With a few new crypto trends taking center stage in the first quarter of 2025, the cryptocurrency market remains stuck in a cycle of recycled stories. With a combined 62.8% of activity in the space, artificial intelligence (AI) tokens and memecoins continued to draw the most attention, according to CoinGecko’s Q1 2025 research report.
Drawing 35.7% of worldwide investor interest, AI tokens led the charge; memecoins trailed closely with 27.1%. Six of the top 20 crypto stories for the quarter were related to memecoin, and five were focused on artificial intelligence initiatives. With no fresh innovation generating new impetus, these tendencies suggest that the market is still primarily relying on themes from late 2024.
Co-founder and COO of CoinGecko Bobby Ong reflected this in an April 17 post on X, pointing out, “Seems like we have yet to see another new narrative emerge and we are still following past quarters’ trends. I suppose the same old tendencies repeating themselves have us all exhausted.
Political Memos Ignite a Short-Lived Mania
Before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump on January 20, interest in memecoin surged noticeably. Both issued on the Solana blockchain, the Official Trump (TRUMP) token was launched on January 18, and the Official Melania (MELANIA) token followed on January 19, driving this development.
Solana (SOL) lost value rapidly despite the early buzz. TradingView data shows SOL has dropped by around 48% in the past three months, from a peak of over $270. From the time of Trump’s inauguration to about $135. Critics contend that speculative capital is flooding the market. However, memecoins are being siphoned from utility tokens like SOL, so restricting their price potential and market growth.
The Libra Melt and Political Memecoin Collapse
Following the fall of the Libra (LIBRA) token, a politically oriented asset supported by Argentine President Javier Milei. The memecoin movement suffered significantly. Libra’s market value dropped by more than $4 billion within hours following the alleged withdrawal of $107 million in liquidity by insiders. This led to a 94% drop, thereby terminating the “politicam memecoin” cycle, as many had called for it.
According to CoinGecko’s analysis, following the Libra crisis, the amount of fresh tokens issued on Solana’s Pump. The fun platform fell dramatically. Daily token releases had dropped by more than 56.3% from their January peak by the end of Q1 2025; the percentage of tokens. That acquired traction, sometimes referred to as “graduated,” decreased from 1.4% to only 0.7%.
Still a Workable Strategy: Memecoins?
Despite obstacles, some of the most successful crypto traders continue to view memecoins as speculative prospects. Research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard of Nansen told Cointelegraph that memecoins may still be considered as a “fun play” for sophisticated investors. As they tend to operate outside conventional macroeconomic concerns that influence assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
One well-known instance involved a trader riding the Pepe (PEPE) meme coin wave, who made a $2,000 investment that turned into $43 million. PEPE’s price has lately plunged by nearly 70%, but the trader still made more than $10 million in realized profit.
Ahead for the cryptocurrency market?
The prevalence of AI tokens and memecoins as we progress further into 2025 underscores. The current lack of new storylines in the crypto industry. If speculative trends consistently overshadow utility-driven development, Solana and other Layer 1 blockchains may struggle to attract new attention.
Still, the investors ‘ appetite for high-risk, high-reward trades has not vanished, even if the memecoin supercycle may be coming to an end. Although the next breakout trend may be just around the corner, rehashed ideas are still the rule until then.