Memecoins linked to AI cults are going viral. AI-generated memcoins have now become a unique crypto niche due to their popularity. Retailers are flocking.
Crypto’s memecoin market has a new power player: AI cults.
These AI-generated tokens are based on so-called neo-religious themes that have become crypto’s latest cultural phenomenon, especially in Solana. They are often playful, represent the rise of extremely powerful artificial intelligence, and there is usually no AI associated with these tokens.
Altogether AI memecoins have grown to a $1.7 billion market value.
The popularity of AI memecoins coincides with a return of buzz in memecoins after a major pullback in August and continued interest from retail traders. According to According to a new report by crypto analytics provider Keiko.
“The average memecoin trading volume will increase fivefold in 2024 compared to last year,” the report said.
One of the most popular AI memecoins is Goatseus Maximus, or GOAT for short, which sparked controversy and confusion last week after reaching a market cap of $300 million.
As speculation grew that venture capitalist Marc Andreessen was connected to GOAT, he quickly distanced himself from memecoin.
“I have nothing to do with GOAT memecoin,” Andreessen posted on X. “I wasn’t involved in creating it, played no part in it, had no economics in it and didn’t own it.”
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Although it dampened the hype, it didn’t kill it. GOAT is trading at 43 US cents, up 16% in the last 24 hours.
GOAT has gained followers from some big names, including BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. “When I heard about AI starting its own memecoin and religion, I jumped right in,” Hayes said.
The GOAT memecoin gained popularity after a rumor spread online that it was created by an AI agent. But the AI in question, Terminals of Truth, did not create the token. Instead, the anonymous creator tagged Terminals of Truth who accepted the token and muddied the story about its origins.
AI Cult Memecoins
Memecoins are derived from viral internet trends and pop cultural references, and the AI cult variety is no different.
AI cult memecoins contributed to a 39% increase in crypto trading volume on decentralized exchanges on Solana. This is the Dune Dashboard.
According to CoinGecko, Turbo is the largest AI memecoin with a market size of $678 million.
Toad-themed Turbo is the “first AI-generated memecoin” or created by so-called AI agents.
Memecoin dominates
Memecoins is the most active market of crypto. The biggest memecoins are now worth approx $63 billion In market value, CoinGecko data shows.
That valuation captures not only notable tokens but the freewheeling memecoin universe of crypto that expands daily with new coins added to the mix.
According to Keiko, memecoins will have an average trading volume of $16 billion in 2024 – up from $3 billion last year.
Apart from volume, memecoins also account for a large share of the overall crypto market value.
“Their share of the top 50 altcoins by market capitalization has also increased, from 7% in early 2023 to between 25%-30% in 2024,” Keiko wrote in a research. Take note On Monday.
Keiko noted that memecoins also dominate other Crypto on smaller exchanges, a sector that can even reach 50% of trading volume on such platforms.
Retail appeal
Although memecoin activity is still driven by speculative trading, their performance is still notable compared to other cryptocurrencies this year.
Keiko cited a trend of hype-driven mania in the memecoin community as part of the sector’s success.
Also, retail traders see memecoin launches better than other crypto tokens backed by venture capital investors, Keiko wrote.
Because the latter hit the market with inflated values, but limited token supply as most coins are locked into vesting schedules. Those vested tokens periodically enter the market, diluting the supply, causing massive price drops.
In contrast, according to Keiko, memecoins will launch with all of their supply unlocked, allowing for more organic price discovery.
