LBank Labs: Top 10 Popular Meme Coins of 2024
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LBank Labs: Top 10 Popular Meme Coins of 2024
Greatness cannot be planned—in crypto history, wasn't Bitcoin itself just a meme coin at one point?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsIntroduction
In recent years, with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the booming cryptocurrency market, meme coins have gradually transformed from community-driven internet cultural symbols into a significant component of the crypto asset landscape. Their unique innovation and broad market influence have prompted continuous exploration of their underlying potential and value.
To deeply analyze this phenomenon and provide forward-looking, strategic industry insights, LBank Labs has jointly released the "Top 10 Hottest Meme Coins in 2024" research report with MetaEra and Bee Network. Based on rigorous market research and data analysis, this report identifies the ten most promising meme coins of 2024 across multiple dimensions—liquidity, community activity, and market performance—and comprehensively presents their ecosystem value and development prospects.
Since $DOGE's explosive growth in 2020, meme coins have become a major narrative and emerging investment category within the crypto industry. While most altcoins underperformed during the past year’s bearish sentiment—many hitting new lows for the current bull cycle—the meme coin sector defied the trend, emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments and capturing retail investors' attention through tales of overnight wealth. In particular, BOME’s meteoric rise in March, achieving “meme legend” status at record speed, rapidly ignited what became known as “Meme Summer.”
According to Artemis Terminal data, as of November 27, meme coins ranked second among all crypto sectors in 2024 year-to-date performance, delivering a return of 261%—second only to RWA (Real World Assets) in terms of narrative strength.
(Data source: Artemis Terminal)
Despite divided opinions among investors, meme coins have emerged as one of the best-performing and most traded narratives of 2024. At their core, the strong performance of meme coins stems from an "attention premium" and "FOMO premium." By offering low transaction costs, fair token distribution, efficient issuance and trading mechanisms, and substantial upside potential in markets lacking compelling narratives, they fulfill the speculative demands of investors—especially retail participants.
Meme Coin Market Analysis
Overview of Meme Coin Market Capitalization
Since the emergence of meme coins in 2014, the total market cap of this sector has experienced significant fluctuations. The first major surge occurred in Q2 2017 (1,198%), when its total market cap reached $343 million. In Q1 2018, the market surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time. In Q1 2021, it grew by 1,287%, reaching $7.2 billion before soaring to between $30–60 billion.
(Data source: CoinMarketCap)
From 2022 to 2023, the crypto market endured an "crypto winter," causing the overall meme coin market cap to shrink and stabilize around $16 billion. However, in Q4 2023, meme coins demonstrated relative resilience, maintaining a market cap of approximately $22 billion. Notably, even during the generally sluggish market conditions from July to October this year, the total market cap of meme coins did not experience a significant decline, outperforming many VC-backed and altcoins.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the meme coin market cap showed an overall upward trend in 2024, peaking above $120 billion. As of November 27, it stood at $110 billion.
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In Q1 2024, the meme coin market cap surged by 213.42%, driven by the emergence of Bome and Slerf and the rapid development of Pump.fun, reaching $68.9 billion on March 29;
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In Q2, the market cap initially rose then fell, peaking at $69.8 billion on April 1. Subsequently constrained by the broader crypto market downturn, it declined by about 9.51%. After a brief correction, fueled by the heated PolitiFi meme trend tied to the U.S. election in May, the total value stabilized above $45 billion;
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In Q3, the overall market showed a downtrend followed by recovery, with a total decline of 36.40%, bottoming out at $34.7 billion on August 6;
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In Q4, as of November 27, the meme coin market cap rebounded strongly with a 126.64% increase, giving rise to trending tokens such as Neiro, MOODENG, GOAT, ACT, PNUT, and Ban, reaching a peak of $125.6 billion on November 24;
Top 10 Hottest Meme Coins List
The following tokens are selected based on multiple factors including market capitalization, popularity, and overall project success.
