Argentina's LIBRA collapse ended the memecoin mania. (in image Javier Milei) Credit: Tomas Cuesta / Stringer via Getty Images.
Share
Key Takeaways
Argentina’s LIBRA collapse wiped out $4.4 billion in investor funds.
Donald Trump’s official memecoin TRUMP has declined more tha 81% since launching on Jan. 19.
Pump.fun memecoin launches have more than halved since the beginning of 2025.
Following Donald Trump’s memecoin launch, and Argentina’s $4.4 billion LIBRA debacle, memecoin creating platform Pump.fun has seen its metrics fall off a cliff.
It may be time for memecoins to take a backseat and rebrand, as 2024’s once-feverish markets appear to have hit a point of fatigue.
According to a CoinGecko report from cofounder, Bobby Ong, the rollout of Donald Trump’s official TRUMP memecoin alongside his wife’s MELANIA token signaled “the top” for memecoins.
Their launches were huge, reaching peak market caps of $14.5 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, within 24 hours of launching. At this time, TRUMP hit an all-time high (ATH) of $72.632.
Ong notes this drained the liquidity and attention from alt coins and other tokens.
By Jan. 27, TRUMP’s market cap had fallen to $5.5 billion and was trading around $27. Today, it trades at $13 with a market cap of $2.6 billion.
Argentina’s LIBRA token experienced a $4.4 billion collapse, sparking political unrest in the already-strained government and further tarnishing the reputation of memecoins.
After a year of hype, market saturation, rugpulls, scams, pump-and-dumps, and other controversies, LIBRA was “the final nail in the coffin”, Ong writes.
Pump.fun Slides
Perhaps best exemplifying the decreased appetite for memecoins is the notorious Solana-based memecoin creator Pump.fun, which has dramatically decreased its core platform figures.
Traders have also lost interest. Solana decentralized exchanges (DEX) have seen a huge decrease in Pump.fun token trades, falling from $119 million in January, to just $43.9 million in February 2025.
As Ong notes in his report, memecoins are seasonal by nature, and those that stand the test of time, like DOGE, tend to have built out a “cult-like” community to back it. He predicts that 99.99% of them will fail, leaving just 0.01% to take the top spot.
Eddie is a gaming and crypto writer at CCN. Covering the often weird and wonderful world of Web3 with an adoring, but skeptical eye.
Prior to CCN, Eddie has spent the past seven years working his way through the crypto, finance, and technology industry. He began with PR and journalism with Bitcoin PR Buzz and BitcoinNews.com, eventually working his way to become a copywriter with a dozen firms, including the likes of Polkadot before returning to journalism in 2023.
Having studied Radio production and journalism at University in the UK, Eddie spent a few years making podcasts and presenting on a local London radio station as he built up his writing chops.
A lifelong skateboarder, Eddie can often be found at the skatepark or touring the streets looking for something new to try. That, or kicking back playing JRPGs on his original PSP.
