Memecoins 'rallying hard' as retail-based market participation increases: QCP Capital

Market Updates • March 4, 2024, 9:05AM EST
Published 1 minute earlier on
The Block

Quick Take

  • Memecoins are ‘rallying hard’ as retail-based market activity increases, analysts said.
  • There are now seven memecoins in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

The memecoin market cap has increased by over 17% in the past 24 hours, significantly outperforming the rest of the cryptocurrency market, which posted an uptick of over 4% during the same period.

According to CoinGecko data, the market cap of memecoins currently stands at $53.3 billion.

A recent QCP Capital market report suggested that a "speculative buying frenzy" occurring in the Asia trading session on Monday could be driving price appreciation. "Altcoins, especially memecoins, are rallying hard as retail FOMO really kicks in now," the report said.
 
QCP Capital analysts pointed to an uptick in activity of leveraged buyers over the past 24 hours. However, they added that the recent buoyant market action could possibly dissipate if bitcoin breaks through its all-time high in dollar terms.

Crypto rally driven by 'retail impulse'

Suggestions that retail participants may be driving the recent memecoin uptick corresponds with a JP Morgan note from last week that pointed to increased market activity from this cohort.

According to JPMorgan analysts, the recent surge in crypto prices appears to be fueled by individual traders making impulsive decisions rather than being driven by institutional investors or market fundamentals.

"Similar to equities, we find that the retail impulse into crypto rebounded in February, thus likely responsible for this month's strong crypto market rally," JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note on Thursday.

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Memecoin market cap increases

In the past 24 hours, major memecoins such as Dogecoin DOGE -3.29% , Bonk, Pepe and Shiba Inu increased 14%, 28%, 31% and 19%, respectively. In comparison, major cryptocurrencies such as ether increased by around 2.5% during the same period, according to The Block's Prices Page.
 
There are now seven memecoins in the cryptocurrency top one hundred tokens by market capitalization. Dogecoin holds the 10th position, Shiba Inu is ranked 12th, Pepe occupies the 42nd spot, Bonk is situated at 51st, Dogwifhat secures the 69th position, Floki stands at 76th, and Apecoin is positioned at 83rd, according to The Block's Prices Page.
 
Bitcoin's dominance of the entire crypto market now stands at 50.2%, and ether's dominance is at 16.5%, according to Coingecko data.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Brian McGleenon is a UK-based markets reporter for The Block. He has worked as a financial journalist and producer for multiple news outlets over the years, such as Fuji Television, The Independent, Yahoo Finance, The Evening Standard, and The Daily Express. Brian is also a screenwriter and producer with one feature film produced and one in development with Northern Ireland Screen. Apart from web3 and cryptocurrency developments, he is also interested in geopolitics, environmental issues, artificial intelligence, and longevity research. Get in touch via email [email protected].

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