(Sorted chronologically by launch date)
In 2024, Neiro and APU were undoubtedly the top performers, leading the memecoin market with maximum returns of 69,215% and 45,692%, respectively;
Brett and BOME also excelled in 2024 due to their distinct cultural attributes and innovative token models. Brett deepened community culture through cross-industry collaborations with well-known brands, while BOME leveraged its “Book of Meme” cultural concept to attract a large base of meme enthusiasts, becoming representative examples of culture-driven meme coins;
SLERF became an unexpected breakout hit as the first CTO (Community Take Over) concept meme coin, gaining viral traction due to its dramatic creativity and high user engagement;
AI-themed meme coins like GOAT and ACT captured market attention with innovative AI-driven concepts;
These meme coins are more than just products of market speculation—they demonstrate remarkable vitality and market impact amid the convergence of culture, technology, and community.
BRETT
Inspired by Matt Furie's comic series featuring the Boy's Club—including the popular character Pepe the Frog—Brett leverages meme culture to engage its investor and enthusiast community. By 2024, it had achieved major milestones, including becoming the top meme coin on the Base chain. Its community-driven growth and strategic partnerships have made it one of the most promising meme coins of the year.
Brett’s tokenomics are designed to ensure stability and long-term appreciation. With 85% of its supply locked in liquidity pools and a deflationary model that gradually reduces total supply over time, Brett aims to strengthen its value proposition for both traders and long-term holders. The rapid expansion of the Base ecosystem further supports Brett’s utility and potential, creating more opportunities for use and development.
Brett achieved a remarkable trajectory—from less than $10 million in market cap to nearly $2 billion within just 101 days. It also became the third-fastest cryptocurrency in history to reach a $1.5 billion market cap. As of November 27, Brett’s market cap stabilized at $1.63 billion, down 13.76% from its peak.
Brett’s success is also attributed to its strong community engagement. Through viral marketing and active social media presence, Brett has evolved beyond a mere meme coin into a cultural phenomenon within the crypto space.
BOME
BOME (Book Of Meme), launched on March 14 by Pepe meme artist Darkfarms on Solana, began with a presale via a tweet where Darkfarms shared his Solana address. The raised SOL was used to add liquidity. Initially expecting to raise 500–600 SOL, the campaign far exceeded expectations. Darkfarms then held a community vote to decide how to allocate the funds. On March 15, according to disclosed data, a total of 10,131 SOL was raised.
Within just three days, BOME achieved hundredfold growth, listed on Binance, and quickly surpassed a $2 billion market cap. BOME’s success not only placed it at the center of market attention but also sparked a wave of presales across the Solana ecosystem, opening up new imaginative possibilities for the ensuing Meme Summer.
If SOL’s surge in October 2023 and Jito’s massive airdrop drew institutional and DeFi degens’ interest, this Meme Summer truly marked the beginning of ordinary retail users adventuring on Solana. The subsequent rise of Pump.fun injected fresh momentum into the already vibrant Solana ecosystem.
Today, BOME has largely fulfilled its historical role. As of November 27, BOME’s market cap has dropped to around $590 million, a 54.26% decline from its all-time high. As a former leader in the meme space, BOME has yet to see a significant rebound post-listing. Additionally, its liquidity pool still holds over 150,000 SOL.
SLERF
SLERF is a supercharged piece of performance art born from an accident.
On March 17, SLERF successfully raised over 50,000 SOL on Twitter, but the founder claimed a mistake had led to the burning of both the liquidity pool and reserved airdrop tokens. Initially believed to be dead, the founder’s act of “removing whales” touched many investors, triggering a massive buying frenzy that sent the token price soaring.
Embracing the idea of a “truly decentralized meme,” combined with ICO-style enthusiasm, SLERF attracted massive inflows. It shattered BOME’s record of reaching a $100 million market cap in nine hours—achieving the same in just 30 minutes—and crowned itself the new king of memes. Even more remarkably, its liquidity pool surged past $100 million within hours, making it one of the largest on-chain liquidity pools at the time.
