Memecoins capture 31% of investor mindshare in 2024, surging 4x in popularity

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Memecoins dominated 31% of crypto narratives in 2024, according to a report by CoinGecko.

This represents nearly 4x growth compared to last year when the theme appeased just 8.32% of investors out of 25 narratives. 

The rise of memecoins, initially driven by dog-themed coins, expanded into new territories in 2024, including animal- and personality-themed tokens.

According to the report, the trend highlights an investor appetite for speculative opportunities prioritizing cultural virality over traditional fundamentals.

The memecoin launchpool Pump.fun can be used as a proxy for the success of these tokens. Nearly 5 million new memecoins were deployed on Solana alone this year, with the platform capturing over $335 million in fees, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard by user evelyn223.

The primary memecoin narrative claimed the top spot among crypto narratives, accounting for 14.36% of investor mindshare. 

Also, four memecoin trends ranked in the top 20: Solana memecoins (7.65%), Base memecoins (2.13%), AI memecoins (1.49%), and cat-themed memecoins (1.19%).

According to data from Artemis, memecoins represented the third most profitable narrative in 2024, generating an average yearly return of 201%. The gains were also above the 128% average return from the market.

Besting AI tokens

This year’s growth in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies raised investors’ expectations about the intersection between AI and blockchain. As a result, this became a hot trend within the crypto community, capturing 15.67% of the mindshare across six narratives.

The core AI ecosystem was responsible for most of the popularity, registering the second-largest overall popularity with a 12.58% share, up 1.26% from last year.

AI-related trends, such as AI agents (1.17%) and AI meme coins (1.49%), further contributed to the technology’s growing influence in crypto.

Nevertheless, the memecoins sector’s meteoric rise in popularity eclipsed the AI narrative this year by heavily outperforming. Additionally, AI tokens had a negative 11.6% performance this year, mainly due to Worldcoin’s WLD 39% drawdown.

Growing narratives

The real-world assets (RWA) narrative gained traction, climbing to third place with an 8.64% share of investor interest, up 2.16% from 2023. 

Similarly, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) moved from 13th to 8th place, with its share rising by 1.56%.

In contrast, the blockchain gaming (GameFi) narrative declined, shrinking from a 10.49% share in 2023 to just 3.72% in 2024, reflecting waning interest in gaming-related blockchain applications.

The RWA sector posted an average yearly gain of 1,755%, primarily due to the 6,520% rise in Mantra’s OM token. As a result, the average returns for this sector’s tokens got inflated.

Meanwhile, DePIN tokens jumped 30% in the same period, while gaming tokens had an average negative performance of 23.4%.

Solana and Base shine

Blockchain ecosystems also captured significant attention in 2024, with Solana and Base-related narratives gaining prominence, with memecoins playing a key role. 

Solana narratives combined for a 14.30% share, driven by Solana memecoins (7.65%) and broader ecosystem interest (5.78%).

Base narratives totaled 4.87%, bolstered by the Base ecosystem and Base memecoins.