Memecoins have become widely recognized because they’re one of the most dynamic, volatile, and speculative segments of the cryptocurrency market. They’re also closely intertwined with contemporary internet culture, including its references, ideas, and concepts. At the same time, several of the largest memecoins are gradually evolving into full cryptocurrency ecosystems, and their market values have reached billions of dollars.
This article clarifies how this segment of the crypto market is structured and takes a closer look at the five biggest memecoins.
Important: All information presented here is for educational purposes only. It shouldn’t be interpreted as investment advice.
Inside the Structure of the Memecoin Market
Memecoins have long formed a distinct segment of the cryptocurrency market, but it’s important to note that this segment isn’t uniform. In practice, it splits into two major categories:
- Cryptocurrency projects that are essentially altcoins but are conceptually positioned as memecoins.
- Tokens that fit the classic definition of a memecoin. They’re created in large quantities on dedicated platforms and rarely move beyond those environments.
The second category is difficult to quantify because the number of tokens issued this way runs into the millions. The platforms used to generate these tokens function as isolated markets, and there’s almost no statistical data for most of them, so analyzing this segment as a whole is challenging.
As of mid-November 2025, the most popular memecoin issuance platform had produced about 14 million different tokens. Daily trading volume stood at about $100 million, while the largest memecoin on the platform had a market value below $450,000.
The first category of memecoins is a completely different story. According to CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and CoinStats, there are about 5,000 to 6,000 such projects, depending on how the token is classified. Estimates put the combined market capitalization of this group at roughly $50 billion, and daily trading volume reaches up to $6 billion. The market caps of projects that sit near the bottom of the top 100 still exceed $10 million.
All quantitative data cited in this article are current as of November 14, 2025.
What Drives Interest in the Biggest Memecoins
To compile the top 5, we used data from Messari, whose portfolio includes actual memecoins rather than tokens from broader crypto projects. They only have some connection to the memecoin market, which is common among major analytics platforms. The ranking was based on market capitalization.
Dogecoin, the first and still the largest memecoin by market value, isn’t included here because it’s covered in a separate article.
Shiba Inu
The creators of Shiba Inu chose the Shiba Inu dog breed as the project’s conceptual foundation. Its images appear in many internet memes, including Doge, which became the basis for Dogecoin. It’s worth noting that “dog-themed” tokens have formed a separate subsegment within the memecoin space.
Shiba Inu was launched in August 2020 by an anonymous developer or group operating under the pseudonym Ryoshi. The project didn’t start as a comprehensive ecosystem. It initially focused solely on issuing SHIB, an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The hype that followed, however, helped accelerate its development.
An active community soon emerged and began influencing the project’s direction through DAO mechanisms. This participation played a major role in expanding Shiba Inu into a decentralized ecosystem that now includes the following elements:
- Shibarium, a layer 2 network built on Ethereum
- ShibaSwap DAO, which uses the BONE governance token
- The ShibaSwap decentralized exchange
- The Shiboshi NFT collection
- SHIB: The Metaverse
- The ShibIdentity decentralized identification initiative
- The LEASH token, a low-supply asset used across the ecosystem to support liquidity
- And several additional projects
SHIB’s market capitalization is about $5.4 billion. The token is listed on most major cryptocurrency exchanges, and daily spot trading volume reaches about $190 million. More than 2.8 million wallets hold SHIB.
Pepe
Pepe is a memecoin built around the iconic internet character Pepe the Frog. The project presents itself as the most “meme-driven” memecoin, created purely for fun. As a result, the PEPE token doesn’t offer utility, and the project doesn’t have a roadmap.
Pepe launched in April 2023. Its token, PEPE, is an ERC-20 asset issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Its supply is fixed at 420,690,000,000,000 tokens, which references the meme numbers 420 and 69. The team behind the project is anonymous, and there’s essentially no ecosystem surrounding the token.
To strengthen trust after launch, the creators burned the keys to the smart contract and locked liquidity on Uniswap. This removed the risk of a rug pull by the developers.
Despite its intentionally lighthearted nature, PEPE has consistently ranked among the largest cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of about $2.24 billion. The token is listed on most major crypto exchanges, and daily spot trading volume exceeds $320 million. About 500,000 wallets hold PEPE. The project has also become the foundation for a separate subsegment within the memecoin space known as “frog-themed” tokens.
Official Trump
Official Trump is a memecoin formally linked to Donald Trump and issued to mark his re-election as president of the United States. It was launched by CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight, both of which are affiliated with The Trump Organization.
The project targets Trump’s fan community and the meme culture that has grown around his public persona. Official Trump falls into the category of “celebrity coins,” a group of tokens inspired by the image and popularity of well-known public figures.
The TRUMP token is issued on the Solana blockchain and follows the SPL standard. Its maximum supply is 1 billion tokens, although only about 200 million TRUMP were available to the public at launch. The project doesn’t have a meaningful ecosystem.
The launch coincided with Trump’s presidential inauguration, which fueled an initial wave of excitement. Within just a few days, the token’s market capitalization surpassed $8.7 billion. The hype faded quickly, though, and the market cap later declined to about $1.4 billion. TRUMP is listed on most major trading platforms, and daily spot trading volume exceeds $600 million. Around 632,000 addresses hold the token.
Bonk
Bonk is another dog-themed memecoin, and its name references a well-known internet meme. The project’s team is anonymous. BONK was issued on the Solana blockchain and follows the SPL standard. The total supply is 100 trillion tokens. The project launched on December 25, 2022, when 50 percent of the BONK supply was distributed to community members through a Christmas airdrop.
From the beginning, the project positioned itself as part of the broader Solana blockchain ecosystem. Its utility has gradually expanded since launch. BONK has been integrated into various DeFi platforms and NFT marketplaces, where it’s used for tipping and rewards. The project later introduced BONK Rewards, BONK Swap, BONK BOT, and several other initiatives that strengthened the token’s functional role within Solana’s ecosystem. The community also formed Bonk DAO, which allows token holders to participate in the project’s development.
The project’s market capitalization is about $934 million. BONK is listed on most major cryptocurrency exchanges, and daily spot trading volume reaches about $180 million.
Floki
This is another dog-themed memecoin, and its name refers to Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu dog named Floki. The project was launched in July 2021 by an anonymous team. The token is issued on two blockchain networks, Ethereum as an ERC-20 asset and Binance Smart Chain as a BEP-20 asset.
An active community quickly formed around the token, becoming known as the Floki Vikings. As a result, a full ecosystem began to take shape. It now includes several DeFi platforms, NFT products, a gaming metaverse initiative, an educational hub, and more. For example, in December 2024, the project announced the launch of a crypto debit card in Europe on the Mastercard payment network.
The project’s market capitalization is about $536 million. FLOKI is listed on all major trading platforms, and daily spot trading volume is around $88 million. More than 560,000 wallets hold the token.
The examples of the largest memecoins clearly show that projects of this kind can deliver significant market results, whether they develop full technological ecosystems or rely solely on sociocultural dynamics.
The broader memecoin phenomenon illustrates that value in today’s crypto industry is shaped not only by technology but also by cultural influence, communities, and a project’s ability to embed itself in the mainstream narrative. Memecoins follow their own rules, and despite their uneven structure and high volatility, they remain one of the most visible and widely discussed categories of digital assets.