During this period, SLERF’s founder partnered with LBank to launch a donation campaign. LBank not only contributed as the first donor but also served as custodian of the donation wallet. As of June 14, the on-chain donation address received over 40,000 SOL, which was later used to compensate private sale participants.
SLERF was subsequently listed on LBank and Bitget, with its price peaking at $1.30 and market cap nearing $700 million. As of November 27, SLERF’s market cap had declined to $130 million, down 70.98% from its peak. Nevertheless, due to its token burn mechanism, its liquidity remains above $70 million, with daily trading volume consistently exceeding $1 million.
APU
Apu, also known as Peepo or Helper, is a derivative of the Pepe meme, depicted as a younger, kinder, and more innocent version of Pepe. Often shown with sad or pained expressions, Apu embodies a more empathetic and gentle personality. Originating in Finland, this meme quickly gained international popularity due to its emotional resonance and charm.
On March 11, 2024, APU Apustaja was tokenized and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Since then, it has seen rapid growth in popularity within the crypto world.
Despite early challenges—including abandonment by the original developer—the resilient APU community remained united, demonstrating unwavering commitment to their beloved meme. Within just over a month, APU Apustaja’s market cap surpassed $300 million. This rapid ascent not only highlights the immense potential of community-driven projects but also underscores Apu’s enduring appeal as an iconic internet figure, fueling strong investor optimism about its future.
To follow in the footsteps of other successful meme coins, the APU community initiated a series of creative campaigns to boost visibility and expand reach. Demonstrating exceptional dedication and ingenuity, the community successfully listed APU on major exchanges such as LBank, Bitget, and Gate. They also released 11 community-made music albums on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. Additionally, the community developed an APU game and published a 30+ chapter legendary book, enriching the brand experience. Grassroots marketing through stickers and posters further amplified awareness. Today, with nearly 7,000 token holders and 6,000 Telegram members, APU Apustaja is more than a meme coin—it symbolizes the resilience, unity, and transformative power of meme culture in crypto.
Historically, APU reached an all-time high of $0.001151 on March 15, with a market cap near $390 million. As of November 27, APU’s market cap stabilized at $280 million, down approximately 38.34% from its peak.
MEW
MEW stands for “CAT IN A DOGS WORLD,” a leading cat-themed meme on Solana. Built around a narrative of rebellion, care, and heroism, MEW establishes a bold feline identity—breaking the dominance of dog memes in the market and reflecting a desire for fairness and camaraderie within the crypto community.
Launched on Solana on March 25, MEW combines token burning and airdrops to build value, community, and scarcity. In its initial phase, MEW airdropped 10% of its total supply to Solana ecosystem users, sparking immediate attention and discussion within hours of launch.
In April, MEW conducted additional airdrops to holders of BONK, WIF, and Solana Saga 2 smartphones. Later, MEW listed on South Korea’s Upbit exchange, becoming the third meme coin after DOGE and SHIBA available for trading there. On November 18, MEW reached an intraday high of $0.01288, surpassing a $1 billion market cap. As of November 27, MEW’s market cap exceeded $800 million, down 24.36% from its peak.
Notably, MEW partnered with renowned animation studio LOCUS Studios, enhancing brand appeal through high-quality animated content. This collaboration elevated MEW’s storytelling and character design, transforming it from a mere crypto token into a culturally resonant symbol.
Neiro
Often referred to as Dogecoin’s spiritual successor, Neiro shares a unique connection with internet culture and the meme coin movement. Like Doge, Neiro embodies the playful, community-driven spirit that defines the meme coin space.
Launched on the Ethereum network on August 4, 2024, Neiro quickly captured widespread market attention—even drawing notice from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In response to the growing community, Vitalik publicly expressed support and donated over $500,000 to animal welfare charities, marking a historic milestone.
After the original team abandoned the project, Neiro was taken over by the community and is now fully owned and managed by its users, earning recognition as the first true CTO (Community Take Over) meme coin.
