GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) memestocks have made a comeback. This has prompted a fresh wave of memecoin mania on the Solana (SOL) network.
As WallStreetBets legend Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill returns to great fanfare, Solana-based derivatives of the two iconic “YOLO” stocks are causing a stir in the cryptocurrency markets.
Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, rose to infamy throughout 2020 and 2021 after posting his legendary GameStop short squeeze analysis. After beating Wall Street at its own game, the GME saga gave retail investment platforms a run for their money.
Roaring Kitty’s analysis hurt several Wall Street hedge funds, costing them some $19.75 billion in January 2021 alone. After three years of silence and a Hollywood movie, Roaring Kitty returned to X, and so has the appetite for memestocks and memecoins.
GME and AMC stocks immediately began to pump on Monday, May 13, 2024, so much so that exchanges were once again forced to halt trading. Now, memecoins adorning the same tickers are being traded en masse on the Solana network.
The GME/SOL and AMC/SOL token draws its inspiration from the original GameStop story. Notably, its is one of rebellion against the mainstream financial system.
In what appears to be a bid to recreate the 2021 market frenzy, the GME/SOL and AMC/SOL pairs were created on January 28, 2024, the anniversary of the WallStreetBets GamesStop saga.
Just as with any other Solana memecoin, these tokens lack any utility. They are arguably some of the most speculative assets on the market. As per the official GME memecoin website :
“This isn’t just a cryptocurrency; it’s a movement, a display of the digital community and the power of the underdog.”
With no apparent connection to GameStop or AMC movie theatres, GME has a maximum supply of just under 6.9 billion tokens. Meanwhile, AMC has a token supply of 1 billion exactly.
The 2021 GameStop and AMC frenzy will remain a cornerstone of trading history. This could not be better demonstrated by their price movement following Roaring Kitty’s return.
Robinhood and other exchanges were forced to halt trading after the initial surge on Monday, giving their decentralized crypto-counterparts an edge. Now, the markets can freely trade GME and AMC 24/7, despite the tokens having absolutely zero connection to their respective companies. But that’s as far as we know.
Just like the memecoin mania of March 2024, a renewed interest in odd and useless cryptocurrencies could spark another brief, but significant market rally. Whether this market activity is sustainable remains to be seen.