Written by: Michael Nadeau
Translated and organized by: BitpushNews
Whether you like it or not, we believe memecoins will have long-term staying power. This article shares a macro perspective on the industry and takes a deep dive into the meme coins we are closely monitoring.
Let’s get started.
Why Focus on Memecoins
Our Methodology
Some people love memecoins, others despise them. We try to step outside this debate and simply observe the market. From our observations, memecoins have taken root. From the perspective of “Product-Market Fit (PMF),” they seem to be the ultimate crypto “game.” People enjoy trading, gambling, social interactions, and the risk-reward dynamics. We also believe participants are very clear about what kind of game they are playing.
After witnessing PEPE’s success within the Ethereum ecosystem, we seized the opportunity at the end of 2023 to explore BONK and Solana. This led us to a deeper investigation into the space, including on-chain data and additional investments such as GIGA, PEPE, and SPX6900. Our goal is to identify unique properties in holder data that indicate a token’s staying power and the conviction of its holders.
Why Choose BONK, PEPE, SPX6900, PENGU, and USELESS?
Liquidity: Each token has ample liquidity and can be traded on mainstream exchanges and retail channels.
Audience Reach: Each token appeals to a global audience (not limited to niche memecoins driven by specific politics or other factors).
Leadership / Embedded Culture: Each token is supported by at least one of the following: 1) highly influential leaders / holder groups; 2) established internet memes / culture; or 3) existing popular brands.
Historical Performance: Each token has experienced multiple sharp rallies followed by significant corrections. This price pattern reflects broad market interest and helps diversify holder structures, laying the foundation for future expansion.
No Unlocks, No Venture Capital: Only transparent on-chain data.
High Beta: Each token exhibits high beta relative to BTC and its L1 ecosystem assets. With proper allocation (targeting 3-5%), selection, and entry points, this can significantly enhance risk-adjusted returns.
Now, let’s delve into on-chain data to see if we can separate the signal from the noise.
Total Number of Token Holders
BONK: 985,900 current holders (at peak holding volume). Launched in December 2022, BONK is the largest memecoin within the Solana ecosystem, deeply integrated into various applications and wallets. Note that BONK has conducted community-driven airdrops, dispersing tokens across many wallets, as reflected in the data below.
PENGU: 534,100 holders (down 14% from peak). Launched in December 2024, representing social interest in the popular brand Pudgy Penguin. Currently, the total market cap of Pudgy Penguin NFTs is about $78.5 million, while its memecoin market cap is $454 million (5.7 times the NFT series, down from a peak of $2.7 billion). We believe the value of the Pudgy Penguin brand—an established mainstream crypto brand—may continue to flow into its memecoin.
PEPE: 505,700 current holders (down 1.51% from peak). Launched in April 2023. We see PEPE as the purest expression of internet meme culture within crypto (especially on Ethereum). It is based on the globally recognized “Pepe the Frog,” which has maintained a strong internet presence since the late 2010s.
SPX6900: 113,000 current holders (down 0.33% from peak). Launched in September 2023, it has fostered a passionate online community led by Murad, centered around the idea of “flipping the stock market.” The brand appears to combine financial satire with a “Bitcoin-like” holder base, with very serious holder attitudes (as shown in the data below). We successfully traded SPX6900 during the last bull run and have been analyzing its community and on-chain data since August 2024.
USELESS: 38,600 current holders (down 5.2% from peak). Launched in May 2025, as a satirical “anti-utility” memecoin. After launching LetsBONK last year (which captured market share from Pump Fun), it attracted a vertical and seemingly loyal community. Its current market cap is $44 million, with daily liquidity exceeding $10 million (at bear market lows). We believe, under suitable market conditions, USELESS could present interesting opportunities.
Holders with Less Than $100
Conclusion:
BONK, PENGU, and PEPE already have very mature holder bases. SPX6900 shows a more committed and loyal holder base (despite smaller scale).
Holders with Over $1,000
Note: The $1,000 wallet category is segmented based on the number of tokens held at the all-time high (ATH) price, equivalent to $1,000.
Conclusion:
SPX6900 stands out here, consistent with its historical performance since we’ve been tracking this data.
To better understand retention among $1,000 holders, we normalize each token’s ATH data to calculate the number of tokens needed at that time to reach $1,000.
We then track how these wallets’ holdings (in units) change over time. This aims to strip out price volatility noise and more accurately gauge holder retention.
Our findings:
Conclusion:
In terms of “$1,000 holder” retention (measured by units to remove price effects), SPX6900 appears to lead among its peers.
Holders with Over $100,000
The $100,000 wallet category is segmented based on the number of tokens held at the ATH.
Retention Rate
Similar to the $1,000 holder data, we segment wallets based on their holdings at ATH.
We then track how the total number of “$100,000 wallets” (by token units) changes over time.
Our findings:
Conclusion:
Again, SPX6900 demonstrates superior retention at the $100,000 level.
Whale Retention
Another way to monitor whale retention is to count all wallets that have ever held over $100,000 worth of tokens, then compare this to the number of wallets still holding at least 50% of their peak holdings (by units).
Our findings:
Momentum and 50-Week Moving Average (WMA)
Relative Strength
When buying memecoins, we look for entry points where the 14-day RSI is in or near oversold territory (around 30).
50-Week Moving Average
SPX6900: trading 64% below its 50 WMA.
BONK: trading 62% below its 50 WMA.
PENGU: trading 58% below its 50 WMA.
PEPE: trading 57% below its 50 WMA.
Drawdown from All-Time High
Given SPX6900’s superior on-chain data, it’s not surprising that it performs relatively stronger than other tokens.
Final Thoughts
Given the industry’s attention, we believe it’s wise for crypto investors to pay attention to memecoins. We find that memecoins are highly valuable as a reference when monitoring broad crypto market risk appetite (risk-on/off) and liquidity conditions.
Moreover, with appropriate position sizing and entry points, the right assets can serve as powerful catalysts for a portfolio.
In the last bull cycle, we successfully captured gains from BONK and SPX6900 with minimal portfolio allocation, achieving over 10x returns. We will continue to seek similar entry opportunities in the future.