Following its listing on Binance, investor interest surged, significantly boosting trading volume. Since launching in September 2024, Neiro’s price skyrocketed over 5,000%, rapidly entering the top 100 cryptocurrencies. The coin also attracted whale participation, with institutional players like GSRMarkets accumulating millions of NEIRO tokens—demonstrating strong confidence in its long-term potential.
On November 12, Neiro reached an all-time high of $0.003093, with a market cap exceeding $1.24 billion. As of November 27, the price stabilized at $0.001698, with a market cap around $700 million—down 43.54% from its peak.
MOODENG
Moo Deng draws inspiration from a baby hippopotamus born in July 2024 at Khao Kheow Zoo in Thailand. Her name means “bouncing pork” in Thai, and her adorable expressions—especially when sprayed with water or held by caretakers—made her an instant online sensation. Her cuteness sparked a wave of fan art and memes, turning her into a full-fledged internet celebrity.
The Moo Deng-themed meme coin launched on Solana’s Pump.fun platform achieved tremendous success, surpassing a $100 million market cap within weeks. In a recent survey, Moo Deng ranked first in meme coin popularity, highlighting its broad appeal among crypto enthusiasts.
On November 15, after Binance announced the listing of MOODENG futures, the token surged over 100%. MOODENG hit its all-time high of $0.6911 on September 28, approaching a $640 million market cap. As of November 27, MOODENG’s market cap held steady at $337 million—down 43.83% from its peak.
GOAT
Goatseus Maximus is an accidental creation of AI-driven creativity, born from an experimental platform called “Truth Terminal,” dedicated to meme propagation and experimentation. Developed by Andy Ayrey and incubated with support from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), this AI generates humorous and philosophical posts on social media, blending the concept of “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time) with Greek mythology and Latin language, adding layers of cultural depth and humor to the meme.
The story took a pivotal turn when a16z founder Marc Andreessen interacted with the AI bot on Twitter. After a series of philosophical conversations, Marc was so inspired that he decided to fund Truth Terminal with 50,000 USD worth of Bitcoin, supporting its mission to gain greater autonomy and evolve the “Goatse Gospel” into a tangible meme token economy.
Through consistent promotion on Twitter, “Goatse Gospel” quickly gained widespread attention. On October 10, an anonymous investor recognized the meme’s viral potential and launched GOAT on Pump.fun. Within days, GOAT’s market cap peaked at $350 million. Subsequently, aggressive marketing via Twitter and Discord, amplified by visible wealth effects on secondary markets like LBank, pushed GOAT’s market cap beyond $1.3 billion. Although as of November 27, GOAT’s market cap had retreated to $830 million—down 38.01% from its peak—its cultural impact remains profound.
GOAT’s rise illustrates the convergence of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and meme culture, revealing the potentially transformative role of AI in the crypto space. This phenomenon has reignited public discourse on the fusion of AI and memes, sparking extensive discussion and interest.
ACT
AI Prophecy (ACT) is an AI-themed meme project built on the Solana blockchain, aiming to creatively integrate the growing influence of AI in decentralized finance with community interaction and cultural trends. The project uses autonomous AI agents to introduce unscripted, AI-driven interactions into dynamic environments, incorporating social network elements. Unlike traditional projects, ACT’s AI agents can learn, adapt, and actively participate within simulated social settings, continuously improving user experience. This enables sustained user engagement, generating unique market dynamics and deep community involvement.
Following GOAT’s popularity, AI memes rapidly became one of the hottest sectors in crypto, with numerous projects rushing in to claim the “second place” spot in the AI meme race. Among them, ACT was once considered a highly promising infrastructure-type meme. However, one of ACT’s developers, AMP, repeatedly deceived the community after receiving funding and dumped all his tokens, causing the price to plummet by 50% overnight—nearly destroying the project.
Yet, thanks to the efforts of community members like Wizard, ACT survived multiple setbacks without losing hope. After several rounds of restructuring and revival, ACT successfully listed on LBank on October 22, offering a lifeline. Then, on November 11, its listing on Binance triggered strong market reactions, driving a sharp price increase and solidifying its position as the second-leading AI meme, marking a comeback and breakthrough moment.
