The share of memecoins in the altcoin market has dropped to 3.7%, according to CryptoQuant data. This is the lowest level since February 2024. In the fall of 2024, such tokens accounted for more than 10% of the segment, but after speculative hype, capital began to flow into other directions.
The Sector Has Fallen to Two-Year Lows
Memecoins are rapidly losing ground against the broader altcoin market. According to CryptoQuant, their share has fallen to 3.7%, the lowest level since February 2024.
An analyst under the pseudonym Darkfost also noted that the number of holders of such assets has dropped to a three-year low. This is an important signal. The market is losing not only capitalization but also the retail audience that previously supported demand for speculative tokens.
For comparison, in November 2024, the situation looked different. After the US elections, the market experienced a wave of interest in meme assets, and their share of altcoin capitalization rose above 10%. Since then, most of that growth has been lost.
Money Flows to More Practical Directions
The dominance indicator reflects the share of meme tokens relative to the entire altcoin market. When it falls, it means that other categories are growing faster or losing less.
Now, capital more often flows into areas where investors see a clearer economic model. Tokens related to artificial intelligence, tokenization of real assets, and decentralized finance remain in the spotlight.
The difference is already evident in the numbers. According to CoinGecko, the combined capitalization of memecoins is about $28 billion. The tokenized real assets sector is valued at more than $64 billion. This is more than twice as high.
Such a gap shows a shift in sentiment. The market is still willing to take risks, but now more often chooses stories with practical use, not just viral effect.
Dogecoin Holds Nearly Half the Segment
The largest asset in the category remains Dogecoin. Its capitalization is about $12.1 billion. This is almost half of the entire memecoin market.
Such concentration makes the sector less broad than it seems at first glance. Formally, there are hundreds of tokens on the market, but a significant portion of the value is concentrated in one asset. Other projects depend more on short-term interest, community activity, and liquidity spikes.
As a result, the decline in dominance hits the entire category, but it is especially noticeable for smaller tokens. When retail demand weakens, such assets lose momentum faster and recover worse after sell-offs.
Long-Term Holders Face Drawdowns
One of the most notable examples is the portfolio of Murad Mahmudov. In 2024, at the Token2049 event, he spoke about a possible “supercycle” for memecoins and expected that cultural tokens could outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum in returns.
According to Arkham, the investor has held his portfolio for more than two years and has not sold assets. However, the value of the token set has dropped by about 81% from its all-time high.
The largest position in this portfolio remains SPX6900. The token trades around $0.40 and has lost about 67% over the past year. The asset is still far from its July 2025 high.
This dynamic shows the main risk of the sector. Even committed holders can remain in position for a long time, but without a new influx of buyers, the price continues to decline.
Political Tokens Have Fallen Even Further
The situation with political memecoins looks even harsher. Official Trump, launched a few days before the inauguration in January 2025, initially surged and approached $73. Then the market turned.
Now the token trades around $1.71. The drawdown from peak levels is about 98%, and most buyers are at a loss.
A similar scenario played out for other tokens built on political hype. Fast start, sharp inflow of retail capital, then waning interest and a prolonged drawdown. For such assets, a constant flow of news is especially important. Without it, liquidity quickly disappears.
Will the 2024 Scenario Repeat?
The current situation resembles the beginning of 2024. At that time, the share of memecoins was also at low levels, after which the sector quickly recovered over several months.
However, a repeat of this scenario does not yet look like the base case. A new wave would require the return of retail traders and the market’s willingness to pay again for speculative stories without a strong fundamental base.
For now, capital is behaving differently. Investors more often choose directions with ties to real assets, infrastructure, payments, artificial intelligence, or DeFi. This does not mean the end of memecoins as a class, but it shows that their previous role in the market has weakened.
If retail demand returns, the sector could quickly recover. But until then, meme assets will likely remain on the sidelines of the market’s main movement.
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