Memecoins, such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, have not disappeared simply because prices have fallen or the narrative has lost momentum, according to MoonPay president Keith A. Grossman. He argues that memecoins are likely to return in a different form, as their core innovation remains intact.

Grossman said the fundamental breakthrough of memecoins lies in their ability to tokenize attention cheaply and efficiently through blockchain technology, opening up access to the attention economy to a much broader group of participants. As he explained:

“Before crypto, attention could only be monetized by platforms, brands and a small group of influencers. Everyone else generated value and gave it away for free. Likes, trends, inside jokes and communities created massive economic value.” He added that while this value was clearly created, it rarely flowed back to users and instead stayed concentrated within large, centralized platforms.

From boom narrative to market fallout

Grossman likened the current pessimism around memecoins to early predictions about the death of social media after the first wave of platforms failed in the early 2000s, before a new generation transformed the space into a cultural and economic force.

Memecoins were among the strongest-performing cryptocurrency sectors in 2024 and represented the dominant narrative for investors that year, according to CoinGecko. Over time, however, mounting criticism that memecoins and other social tokens lacked intrinsic value, combined with several prominent token failures, caused sentiment to reverse sharply and the sector to unravel in 2025.

Political endorsements and loss of trust

The downturn accelerated in the first quarter of 2025 following multiple high-profile collapses that were widely described as rug pulls. One of the most notable cases involved a memecoin launched by US President Donald Trump ahead of his January 2025 inauguration. The token surged to $75 before falling more than 90% to around $5.42, according to CoinMarketCap.

In another case, Argentine President Javier Milei endorsed a social token called Libra in February. The token later collapsed after reaching a market capitalization of $107 million, leaving 86% of holders with realized losses of $1,000 or more. The episode was labeled a rug pull by much of the crypto community.

Although Milei sought to distance himself from the project, his involvement prompted a government investigation, lawsuits from retail investors, and calls for impeachment from Argentine lawmakers.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/memecoins-not-dead-will-return-new-form

https://x.com/KeithGrossman/status/1999899175253598469

https://x.com/digitalassetbuy/status/1995551713324105878

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/official-trump/

https://coinmarketcap.com/view/memes/