In recent years, with the rapid iteration of blockchain technology and the booming development of the cryptocurrency market, meme coins have gradually evolved from a community-driven cultural symbol into an important component of the crypto asset space. Their unique innovation and broad market influence have prompted the industry to continuously explore their underlying potential and value.

To deeply analyze this phenomenon and provide forward-looking and strategic industry insights, LBank Labs, in collaboration with MetaEra and Bee Network, has jointly released the research report "Top 10 Popular Meme Coins of 2024." This report rigorously selects the ten meme coins with the most development potential in 2024 from multiple dimensions such as liquidity, community activity, and market performance, comprehensively presenting their ecological value and development prospects.

Since the explosive growth of $DOGE in 2020, meme coins have become an important narrative and emerging investment target in the crypto industry. Against the backdrop of a sluggish market sentiment over the past year, most altcoins have performed poorly, nearly reaching the peaks of the current bull market cycle. However, the meme coin sector has risen against the trend, becoming one of the fastest-growing areas and attracting a large number of retail investors with the myth of "getting rich overnight." Especially in March, after BOME entered the "Meme Legends" ranks at a record pace, the entire market quickly entered a hot Meme Summer.

According to data from Artemis Terminal, as of November 27, meme coins have performed excellently in the crypto track from the beginning of 2024 to now, ranking second with a 261% increase, becoming the best narrative after RWA.

(Data source: Artemis Terminal)

Despite differing opinions among investors, meme coins have become one of the best-performing and highest trading volume narratives of 2024. Essentially, the strong performance of meme coins stems from "attention premium" and "FOMO premium," meeting the speculative needs of investors, especially retail investors, by providing low trading costs, fair token distribution, efficient issuance and trading mechanisms, and significant upside potential in a market lacking compelling narratives.

Meme Coin Market Analysis

Overview of Meme Coin Market Capitalization

Since the emergence of meme coins in 2014, the overall market capitalization of this sector has fluctuated significantly. The first major surge occurred in the second quarter of 2017 (1,198%), when its overall market capitalization reached $343 million. In the first quarter of 2018, the market first broke through the $1 billion mark. In the first quarter of 2021, it grew by 1,287%, reaching a market capitalization of $7.2 billion, later soaring to between $3 billion and $60 billion.

(Data source: CoinMarketCap)

Between 2022 and 2023, the crypto market experienced a "crypto winter," leading to a shrinkage of the overall market capitalization of meme coins, stabilizing around $16 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the overall market capitalization of meme coins showed relative resilience, maintaining a market cap of $22 billion. Notably, even during the overall sluggish market performance from July to October this year, the total market capitalization of meme coins did not show significant decline, performing significantly better than many VC coins and altcoins.

According to CoinMarketCap data, the overall market capitalization of meme coins in 2024 shows a growth trend, with the total market cap exceeding $120 billion at its peak, reaching $110 billion as of November 27.

• In the first quarter of 2024, the market capitalization of meme coins surged significantly, increasing by 213.42%, with the market cap reaching $68.9 billion on March 29, accompanied by the emergence of Bome and Slerf, and the rapid development of Pump.fun;
• In the second quarter, the market capitalization of meme coins showed a trend of rising first and then falling, reaching a quarterly peak of $69.8 billion on April 1. However, constrained by the overall downward trend of the crypto market, the market cap of meme coins fell by approximately 9.51%. After a brief correction, driven by the hot PolitiFi Meme trend during the May U.S. elections, the total value stabilized above $45 billion;
• In the third quarter, meme coins overall showed a trend of falling first and then rising, with an overall decline of 36.40%, dropping to a low of $34.7 billion on August 6;
• In the fourth quarter, as of November 27, the overall market capitalization of meme coins showed an upward trend, increasing by 126.64%, with hot memes such as Neiro, MOODENG, GOAT, ACT, PNUT, and Ban emerging, reaching a peak of $125.6 billion on November 24;

List of the Top 10 Popular Meme Coins

The following tokens are based on multiple factors, including market capitalization, popularity, and overall project success.

