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Memecoins Are No Longer a Joke, Galaxy Digital Says in New Report
Galaxy’s Will Owens says memecoins have become a lasting part of crypto, reshaping culture, trading and infrastructure while fueling activity on Pump.fun.
Updated Oct 1, 2025, 7:35 p.m. Published Oct 1, 2025, 7:10 p.m.
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What to know:
- Galaxy Digital says memecoins are now a permanent fixture of crypto, with cultural and economic weight.
- The report highlights Pump.fun as a catalyst for explosive memecoin activity.
- Owens argues memecoins are shaping infrastructure by driving liquidity, fees, and experimentation across blockchains.
Memecoins, once dismissed as little more than internet jokes, have cemented themselves as a permanent fixture of the crypto economy, according to new research from Galaxy Digital.
In a report published Wednesday, research analyst Will Owens argues that the sector has matured into a cultural and economic force in its own right. Galaxy estimates digital assets tied to memes now represent a meaningful share of trading activity and investor interest, extending well beyond Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
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A cultural and trading phenomenon
Owens wrote that memecoins “capture attention and capital” by blending humor with financial speculation, making them uniquely effective at onboarding new participants into crypto.
Galaxy’s research cites the growing number of users interacting with memecoins not only as traders but also as community members who build narratives, memes and digital identities around the tokens.
On the trading side, Owens notes that memecoins consistently generate some of the highest liquidity and fee volumes in the industry, rivaling mainstream assets. Their volatility, he added, has turned them into a reliable revenue source for exchanges and liquidity providers.
Pump.fun and infrastructure shifts
One of the most striking developments highlighted in the report is the rise of Pump.fun, a Solana-based platform that lets anyone launch a memecoin in minutes. Galaxy said the service has turbocharged activity in 2025, creating thousands of new tokens and contributing to record-high fee generation on Solana.
While many of these tokens fade quickly, Owens argued the platform illustrates how memecoins are reshaping crypto’s infrastructure. He believes that by driving experimentation in token issuance, liquidity bootstrapping and trading mechanics, memecoins are helping to pressure-test blockchain ecosystems at scale.
Long-term implications
The report cautioned that most memecoins remain speculative and short-lived, but said the broader trend is undeniable: the sector is no longer a passing fad. “Memecoins are here to stay,” Owens wrote, emphasizing their ability to sustain user engagement and influence protocol economics across multiple chains.
Galaxy concludes that memecoins have moved beyond being a market sideshow, evolving into a structural component of crypto culture, trading and infrastructure.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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