The following is a guest post and opinion of Shibtoshi, Founder of SquidGrow. Memecoins have created unprecedented chaos within the crypto industry. Most analysts see the chaos as a binary — some criticize memecoins as mere speculative assets, while others defend them for challenging low-float-high FDV VC-backed tokens. But we need a new perspective. One […]

The post Memecoins broke crypto—now they might fix it appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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Mixed-martial arts (MMA) champion Conor McGregor launched a memecoin called “REAL” on April 5, which will reportedly feature staking rewards and voting rights for token holders.

Spokespeople for the project told Cointelegraph that the token was launched through a sealed-bid auction to eliminate snipers and bots hijacking the token launch. The project was developed in a collaboration with the Real World Gaming decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

The auction will take place from April 5-6. In a statement shared with Cointelegraph, McGregor touted the launch as a fair memecoin offering:

“This is not some celebrity-endorsed bullshit token, it is a REAL game changer that will change the crypto ecosystem as well as make REAL change in the world. The sealed-bid auction is the new way of launching a token to prevent rug pulls and snipers.

“This is about transparency — we are showing the world how it is done with integrity,” McGregor continued.

The memecoin narrative peaked following the launch of the TRUMP memecoin by US President Donald Trump. However, savvy traders continue hunting memecoins, keeping the market alive.

Related: Ghibli memecoins surge as internet flooded with Studio Ghibli-style AI images

Meme “supercycle” dead but savvy traders still in the game

Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard recently told Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction that “smart money” traders are still scouring for memecoin trades but are just as likely to rapidly exit those positions for quick gains.

Sondergaard attributed the recent activity in the memecoin market to savvy traders making a “fun play” while waiting for the macroeconomic outlook to settle and for markets to shake out.

US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and the counter-tariff responses from trading partners create a difficult environment for risk-on assets, as investors flee riskier asset classes for safe havens.

Following the sweeping tariff order, US stocks shed $5 trillion in value. The catastrophic stock market loss within a single day totaled more than the total market capitalization of crypto.

As fears of a prolonged global trade war spread and market analysts warn of a potential recession, the price of Bitcoin continues to remain anchored above the $80,000 level.

Bitcoin’s resilience during the current market downturn suggests that more investors are beginning to see the digital asset as a store of value as opposed to a risk-on asset.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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The most successful cryptocurrency traders are still chasing quick profits in memecoins, despite signs that the broader “supercycle” for the speculative assets may be winding down. The shift follows recent disappointment tied to memecoin launches associated with US President Donald Trump.

The industry’s most successful cryptocurrency traders by returns — tracked as “smart money” traders on Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform — continue hunting for quick memecoin returns.

While growing stablecoin holdings show increased caution, smart money remains open to speculative plays, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“There was the recent meme surge and smart money is always happy to capitulate on that. But they’re also happy to rotate out of these quickly as well,” he said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X.

“The recent meme frenzy was just a fun play they worked on, while the broader market is sorting out the direction because memecoins aren’t necessarily affected by the same macroeconomy as Bitcoin and Ethereum,” he added.

Related: Bitcoin holds firm as stocks lose $5T in record Trump tariff sell-off

The analyst’s insights came a week after a savvy trader turned an initial investment of just $2,000 into $43 million with the popular Pepe (PEPE) cryptocurrency, Cointelegraph reported on March 30.

However, the trader didn’t manage to sell the top but still made a realized profit of over $10 million, despite Pepe’s over 70% decline from its all-time high.

Related: Trump family memecoins may trigger increased SEC scrutiny on crypto

Trump token launch may have ended memecoin “supercycle”

The launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Jan. 18 may have signaled the end of the memecoin “supercycle.”

“Pump.fun has been synonymous with the “memecoin supercycle,” as it accounts for over 70% of tokens launched on Solana, according to a Binance research report shared with Cointelegraph.

The memecoin launchpad’s weekly usage metrics peaked on the week of Trump’s inauguration and have since declined. Total active wallets on Pump.fun fell from 2.85 million on the week of Jan. 20 to just 1.44 million as of March 31.

The decline is mainly attributed to a decay in investor sentiment, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Market sentiment also appears to have shifted amid unverified reports of insider trading linked to subsequent high-profile tokens such as $MELANIA and $LIBRA.”

“Broader macroeconomic uncertainty, including volatility driven by global tariff policies, may have further dampened speculative appetite for memecoins more generally,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the TRUMP token is down more than 87% from its peak of $75.35, reached on Jan. 19. The token fell over 8% in the past week, CoinMarketCap data shows.

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