(Sorted by time)

In 2024, Neiro and APU are undoubtedly the best-performing meme coins, leading the meme coin market with maximum returns of 69,215% and 45,692%, respectively;

Brett and BOME also performed exceptionally well in 2024 due to their unique cultural attributes and innovative token models. Brett has cultivated community culture and collaborated with well-known brands, while BOME has successfully attracted a large number of meme enthusiasts with its cultural concept of "Book of Meme," becoming a representative of culture-driven meme coins;

SLERF, as the first meme coin with the CTO (Community Take Over) concept, unexpectedly became a hit due to its dramatic creativity and user engagement.

AI-themed meme coins like GOAT and ACT have become new focal points in the market due to their innovative AI-driven concepts;

These meme coins are not only products of market speculation but also demonstrate strong vitality and market influence against the backdrop of the intertwining of culture, technology, and community.

BRETT

Inspired by Matt Furie's comic series, the boy club, which also features the popular Pepe the Frog character, Brett utilizes meme culture to attract its investors and enthusiast community. As of 2024, it has achieved significant milestones, including becoming the top meme coin on the Base chain, with its community-driven growth and strategic partnerships making it one of the most promising meme coins of the year.

Brett's tokenomics aims to ensure stability and long-term growth. 85% of Brett's supply is locked in liquidity pools, and it adopts a deflationary model that reduces total supply over time, aiming to enhance its value proposition for traders and long-term holders. The rapid expansion of the Base ecosystem also supports Brett's utility and potential, providing more opportunities for use and development.

Notably, Brett achieved a market cap increase from under $10 million to nearly $2 billion in just 101 days. Meanwhile, BRETT became the third-fastest currency to reach a market cap of $1.5 billion in history. As of November 27, Brett's market cap stabilized at $1.63 billion, down 13.76% from its peak.

Brett's success is also attributed to its strong community engagement. Through viral marketing and active social media presence, Brett has become not just a meme coin but a cultural phenomenon in the crypto space.

BOME

BOME (Book Of Meme) is a Solana meme coin launched by Pepe meme artist Darkfarms on March 14. Initially, Darkfarms started the BOME token presale by leaving a Solana address on Twitter, with the raised SOL used to add liquidity. Initially, it aimed to raise 500-600 SOL, but as the presale progressed far exceeded expectations, Darkfarms initiated a community vote to decide how to allocate the presale funds. On March 15, according to data disclosed by Darkfarms, a total of 10,131 SOL was raised.

In just three days, BOME achieved a hundredfold increase at an astonishing speed and successfully listed on Binance, with its market cap breaking through the $2 billion mark. BOME's success not only made it the focus of the market but also sparked a presale frenzy in the Solana ecosystem, opening up market imagination for the subsequent Meme Summer.

If the surge of SOL in October 2023 and the subsequent massive airdrop from Jito attracted the attention of institutions and DeFi Degens, then this Meme Summer truly marked the beginning of ordinary retail investors taking risks on the Solana chain. Following closely, Pump.fun injected new vitality into the already hot Solana ecosystem.

As time passed, BOME has also initially completed its historical mission. As of November 27, BOME's market cap has dropped to around $590 million, down 54.26% from its historical peak. As a former leader in the meme space, BOME has yet to experience a significant rebound since its listing. Additionally, it still holds over 150,000 SOL in its liquidity pool.

SLERF

SLERF is a super performance art triggered by an accident.

On March 17, SLERF successfully raised over 50,000 SOL on Twitter, but the founder claimed that due to an operational error, the liquidity pool and airdrop reserved tokens had been destroyed. Initially, it was thought that the Slerf project would die, however, the founder's "decentralization behavior" touched many investors, sparking a strong buying frenzy, and the token price soared rapidly.

Due to its concept of "truly decentralized meme," combined with the ICO craze, a large number of users flocked to SLERF, breaking BOME's record of reaching a market cap of $100 million in 9 hours in just 30 minutes, becoming the new meme king. Even more exaggerated, its liquidity pool surged to over $100 million within just a few hours, becoming one of the largest liquidity pools on the chain at that time.

During this period, the SLERF founder collaborated with LBank to initiate a donation campaign, with LBank not only being the first donor but also acting as the custodian of the donation address. As of June 14, the on-chain donation address received over 40,000 SOL, which has been used to compensate participants in the SLERF private placement.

