Meme coins capture 30% of investor focus in 2024

Meme coins gained significant traction in 2024, accounting for over 30% of global crypto investor interest, according to a CoinGecko report.

The resurgence of these speculative assets saw them become some of the top-performing cryptocurrencies of the year, driving new wealth creation within the market.

The report highlights that the primary meme coin narrative alone captured 14.36% of total investor focus, marking a 6.04 percentage point rise from the previous year’s 8.32%.

Speculative investments expanded beyond traditional dog-themed tokens to include coins inspired by animals and public figures, reflecting a diversification within the category.

Solana-based (CRYPTO:SOL) meme coins secured 7.65% of narrative interest, ranking fourth overall.

Additionally, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) Layer 2 Base tokens incubated by Coinbase achieved 2.13% of interest, placing them 11th.

Meanwhile, AI-themed and cat-centric meme coins entered the top 20, drawing 1.49% and 1.19% of investor attention, respectively.

Artificial intelligence (CRYPTO:AI) also emerged as a significant trend in 2024, capturing 15.67% of overall investor interest.

The general AI narrative ranked second, holding 12.58%, though it remained behind the dominant meme coin narrative.

The rise represented a 1.26 percentage point increase compared to last year’s 11.32%.

Other notable trends included real-world assets (RWA) and decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).

The RWA narrative grew by 2.16 percentage points to 8.64%, moving from 6th to 3rd place in overall investor focus.

Similarly, DePIN experienced a 1.56 percentage point increase, climbing to 8th place.

However, the GameFi narrative experienced a decline, with its share dropping from 10.49% in 2023 to 3.72% in 2024.

The shifting trends underscore a dynamic year in cryptocurrency, with speculative assets like meme coins dominating investor attention.