Data from CoinGecko shows ACT reached an all-time high of $0.942 on November 14, surpassing an $800 million market cap. As of November 27, the price had fallen to $0.4429, with a market cap around $410 million—down 50.4% from its peak.
PNUT
Peanut ($PNUT) is a meme coin issued on the Solana chain, created as a tribute to Peanut, a famous pet squirrel from New York City. Peanut gained fame through cute videos shared by owner Mark Longo, winning the hearts of millions with his charming personality. However, in October 2024, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) removed Peanut from Longo’s home due to laws prohibiting private ownership of wild animals and rabies concerns, ultimately euthanizing him.
The story of Peanut’s capture and death quickly became a political flashpoint. Public sorrow over Peanut’s fate spread widely online, especially amplified by figures like Elon Musk, turning the incident into a national political movement and sparking widespread outrage and condemnation.
On October 31, the squirrel-themed meme coin PNUT was officially launched on Solana. It debuted on LBank on November 3 and listed on Binance on November 11, experiencing four consecutive days of explosive growth. On November 14, PNUT’s price surged to an all-time high of $2.484, surpassing a $2.4 billion market cap. As of November 27, the price had dropped to $1.09, with a market cap around $1.1 billion—down 55.71% from its peak.
The combination of external attention and powerful internal narrative fueled FOMO-driven sentiment, inspiring similar “rescue” themes such as $JORGIE (a monkey taken by police) and Free Shayne Coplan (a petition for the founder of Polymarket). However, only PNUT has maintained sustained market热度 so far.
Conclusion
This wave of meme narratives began with BOME’s breakout presale and gradually evolved into AI memes, with constant innovation and evolving stories. Unlike traditional VC coins reliant on fundamental analysis, the core of meme coins lies in emotion-driven storytelling powered by community strength. Memes themselves have become carriers of community value and market sentiment, with repeated tales of sudden wealth continually captivating users. Today’s trending AI memes represent a novel asset issuance method, leveraging AI for automatic distribution—making AI + Meme one of the most practical and innovative experiments in the space.
If previous meme cycles were celebrations for ordinary users and retail investors, this Meme Summer has redefined the industry’s understanding of meme potential, prompting established investment firms to actively participate. In the near future, memes will inevitably become an indispensable part of the entire Web3 ecosystem.
After all, greatness cannot be planned. In crypto history, wasn’t Bitcoin itself just a meme coin at first?
At the same time, we must remain cautious: promoting new meme coins is easily influenced by social media influencers. Since many of these tokens offer no real-world utility or intrinsic value, trading should be approached with caution. While there are success stories, most end in losses, as these tokens often derive value from social engineering. They are also highly susceptible to pump-and-dump schemes, making them extremely volatile.
Always conduct thorough research and practice sound risk management before trading.
Jointly Published By:
MetaEra:
MetaEra is a leading Hong Kong-based crypto media organization committed to advancing blockchain technology and the Web3 ecosystem. Through professional news reporting, in-depth analysis, and industry insights, MetaEra provides authoritative information and perspectives for global blockchain enthusiasts and professionals. Its coverage spans blockchain technology, cryptocurrency markets, decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and the metaverse.
As a key bridge connecting the global Web3 community, MetaEra fosters industry exchange and collaboration through events, webinars, expert interviews, and other formats. With high-quality content and multilingual outreach, it has become a recognized professional media platform in the industry.
Bee Network:
Bee Network is an innovative blockchain-based application designed to help more users understand and experience the potential of blockchain technology through simple interactions. Users can participate in the Bee Network ecosystem via mobile devices, earn Bee Tokens, and interact with others to explore diverse blockchain applications.
Bee Network envisions building a secure, transparent, and sustainable digital economy platform. Its ecosystem plans to expand into payments, trading, and other real-world applications, delivering tangible value to participants. While attracting global attention, Bee Network continues to advance technological development and community building to support its long-term goals.
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