Memecoins aren’t dead; they’ll return in a different form, says Keith A. Grossman, president of payment infrastructure company MoonPay. Grossman argues the true innovation of memecoins is the easy, low-cost tokenization of attention via blockchain, which can democratize access to the attention economy.
Before crypto, attention was monetized primarily by platforms, brands and a small group of influencers, Grossman noted. Everyone else generated value — likes, trends, inside jokes and communities — but that value largely flowed to centralized platforms rather than back to participants. Tokenization changes that dynamic by enabling creators and communities to capture and share economic value directly.
Grossman likens the current memecoin outlook to early skepticism about social media after first-generation platforms faltered in the early 2000s, before later companies turned the niche into a cultural force. Memecoins were among the best-performing crypto asset sectors in 2024 and the top narrative for crypto investors that year, according to CoinGecko. But heavy criticism that memecoins and social tokens lack intrinsic value, plus several high-profile collapses, led the market to crater and interest to fade.
The memecoin market collapsed in Q1 2025 after multiple notable token failures described as “rug pulls.” High-profile political launches exacerbated the downturn. A memecoin launched ahead of the January 2025 U.S. inauguration associated with President Donald Trump peaked at $75 before plunging over 90% to roughly $5.42, per CoinMarketCap. In February, Argentine President Javier Milei endorsed a social token called Libra that later crashed, leaving many holders with steep losses. Libra reached a $107 million market cap before its collapse and was characterized by the community as a rug pull. Milei later sought to distance himself; the token’s failure prompted a government probe, investor lawsuits and calls for impeachment from Argentine lawmakers.
Despite the slump and scandals, Grossman and others see lasting potential in the underlying model: tokenized attention and community-driven value capture. Memecoins, transformed by better design, stronger governance and clearer utility, could re-emerge as a meaningful part of the crypto ecosystem rather than merely a speculative craze.
