How to Unearth Potential "Golden Dogs"? A Multi-Angle Analysis of Market Performance and Rise Logic of 12 Popular MEMEs
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How to Unearth Potential "Golden Dogs"? A Multi-Angle Analysis of Market Performance and Rise Logic of 12 Popular MEMEs
Over 70% of MEMEs gained popularity this year, with most requiring a holding period of at least five months to achieve remarkable returns.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Nancy, PANews
"Which CA to rush today?"
With meme coins emerging endlessly, players tirelessly hunt for potential "diamond hands," sharing the contract addresses (CAs) of newly purchased meme coins in various meme groups. Innovative meme launch platforms have lowered the barrier to issuing tokens, while KOLs continue driving various meme projects into the spotlight. PANews has also written an analysis on why memes are currently "crushing" mainstream cryptocurrencies in popularity.
Although only a small fraction of the thousands of new meme coins launched daily manage to succeed, how can one identify promising candidates among the survivors? Is the rise of leading meme coins purely accidental, or are there notable characteristics worth observing? To explore these questions, this article by PANews analyzes 12 popular meme coins on Ethereum and Solana with relatively high market capitalizations, along with their market performance (selected based on the highest market cap project per chain, as of October 18).
Over 70% of Memes Gained Popularity This Year — Behind Stunning Returns Lies a Typical Holding Period of at Least Five Months
According to CoinGecko data, as of October 18, the total market cap of the meme sector has surpassed $61 billion, hitting a record high. Among them, 10 meme coins have entered the Top 100 of the overall crypto market. Besides veteran projects like Doge, SHIB, and PEPE, newcomers such as WIF, BONK, and POPCAT are now included.
All 12 popular meme coins selected by PANews emerged after 2023, with the majority gaining traction this year—accounting for over 70%. In terms of market scale, their combined market cap exceeds $5.54 billion, nearly 9.1% of the total meme market cap. POPCAT, Neiro, MOG, SPX, and BITCOIN lead in market size, highlighting the strong participation level within the meme ecosystem.
Looking at the time it took for each meme project’s token price to reach its all-time high, the average was 162.7 days. Projects including BITCOIN (HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu), MOG, SPX, and GIGA required particularly long periods—often a full year or more—indicating that memes validated over extended cycles tend to gain stronger community recognition. In contrast, MOODENG, GOAT, and Daram surged strongly within just a month, with the shortest spikes lasting only several days, closely tied to current community hype.
Regarding changes in holder address count after reaching peak prices, the average increase was 39.3%. APU and MOODENG led significantly with growth rates of 135.7% and 119.9%, respectively. In comparison, projects like BITCOIN, POPCAT, and Neiro showed minimal growth—only 5.3%, 3.2%, and 1.5%—which may be related to factors such as listing on major exchanges, pre-existing user base accumulation, and timing of price surges.
Moreover, these memes delivered astonishing returns. Statistically, the 12 meme coins achieved an average maximum return of over 37,000x. After excluding GIGA's extreme outlier of 245,000x, the average peak return across the remaining meme coins was still around 18,000x, with standout performances from BITCOIN, SPX, MOODENG, and GOAT, while Daram and POPCAT lagged behind. Of course, these figures are based on backtesting market data; very few investors actually capture the entire upward move. Still, some early holders achieved paper gains in the thousands or even tens of thousands of times. PANews previously analyzed the on-chain footprints of smart money that profited heavily from GOAT and MOODENG.
Most Experienced Significant Drawdowns — Average Holding Value Reaches Over $10,000
When assessing risk management capabilities of a coin, maximum drawdown is undoubtedly one of the most commonly used metrics—and a true psychological test for holders. Data shows that, excluding recently risen GOAT and Daram which are still in uptrends, other meme coins experienced varying degrees of pullback from their historical highs, with an average maximum drawdown of approximately 49.1%. MICHI, APU, MOG, and MOODENG saw the steepest declines at 87.7%, 87.5%, 71.1%, and 65.4% respectively, meaning holders who bought near peaks faced substantial loss risks. In contrast, GIGA, FWOG, POPCAT, and Neiro had maximum drawdowns far below the average.
