Will the continuing memecoin craze lead to a new “asset class”?

• Memecoins boomed in 2024, with a market capitalization of $50.8 billion and high returns.
• VanEck’s Memecoin Index reflects on the speculative nature of memecoins.

In 2024, though Bitcoin [BTC] has taken center stage with the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) spot approval and halving event, it is impossible to ignore the memecoin mania.

Second CoinGeckoat the time of writing this article the memecoin market capitalization was $50.8 billion.

They were reportedly by far the most profitable cryptocurrencies, with average returns exceeding 1300% among the top tokens.

Memecoin controversies

However, amidst these optimistic growths, memecoin controversies cannot be ignored.

Observing the same, memecoin trader Ansem in a recent conversation with the podcast “Unchained,” he said,

“I think it’s more about focus, and an Internet thing, than thinking about teams that are building products.”

Adding to the fray, Kelxyz, a memecoin trader in the same conversation, noted:

“With cryptocurrencies and the ability to tokenize anything, to financialize anything, it makes sense that memecoins would end up capturing a lot of that flow of attention and, in turn, some of that value as well.”

This highlighted that memecoins have shown both growth and controversy, where high market capitalization and returns contrasted with questions about value and purpose.

All about the VanEck memecoin index

The memecoin craze was further confirmed by VanEck’s step into the memecoin market.

Shedding light on the same, Matthew SigelVanEck’s head of digital assets turned to X (formerly Twitter) and noted:

“VanEck’s @MarketVector Launches $MEMECOIN Index, Top 6 Assets, 30% Cap.”

Source: MarketVector

He also issued a warning and added:

“These coins are intended for entertainment purposes”

However, seeing the potential of the memecoin asset class, one user @free_electron0 She said,

“And so it begins. TradFi Introducing the “Memecoin Asset Class” to the World.”

The future prospects of Memecoin

Ansem defied memecoin controversies by highlighting their substantial profits, outweighing any associated losses. He stated,

“Looking at the price is valid because anything that people can speculate on, whether it’s stocks, cryptocurrencies, altcoins, Bitcoin, Ethereum… people can buy the high and lose money. So, this isn’t really specific to memecoins.”

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