Opinion by: Igor Zemtsov, chief technology officer at TBCC
Following “Libragate,” memecoin prices crashed, with their market cap falling nearly 60% from 2025’s highs. But meme tokens, dead? They’ve got more lives than a cat on caffeine.
Despite the chaos, memecoins were still holding a $47.9-billion market cap as of March 10. It’s not exactly spare change. Meanwhile, degens are still out here “buying the dip” like it’s a Black Friday sale, convinced that absurdly named tokens like Unicorn Fart Dust, Fartcoin and Buttcoin will print them a 100x profit before year’s end.
Some call it irrational. Others call it degeneracy. But when has that ever stopped anyone in crypto?
Down bad, but not dead yet
Sure, memecoins aren’t exactly outshining Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Solana (SOL) right now. They’ve been getting absolutely obliterated. Prices have tanked, liquidity has dried up, and traders who thought they’d be sipping cocktails on a yacht by now are busy coping in Telegram groups.
Let’s not pretend this is the first time memecoins have been pronounced dead. Every time the world writes them off, they somehow claw their way back — sometimes with an even more absurd rally than before.
After all, logic has never been crypto’s strong suit. If it were, we wouldn’t have seen billion-dollar valuations for fart-themed tokens in the first place. And if human nature tells us anything, it’s that people will always chase the next big hype cycle — especially when it comes wrapped in humor and the promise of overnight riches.
Memecoins are down bad right now. But dead? Not a chance. The moment another ridiculous trend takes hold, the money will come flooding back. Because in crypto, what goes down eventually goes way back up — often in the most unexpected, meme-fueled ways.
Better marketing than serious crypto startups
Forget white papers, roadmaps or security audits. Memecoins don’t need any of that. All it takes is a viral meme on X, a 10-minute token launch, and within a few weeks, it could be sitting at a $50-million market cap. Meanwhile, legitimate projects spend years developing products, hiring developers and raising funds, only to watch their tokens struggle to gain traction.
Recent: Solana revenue slumps 93% from January high after memecoin bubble bursts
For memecoins, community is everything. The bigger it is, the better the pump. It’s not just the kind that retweets project updates 10 times daily, but one that fully embraces the joke. These communities don’t just speculate — they believe. And when enough people buy the meme, the token pumps.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) built a cult following as the so-called Dogecoin (DOGE) killer. It never killed DOGE, but it evolved into a $9-billion token with its own blockchain. Others took an even weirder approach. Fartcoin turned flatulence into finance. Unicorn Fart Dust captured the magic of completely nonsensical branding. And Buttcoin, a 2013 meme mocking Bitcoin, made a comeback to troll the entire industry.
The formula is obvious: The more absurd the name, the bigger the hype. Sometimes, “it’s funny” is the only investment thesis you need.
Sure, the crash wiped out some gains, but let’s not act like memecoins vanished. They didn’t go to zero, which, in crypto terms, makes them survivors. A strong community, relentless memes and top-tier shitposting can keep even the most ridiculous assets alive.
Memecoins are a rebellion against traditional finance
People are investing money in Dogecoin instead of Apple stock, and for good reason. Well, sort of. Crypto has become the go-to escape hatch for those fed up with traditional finance. Banks freeze accounts. Regulators add more red tape. Insider trading runs rampant. Meanwhile, memecoins are a free-for-all, where anyone can win big or lose everything. No middlemen. No rules. Just vibes.
The same Buttcoin proves that people will pump anything just for fun. What started as a joke now has a dedicated community trying to make it the next Bitcoin. It’s complete insanity, which is precisely why it works.
If the world has gone mad, why not profit from the chaos? With financial markets becoming more centralized, restrictive and controlled, memecoins offer an anarchic alternative. They represent the financial Wild West, where anything goes; even the most absurd assets can see billion-dollar valuations.
Memecoins as internet culture
Memecoins have been around since 2013, when Dogecoin launched as a joke about speculative trading. No one — not even its creators — took it seriously until Elon Musk got involved and became its unofficial CEO.
That same year, Buttcoin was born from a YouTube video. It wasn’t a token back then, just a meme. But years later, the community decided to turn the joke into an actual cryptocurrency. It exploded because people love jokes — and some believe it could be the next Bitcoin.
Each new wave of memecoins pushes the absurdity even further — first DOGE, then Shiba, then Bonk (BONK). Now we have an entire market of tokens inspired by farts, crap and butts. And somehow, they keep outperforming serious projects.
As long as people love memes, memecoins will have a place in crypto. It is internet culture that has turned into an asset class.
Are memecoins here to stay?
Most memecoins start as a joke, but some have found actual use cases. DOGE is already accepted for payments by Tesla, AMC and GameStop. SHIB holders can shop at Gucci, Nordstrom and Whole Foods. Even newer projects like Solcat are launching games to expand their ecosystems.
Memecoins aren’t just memes anymore. They’re shaping a new financial reality where virality, speculation and internet culture define value. But let’s address the obvious: The recent crash has slashed valuations, leaving many wondering what’s next.
Are they here to stay, or are we watching them fade into irrelevance? If history tells us anything, it’s that memecoins are like cockroaches — resilient, unpredictable and always resurfacing. Investors should brace for more chaos because these tokens are as volatile as ever.
Memecoins may not be running the show right now, but let’s be honest: The next big meme token is probably already brewing in a Telegram group, just waiting for its moment to explode (or implode).
Opinion by: Igor Zemtsov, chief technology officer at TBCC.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.