TL;DR

Leading meme coins have suffered steep declines in the last 24 hours, aligning with the broader cryptocurrency downturn, as Bitcoin briefly dipped below $95,000.

Tokens linked to public figures, such as MOTHER, DADDY, and TRUMP, have crashed in the past few months, highlighting the risks of hype-driven investments.

Memes Take a Blow

Meme coins, which have been among the highlights during this bull cycle, have underperformed recently. The top 10 tokens in terms of market capitalization, including Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), are deep in the red on a weekly scale. The situation doesnt look more promising today (February 12), with most memes charting further losses.

Some of the worst performers are dogwifhat (WIF), Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), Pepe (PEPE), and Pengu (PENGU), all of whom have plummeted by double digits in the past 24 hours. 

The sectors pullback aligns with the overall bearish sentiment reigning in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dipped below $95,000, while Ethereum (ETH) and many well-known altcoins continue to record substantial losses. 

Another reason could be the fading interest from investors. Earlier this week, crypto analytics platform Santiment estimated that top meme coins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe are being discussed less and less across social media.

According to the entity, though, the traders potential pivot from meme coins toward bitcoin and assets with strong utility and market positions suggest a healthier cycle.

This shift encourages a more balanced ecosystem, reducing the risk of unsustainable price surges and crashes fueled purely by speculative mania, it added.

Celebrity Memes Crash Even Harder

Over the past several months, the crypto community witnessed the launch of numerous meme tokens associated with (or endorsed by) public figures. Two evident examples are MOTHER (linked to pop star Iggy Azalea) and DADDY (related to the controversial media personality Andrew Tate).

The former saw the light of day in May last year, and its market cap soared above $130 million mere weeks later. Currently, though, the capitalization stands at less than $8 million. 

It is important to note that the launch of MOTHER caused some people to raise eyebrows and question its use cases. One of those was Ethereums co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who said:

Im feeling quite unhappy about this cycles celebrity experimentation so far. […] Ashton and Milas Stoner Cats was vastly more honorable than anything weve seen from this 2024 celebrity meme coin era – at least there was an actual show being funded.

DADDY the token shilled by Andrew Tate popped up in June 2024, and similar to MOTHER, its market cap crossed the $100 million zone in a matter of days. At one point, the influencer urged traders to accumulate as many assets as they could in a period of 72 hours, claiming he had prepared a grand plan.

Contrary to his promise, DADDY gradually headed south in the following months, and its current market capitalization is hovering at just $20 million. 

TRUMP and MELANIA should also be placed on the list. The assets, linked to US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, experienced an impressive rally around the Republicans inauguration last month.

TRUMPs market cap briefly skyrocketed above $14.5 billion, thus becoming the second-biggest meme coin, while MELANIAs capitalization exceeded $2 billion. However, their bull run was short-lived, and both tokens are currently far away from their peak levels.

These steep declines emphasize the unpredictable nature of celebrity-backed meme coins. Those about to hop on the bandwagon should be well-prepared for rapid price fluctuations in any direction and distribute only as much as they are ready to lose.