LBank Pulse Focus Interview: Murad Reveals the Future of the 2025 MEME Coin Super Cycle
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LBank Pulse Focus Interview: Murad Reveals the Future of the 2025 MEME Coin Super Cycle
Murad believes that meme coins are more than just speculative instruments—they are the most powerful engine for user adoption in the crypto world.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights
Every era needs its own spiritual leaders, and the meme space is no exception.
If Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed Dogecoin world首富, was the old-school meme evangelist of the last cycle, then Murad is the new-generation super fomo advocate championing cult culture.
From just a handful of meme coin projects in 2017, by 2024 the number has exploded to tens of millions, forming a massive market. At the same time, many meme coins have achieved market capitalizations exceeding billions of dollars, becoming a crucial part of the crypto ecosystem.
Murad Mahmudov, a key observer and analyst of this trend, introduced the concept of the "meme coin supercycle." In his view, meme coins are not merely speculative instruments but the most powerful engine for user adoption in the crypto world. He has deeply analyzed the key factors behind their success and elaborated on how social media and community power drive the growth of these projects.
In this episode of LBank Pulse Focus, we are honored to host Murad, a leading figure in the meme coin space, to share his profound insights into the future of meme coins—especially his outlook on crypto trends beyond 2025.
His perspectives will help us understand how the rise of meme coins accelerates global cryptocurrency adoption and shapes the future direction of the market.
LBank: Could you share your professional journey? From studying at Princeton, working at Goldman Sachs, to becoming a well-known figure in the crypto space—what were those experiences like?
Murad: I'm from Azerbaijan and studied in the U.S., followed by a year of study in Beijing. While in Beijing, I met the fourth employee of OKX, who introduced me to the world of cryptocurrencies. After graduation, I entered traditional finance, working first in Hong Kong on options trading and later in Singapore on commodities trading. Between 2016 and 2017, I began participating in ICOs, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain-related work, realizing that Bitcoin might be the next revolutionary wave. Since then, I’ve fully immersed myself in this field—trading, investing, on-chain analysis, asset management—and now expanding into DeFi. Personally, I’m also actively involved in meme coin projects.
LBank: You have strong views on the current and upcoming “meme coin supercycle” through 2025. Can you elaborate?
Murad: The origin of meme coins traces back to Dogecoin in 2013. In each subsequent cycle, the scale of meme coins has expanded dramatically. There was only Dogecoin in 2017, about 5,000 meme coins in 2021, and by 2024, the number has reached tens of millions. I believe this trend will continue until Bitcoin becomes a global currency.
Beyond crypto, persistent inflation and global monetary supply pressures are major drivers. These forces push people to compete, outperform others, and keep moving forward.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is replacing many jobs, intensifying competition across industries. People are also realizing that traditional communities and institutions in the real world are gradually losing relevance and meaning. All these factors collectively drive individuals toward cryptocurrencies, meme coins, and decentralized communities.
From an industry perspective, between 2015 and 2017, it was still possible to invest early in high-quality projects like ETH and BNB when their market caps were as low as $30 million. Today, some projects launch with $30 billion valuations. The successful crypto projects of the past all had extremely strong core communities. And the foundation of such communities lies in ordinary people being able to participate early at low prices and achieve financial transformation.
My core strategy principle is: 10,000 people holding $1,000 each is far more powerful than one person holding $10 million or 10 million people holding just $1 each. The higher the proportion of such holders in a community, the greater the media attention, passion, and influence generated—this is the true driver behind meme coin success.
LBank: What traits do you think make a meme coin successful?
Murad: The most critical concept is “critical mass”—the point at which a community reaches explosive virality. For example, having 100,000 token holders, a market cap reaching $500 million, and beginning listings on major exchanges. I believe large-cap meme coins tend to rise steadily with relatively lower downside risk, while small-cap meme coins carry much higher risk, with success rates possibly below 1%. Mid-cap meme coins offer the best risk-reward ratio, especially those with strong and continuously growing communities—projects like SPX 6900, GIGA, MOG, POPCAT, APU, and HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu.
LBank: How important is community engagement to a meme coin’s success? Are there specific strategies?
Murad: Community activity is absolutely vital. To assess community health, I analyze both supply-side and demand-side indicators.
On the supply side, I focus on several key metrics: the “diamond hands” ratio (long-term holders), decentralization level, fairness of token distribution, and early performance. I look for a significant number of holders with positions above $1,000—or even $3,000—as they form the most motivated “core force” driving the project forward. On-chain behavior should reflect conviction rather than frequent speculative trading.
On the demand side, price momentum is crucial—rising prices signal active recruitment of new members. Distribution channels, cross-chain bridges, partnerships, and exchange listings also matter significantly.
Finally, social media influence cannot be ignored—especially platforms like X and TikTok. YouTube, Reddit, and Facebook are also gaining importance. A successful meme coin must achieve broad visibility across these platforms and use them to expand its reach. Top-performing meme coins typically invest heavily here and see clear results.
LBank: How do you see crypto trends evolving in 2025 and beyond?
Murad: We need to distinguish between long-term, enduring trends and short-lived fads—particularly meme cultures with lasting power. Memes like Doge, Pepe, or GIGA have existed online for years. Others fade within months. Take TikTok, for instance—the key is determining whether a meme can survive for years or vanish quickly.
Overall, I believe the crazier and more inspiring a meme is, the better. The stronger the inspiration, the more money, time, energy, and labor community members will contribute. I expect 2025’s crypto trends to differ from 2024’s, but opportunities will remain abundant.
LBank: Do you think meme coins will drive mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Murad: The core of crypto assets will center on Bitcoin (BTC) as the primary store of value, with other Layer 1 projects like Ethereum and Solana playing relatively smaller roles. Stablecoins are expected to persist over the next 20–30 years.
Prior to the rise of meme coins, altcoins lacked a clear identity. Meme coins have redefined the landscape by splitting crypto assets into two categories: one comprising tokens with cash flows, gradually evolving into on-chain “stocks”; the other consisting of tokenized assets rooted in crypto culture, community, speculation, and belief.
LBank: Personally, do you believe meme coins can drive global adoption of crypto?
Murad: This cycle, meme coins will be the biggest catalyst for crypto adoption. Many people’s first exposure to crypto comes via Phantom, MetaMask, or exchanges—and meme coins, with their simplicity—no whitepapers, complex tech, or complicated restaking mechanisms—appeal to people across ages and cultures. Their universal meme appeal makes them the perfect gateway into crypto.
Users then gradually discover wallets, DeFi exchanges, cross-chain bridges, stablecoins, and core assets like BTC. As entry points, meme coins draw people into the ecosystem, and further exploration keeps them engaged long-term.
LBank: Looking ahead five years, do you think meme coins will still exist?
Murad: Dogecoin and several other meme coins have already proven they can survive multiple cycles and endure. They keep reaching new highs. I truly believe Dogecoin will hit $1 in this cycle and set another all-time high. Moreover, we’ll likely see meme coins launching ETFs in the future.
LBank: In bear markets, do meme coins need real-world utility to survive, or can they remain purely speculative?
Murad: Utility is beneficial during bear markets but can become a constraint in bull markets. In bull runs, purity allows meme coins to perform better. During bear markets, utility supports the price floor—but may also cap upside potential. Projects like Shiba Inu and Floki have demonstrated this by adding utility during downturns. Future meme coins will integrate DeFi features, evolve into investment DAOs, and even build fashion and lifestyle brands.
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