Interest in Bitcoin appears to be waning, with Google search data revealing that the term hit a one-year low in mid-October 2024. At the same time, memecoins are gaining significant traction, fueled by token creation on the Solana and Tron networks.
Bitcoin Searches Decline, Memecoin Searches Rise
According to Google Trends, global search interest for “Bitcoin” fell to 33 out of 100 during the week of October 12, 2024, marking the lowest point in the past year. Meanwhile, search volume for “memecoins” reached 77 out of 100 in the same week. Although this is below the peak score of 100 set in October 2023, analysts predict further growth.
Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, believes that interest in memecoins could surpass last year’s high by the end of October 2024 as excitement around these assets continues to grow.
Memecoins Dominate Crypto Markets in 2024
In 2024, memecoins emerged as the top-performing sector in the crypto market. Data from Step Finance shows that 491,000 new tokens have been launched on the Solana network since September 12, 2024. On October 9 alone, 20,000 new tokens were minted on Solana, with most of them being memecoins.
The combined market capitalization of memecoins on Solana has now surpassed $10 billion, with $2.3 billion in 24-hour trading volume, according to Solana Floor. Platforms like Pump.Fun have played a pivotal role in driving this boom by offering low fees, fast liquidity through Raydium DEX, and an easy-to-use interface that makes it simple for anyone to launch a new token.
The Tron network has also entered the memecoin space with the launch of SunPump in August 2024. Similar to Pump.Fun, SunPump enables quick token creation, and over 90,000 memecoins have already been minted on the platform.
Growing Skepticism Around Memecoins
Despite the memecoin craze, some industry leaders have voiced concerns about the speculative nature of these assets. Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and crypto advocate, warned that many memecoins are little more than “rug pulls” waiting to happen. Cuban cautioned investors, saying, “Every meme coin is a rug pull in the works.”
While memecoins offer exciting opportunities for quick profits, they also carry substantial risks. With minimal oversight and easy token creation, the memecoin space remains vulnerable to scams and sudden market collapses.