SLERF was subsequently listed on LBank and Bitget, with its price once soaring to $1.3, and its market cap approaching $700 million. As of November 27, SLERF's market cap has dropped to $130 million, down 70.98% from its historical peak. Nevertheless, due to its token burn mechanism, its liquidity remains above $70 million, with trading volume consistently stable at over a million dollars.

APU

APU, also known as Peepo or Helper, is a derivative of the Pepe meme. This character is depicted as a younger, kinder, and more innocent version of Pepe. Apu is often portrayed with sad or distressed expressions, embodying a more innocent and compassionate personality. This meme originated in Finland and quickly spread internationally, gaining a large following due to its relatability and emotional appeal.

On March 11, 2024, APU Apustaja was tokenized and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Since its tokenization, APU Apustaja has experienced a rapid rise in popularity within the cryptocurrency space.

Despite facing numerous challenges initially, including the abandonment of the project by its developers, the resilient APU community remained united, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to their beloved meme. In just over a month, APU Apustaja's market cap surpassed $300 million. This rapid growth not only proves the immense potential of community-driven projects but also highlights APU's lasting appeal as an iconic internet figure, igniting significant enthusiasm among investors for its future development.

To follow in the footsteps of other successful meme coins, the APU Apustaja community initiated a series of innovative activities aimed at enhancing and expanding the meme coin's visibility. The APU community has shown extraordinary dedication and creativity, successfully launching it on major cryptocurrency exchanges such as LBank, Bitget, and Gate, while also releasing 11 music albums produced by the community on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. Additionally, the community launched the APU game and a legend book containing over 30 chapters, further enriching the APU Apustaja brand experience. Through grassroots marketing efforts such as stickers and posters, APU Apustaja has successfully attracted increasing attention. Today, with an active community of nearly 7,000 holders and 6,000 Telegram members, APU Apustaja is not just a meme coin; it represents the resilience, unity, and transformative potential of meme culture in the cryptocurrency space.

According to historical data, APU reached its all-time high of $0.001151 on March 15, with a market cap of nearly $390 million. As of November 27, APU's market cap stabilized at $280 million, down nearly 38.34% from its historical peak.

MEW

MEW stands for "C A T IN A DOGS WORLD," and is a leading cat-themed meme on Solana. Through a narrative framework centered on rebellion, care, and heroism, MEW has formed a distinct cat-themed image, symbolizing a breakthrough against the dominance of dog memes in the market, and reflecting the pursuit of fairness and camaraderie within the crypto community.

On March 25, MEW was officially launched on the Solana network. The project aims to create value, community, and scarcity by combining a burning mechanism and airdrops. At the launch, MEW airdropped a total of 10% of its tokens to Solana ecosystem users, quickly sparking widespread attention, attracting significant discussion and interest within hours of release.

In April, MEW airdropped tokens to holders of BONK, WIF, and Solana Saga 2 phones. Subsequently, MEW was listed on the Korean exchange Upbit, becoming the third meme coin that could be traded after DOGE and SHIBA. On November 18, MEW's price peaked at $0.01288, with a market cap exceeding $1 billion. As of November 27, MEW's market cap exceeded $800 million, down 24.36% from its historical peak.

Notably, MEW partnered with the well-known animation studio LOCUS Studios to enhance brand appeal through high-quality animated content. This collaboration has elevated MEW's narrative and character design, making it not just a cryptocurrency token but a widely appealing cultural symbol.

Neiro

Neiro is often referred to as the spiritual successor of Doge coin, having a unique connection with internet culture and meme coins. Like Doge, Neiro embodies the playful and community-driven spirit of the meme coin space.

On August 4, 2024, Neiro was launched on the Ethereum network, quickly attracting widespread attention in the market, even catching the eye of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In response to the growing community, Vitalik publicly expressed support and donated over $500,000 to an animal welfare fund, marking a historic milestone.

After the initial project team abandoned the project, Neiro was taken over by the community and is now fully owned and managed by the community, being referred to as the first meme coin embodying the CTO (Community Take Over) spirit.

