Moreover, if there is a lack of genuine market liquidity, funds may not flow into projects with sustainable development potential but instead concentrate in these popular memes. Some promoters may also influence the market through social media and news, causing the prices and trading volumes of certain tokens to rise rapidly.

For example, on June 16, a crypto user pointed out this phenomenon: "After deploying (Runes), find those who shout orders and send out a tweet to attract speculators to mint; the names are all about riding the hype. If they get on the project and it takes off, they just dump and run; if they don't get on, no problem, just move on to the next." This speculative behavior may exacerbate market instability and bubble risks.

As of June 18, there are a total of 74,454 protocol heads (TICKS) on Runes, with 619,009 holders. Overall, despite the overall market turbulence and bearish backdrop, the Runes animal meme coins have formed a unique "zoo" landscape, bringing a certain vitality to the market. However, users still need to remain vigilant. Continuously monitoring market dynamics and investing rationally is key to maintaining stability amid this wave of market enthusiasm.