Meme coins, once the darling of retail investors, have taken a serious beating in recent weeks, leading many to question whether the latest cycle of speculation has come to an end. 

According to CoinGecko’s latest Crypto Aggregate report, the recent collapse of $LIBRA and the liquidity drain from the launch of politically-themed tokens like $TRUMP and $MELANIA may have marked the top of the meme coin cycle—at least for now.

The numbers paint a bleak picture. Pump.fun, a major platform for launching new meme coins, saw a 90% drop in both new token launches and tokens reaching maturity. Meanwhile, CoinGecko’s meme category market cap has declined by 32% from its peak on February 3, while trading volumes have plummeted by 72%.

The collapse of $LIBRA—a meme coin linked to Argentine President Javier Milei—served as a reality check for many traders, revealing how insiders and influential figures can manipulate liquidity and profit at the expense of retail investors. 

As speculation dried up, attention turned toward longer-standing meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, and BONK, which have survived multiple market cycles. While some analysts believe meme coins will make a comeback in the future, they argue that only those with strong communities and sustained engagement will survive. The days of low-effort token launches generating overnight millionaires may be numbered.

Beyond the crash of meme coins, the broader token launch landscape remains in flux. Many retail investors have turned to meme coins due to frustration with venture capital-backed (VC) tokens, which have been criticized for their high valuations and limited accessibility. 

One of the most discussed token launches of 2024 was Jupiter’s $JUP airdrop, which introduced a “pump protection” mechanism to stabilize its price within a defined range. While this method prevented extreme volatility, some investors viewed it as an artificial limitation. Despite initial skepticism, $JUP eventually tripled in value, sparking discussions on fairer token launch models.

Other alternative funding models, such as curated angel co-investing platforms like Echo.xyz, have emerged to allow retail investors to access deals that were once reserved for institutional investors. 

However, the lack of clear regulations in the US has forced many projects to either raise funds through accredited investors only or resort to meme coin launches with no real utility. With the new pro-crypto administration in Washington, industry participants hope that regulators will introduce clearer frameworks to allow legitimate projects to raise funds without violating securities laws.

Despite the meme coin collapse, tokenization efforts are accelerating across multiple industries. New token launchpads are popping up, expanding beyond simple meme coins to include AI-powered token projects, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and experiments in time-tokenization. 

In the Real-World Asset (RWA) sector, major traditional finance (TradFi) firms are increasing their participation, particularly in tokenized US treasuries. With these developments, analysts predict that the market for tokenized assets will diversify significantly over the next few years.

At present, GeckoTerminal tracks over 5.5 million tokens, with 600,000 new tokens created in January alone. If this trend continues, the number of blockchain-based assets could surpass a billion within five years.

Beyond the meme coin crash, broader market forces have also been at play. President Donald Trump’s administration has been rapidly implementing economic and regulatory changes, including federal budget cuts and trade tariffs that have unsettled global markets. 

As a result, the S&P 500 has dropped 5% in the past month, and Bitcoin has fallen more than 20% from its $100K all-time high, now trading at $87K. Even Trump’s recent announcement of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve failed to prevent the downturn.

Some traders, including Arthur Hayes, believe Bitcoin could drop to $70K before stabilizing. However, long-term projections remain optimistic, with financial institutions like Standard Chartered and Bitwise maintaining their $200K BTC price target for this cycle.

Will meme coins make a comeback? Only time will tell.