- Memecoins were the most profitable crypto narrative in Q1 2024, outperforming Bitcoin and large-cap altcoins.
- Memecoins like BRETT and Dogwifhat (WIF) recorded massive gains of over 77,000% and 27,000%, respectively, during the quarter.
- The total market capitalization of the memecoin sector reached $60.93 billion, accounting for around 2.32% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.
Memecoins emerged as the top-performing crypto sector in the first quarter of 2024, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and other large-cap altcoins.
Memecoin Returns Skyrocket in Q1
According to a report by CoinGecko, memecoins saw average returns of 13,126% across the top tokens by market capitalization. Several memecoins launched in March quickly rose to become top 10 memecoins by market cap, including Book of Meme (BOME), Brett, and Cat in a Dog’s World (MEW).
BRETT saw the highest returns at 77,276% by the end of Q1 2024, followed by Dogwifhat (WIF) at 27,212% year-to-date. WIF went viral during the frenzy around Solana-based memecoins.
The memecoin sector’s performance far exceeded other top crypto narratives. It was 46 times more profitable than tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and 333 times more profitable than layer 2s, the lowest performing narrative.
Memecoin Frenzy Drives Market Growth
The total market capitalization for memecoins reached $60.93 billion by the end of Q1, representing 2.32% of the total crypto market cap, per CoinGecko data. This is a 1,769% increase quarter-over-quarter.
The memecoin market cap now exceeds those of major sectors like decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs), layer 2s, zero knowledge proofs, and real-world assets (RWAs).
Investor interest is also surging, with Google searches for “memecoin” hitting the second highest level in five years in March 2024. Memecoins are seeing increased transaction volumes, more users, and active communities.
The momentum in Bitcoin, which hit record highs above $73,800 in March ahead of its halving event, likely also drove interest in the broader crypto market including memecoins.
Conclusion
Memecoins emerged as the dominant crypto narrative in Q1 2024, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and other sectors. With surging market caps, user interest, and token performance, the memecoin frenzy shows no signs of slowing down.