Subsequently, Neiro was listed on Binance, triggering a surge in investor interest and significantly increasing its trading volume. Since its launch in September 2024, Neiro's price has skyrocketed over 5,000%, quickly entering the top 100 cryptocurrencies. At the same time, Neiro has attracted active participation from whale investors, with institutional investors like GSRMarkets increasing their holdings by millions of NEIRO, showing strong confidence in its long-term potential.

On November 12, Neiro reached an all-time high of $0.003093, with a market cap exceeding $1.24 billion. As of November 27, Neiro's price stabilized at $0.001698, with a market cap around $700 million, down 43.54% from its historical peak.

MOODENG

Moo Deng is inspired by a baby hippopotamus born in July 2024 at the Khao Kheow Zoo in Thailand. The name of this baby hippo means "bouncing pork" in Thai, and due to its adorable expressions, especially when being sprayed with water or held by its caretaker, it quickly became an internet sensation. Its cuteness sparked a surge of fan art and memes, making it an online star.

The meme coin based on Moo Deng was launched on the Pump.fun platform on Solana, achieving great success, with its market cap exceeding $100 million in just a few weeks. In a recent survey, Moo Deng ranked first in meme coin popularity, highlighting its appeal among ordinary cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

On November 15, after Binance announced the listing of the MOODENG contract, this meme coin surged over 100%. On September 28, the MOODENG token reached an all-time high of $0.6911, with a market cap nearing $640 million. As of November 27, MOODENG's market cap remained at $337 million, down 43.83% from its historical peak.

GOAT

Goatseus Maximus is an unexpected product of AI-driven creativity, born from an experimental platform called "Truth Terminal," designed for the dissemination and experimentation of memes. It was developed by Andy Ayrey and emerged with the support of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). This AI combines humor and philosophical posts on social media, merging "GOAT" (Greatest of All Time) with Greek mythology and Latin, giving the meme multiple cultural and humorous depths.

The story took a crucial turn when a16z founder Marc Andreessen interacted with the AI bot on Twitter. After a series of philosophical dialogues, Marc was so inspired that he decided to provide a $50,000 Bitcoin grant to Truth Terminal to support its goal: to gain more autonomy and expand Goatse Gospel into a concrete meme token economy.

With frequent promotions on Twitter by Truth Terminal, "Goatse Gospel" quickly attracted widespread attention. On October 10, an anonymous investor recognized the viral potential of the meme and launched GOAT, listing it on Pump.fun. GOAT's market cap peaked at $350 million within just a few days. Subsequently, through intense promotion on Twitter and Discord, and leveraging the apparent wealth effect in secondary markets like LBank, GOAT's market cap surpassed $1.3 billion. Although as of November 27, GOAT's market cap has fallen back to $830 million, down 38.01% from its historical peak, its influence remains profound.

The rise of GOAT not only reflects the intersection of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and meme culture but also reveals the potential far-reaching impact of AI in the crypto space. This phenomenon has brought the combination of AI and memes back into the public eye, sparking widespread discussion and interest.

ACT

AI Prophecy (ACT) is an AI-themed meme project based on the Solana blockchain, aiming to creatively integrate the growing influence of AI in decentralized finance with community interaction and cultural trends. The project incorporates AI-driven unscripted interactions into a dynamic environment through autonomous AI agents while introducing social network elements. Unlike traditional projects, ACT's AI agents can learn, adapt, and actively participate in simulated social environments, continuously optimizing the user experience. In this way, ACT achieves continuous user interaction, creating unique market dynamics and a deep sense of engagement.

Since the rise of GOAT, AI memes have quickly become one of the hottest tracks in the crypto space, with various projects flooding in to compete for the "Dragon 2" position in the AI track. Among them, ACT was once considered a candidate with great potential as an infrastructure meme. However, one of ACT's developers, AMP, deceived the community multiple times after receiving community funding and sold all of his tokens, causing the token to plummet by 50%, nearly destroying the project's prospects.

But under the leadership of community members like Wizard, ACT has not given up hope despite numerous ups and downs. After several rounds of adjustments and revitalization, ACT successfully launched on LBank on October 22, bringing a glimmer of hope to the project. Shortly after, on November 11, ACT's listing on Binance sparked a warm market response, with prices soaring, successfully solidifying its position as the second player in the AI meme space, ushering in opportunities for recovery and breakthrough.