Additionally, looking at recovery days post-drawdown, these projects took an average of about 23.9 days to rebound. As mentioned earlier, MICHI, APU, MOG, and MOODENG—which suffered the deepest drawdowns—also required longer recovery periods, with some taking over 100 days. Meanwhile, GIGA, BITCOIN, FWOG, POPCAT, SPX, and Neiro recovered in single-digit days. The length of price correction cycles directly impacts holder confidence—the longer the cycle, the greater the pressure.
Furthermore, analyzing holding value across these 12 projects (excluding top 10 holder addresses), the current average holding value stands at nearly $9,837.6 (calculated using prices as of October 18). SPX, MOG, POPCAT, Neiro, and BITCOIN have the highest holding values at $26,560, $17,504, $16,337, $15,120, and $11,297 respectively. Daram, GIGA, GOAT, and MOODENG fall below the average, all under $5,000. Considering the ratio between holding value and peak price surge, POPCAT, Daram, FWOG, and Neiro holders invested relatively larger amounts, whereas GOAT, MOODENG, and GIGA holders invested less.
Unpacking the Multiple Logics Behind Meme Success
From simple internet jokes to cultural narratives scaling to billions of dollars, the success of the above meme projects offers several key insights:
Enduring Time Tests and Building Strong Community Consensus
HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu
Time remains one of the most critical tools for validating value—projects that endure longer cycles typically earn broader market recognition. Take BITCOIN (HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu), for instance—an abstract meme combining elements of Harry Potter, Obama, and Sony—that gained attention due to a sharp rally in 2023. Its price then fluctuated for nearly a year before resuming a sustained upward trend starting September this year. During this period, BITCOIN's holder count steadily climbed, achieving an 88.2% gain over the year. Similarly, SPX (SPX6900), an abstract meme launched in 2023 built around the story of an anime girl surpassing S&P 500 market cap, endured a prolonged bear phase before reigniting in September. According to on-chain analyst Ai Auntie, the developer and associated addresses of SPX have had no interaction with the project for a long time, suggesting SPX has effectively been handed over to the community.
Taking POPCAT as another example, despite not yet being listed on major centralized exchanges, its market cap has already exceeded $1.3 billion—backed by a powerful community. While POPCAT hasn’t matched the explosive gains of other memes, it boasts over 77,000 holder addresses, making it the most widely held among the analyzed projects.
Leveraging Wealth Effect to Boost Attractiveness
For many meme investors, the continuous decline of so-called “value coins” has eroded trust, making the meme space a form of grassroots resistance against VC-backed projects. Greater wealth effect thus becomes the most straightforward and effective way to attract capital and onboard new users—especially allowing small-capital participants to achieve potentially massive returns at low cost.
GigaChad
For example, GIGA (GigaChad)—created in tribute to the late Ernest Khalimov—achieved a staggering peak return of 245,000x since launch, far outpacing other meme projects discussed. MOG (Mog Coin), recognized as the first emoji culture coin, has seen a peak increase of over 16,000x and, despite significant corrections, nearly recovered all losses. As its price rose, MOG attracted growing support, with holder addresses showing steady growth.
Natural Virality Through Celebrity Influence
Memes can be understood as monetization of attention economics. As attention is a scarce economic resource, the stronger a project's ability to capture attention, the greater its consensus and potential for growth. Celebrity influence often brings inherent appeal and virality—proven to be a crucial factor in past meme successes.
Apustaja
For instance, APU (Apustaja) is one of the most widely used frog meme templates online, visually similar to PEPE, and enjoys a solid cultural foundation. MOODENG, on the other hand, leverages the popularity of the viral animal sensation Moo Deng, benefiting from massive public interest and traffic. According to crypto KOL Rasmr, MOODENG ranks as the most favored meme coin among ordinary people in street surveys. However, such memes are often vulnerable to shifts in underlying sentiment—for example, MOODENG's market cap sharply declined after public enthusiasm for Moo Deng cooled down.
Capturing User Mindshare via First-Mover Advantage
"Being first is the fastest path into the mind." Among countless meme narratives, novel concepts tend to attract more attention. For example, GOAT (Goatseus Maximus) is the first meme coin promoted by an AI agent. Riding on the reputation of a16z, it quickly went viral, reaching a market cap of over $300 million in just over a week, with a peak return exceeding 24,000x. Daram combines BRC20 and meme attributes, opening a new channel for meme asset issuance, enabling its market cap to briefly exceed $50 million within a week of launch.
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