According to CoinGecko data, ACT reached an all-time high of $0.942 on November 14, with a market cap exceeding $800 million. As of November 27, ACT's price has fallen back to $0.4429, with a market cap around $410 million, down 50.4% from its historical peak.

PNUT

Peanut ($PNUT) is a meme coin issued on the Solana chain, aimed at paying tribute to New York City's famous pet squirrel, Peanut. Peanut quickly rose to fame due to the adorable videos shared by its owner, Mark Longo, captivating millions of fans with its charming personality. However, in October 2024, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) took Peanut from Longo's home due to legal prohibitions on keeping wild animals and concerns about rabies, ultimately euthanizing it.

The story of Peanut's capture and death quickly became a political hot topic. Public sympathy for Peanut's unfortunate fate spread across the internet, especially with the "stirring the pot" of public figures like Elon Musk, turning the event into a political movement in the U.S., igniting widespread outrage and condemnation.

On October 31, the squirrel-themed meme coin PNUT was officially born on the Solana chain. Subsequently, on November 3, PNUT was launched on LBank, and on November 11, it was listed on Binance, experiencing a consecutive four-day surge. On November 14, PNUT's price soared to an all-time high of $2.484, with a market cap exceeding $2.4 billion. As of November 27, PNUT's price has fallen back to $1.09, with a market cap around $1.1 billion, down 55.71% from its historical peak.

The combination of external attention and internal narrative core has led to an overflow of related narrative FOMO sentiment, with similar "rescue" narratives and themes emerging, such as $JORGIE (the monkey taken by police) and Free Shayne Coplan (the petition after the arrest of Polymarket founder), but currently only PNUT maintains a certain market heat.

Conclusion

This round of meme narratives began with the presale breakout of BOME and gradually evolved into AI memes, with innovations and narratives emerging one after another. Unlike traditional VC coins that rely on fundamental analysis, one of the core narratives of memes is emotion-driven, supported by community power. Memes themselves have become carriers of community value and market sentiment, with the repeated emergence of "getting rich" myths continuously tugging at users' nerves. The currently popular AI memes, as a new asset issuance method, automatically distribute through AI, making AI + meme one of the most practical and innovative experiments.

If the past memes were a carnival for ordinary users and retail investors, this round of Meme Summer has initiated a renewed recognition of meme potential in the crypto circle, with many established investment institutions personally participating in meme projects. In the near future, memes will inevitably become an indispensable piece of the entire Web3 ecosystem.

After all, greatness cannot be planned; in the history of crypto, has Bitcoin not also been a meme coin?

At the same time, we need to be cautious that when promoting new meme coins, it is easy to be influenced by social media influencers. However, since many of these tokens do not provide real-world value or utility, trading should be approached with caution. Despite some successful trading cases, most people ultimately incur losses because many tokens derive their value from social engineering. They are also the most susceptible to pump-and-dump situations, making them extremely volatile.

Please ensure to thoroughly research the project and implement good risk management before trading.

Jointly Released By:

MetaEra:

MetaEra is a leading crypto media organization based in Hong Kong, dedicated to promoting the development of blockchain technology and the Web3 ecosystem. Through professional news reporting, in-depth analysis, and industry insights, MetaEra provides authoritative information and insights for global blockchain enthusiasts and industry practitioners. Its coverage includes blockchain technology, cryptocurrency markets, decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and the metaverse.

As an important bridge connecting the global Web3 community, MetaEra promotes industry communication and collaboration through diverse forms such as industry events, online seminars, and expert interviews. At the same time, its high-quality content and multilingual dissemination capabilities make it a recognized professional media platform in the industry.

Bee Network:

Bee Network is an innovative application based on blockchain technology, aimed at allowing more users to understand and experience the potential of blockchain in a simple way. Users can participate in the Bee Network ecosystem through mobile devices, earn Bee Tokens, and interact with other users in the community, exploring the diverse application scenarios brought by blockchain technology.

The vision of Bee Network is to build a secure, transparent, and sustainable digital economy platform for users. Its ecosystem plans to gradually expand into payment, trading, and more practical application fields, providing real value experiences for participants. While attracting global user attention, Bee Network is also continuously advancing technological research and community building to support its long-term development goals.