Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are turning to meme coins over traditional assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance Coin (BNB), according to the latest study conducted by Binance.

The findings, released on December 18 as part of the Binance Global User Survey, sampled over 27,000 customers across Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

Meme Coins Outpace Bitcoin and Ethereum

Binance revealed that 16% of respondents reported holding meme coins, making them the most-owned cryptocurrency among participants. The report stressed that these digital assets are not only widely held but also generate significant excitement among users regarding their future potential in the crypto space.

Bitcoin followed closely, with 14.4% owning the original cryptocurrency, while BNB ranked third with 14.23%, surpassing Ethereum (ETH), which accounted for 10.95% of users’ holdings. Other leading layer-1 tokens collectively represented 10.38% of user wallets.

While the exchange did not disclose the value of holdings, external data from CoinGecko shows the total market cap for meme coins stands at $116.5 billion, with Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest capped among them, trading at $0.365.

On the other hand, Bitcoin’s market cap exceeds $2 trillion and is currently trading at $101,900, following a recent all-time high of $108,000 on December 17.

Crypto Market Expectations and User Trends

The Binance survey also sheds light on participants’ expectations for the crypto industry heading into 2025.  Among the pollees, 19.39% foresee increased regulatory oversight, while 16.1% predict growing involvement from traditional financial institutions and institutional investors. Another 16.51% anticipate broader implementation of blockchain technology in practical applications.

Emerging asset categories are also generating buzz, with artificial intelligence (AI) tokens predicted to dominate the market in the coming year. 23.89% of respondents believe such cryptocurrencies will lead market growth by the end of 2025, while 19.09% anticipate meme coins will continue to dominate. Decentralized finance (DeFi) and layer-1 tokens followed at 12.37% and 12.28%, respectively.

The study also highlights the influx of people into the crypto space, with about 45% of interviewees saying they entered the market in 2024. Of these, 24.52% joined within the past six months, and 20.60% got in within the past year.

Despite this increase in newcomers, 41.86% of those polled have been active for one to five years, indicating a balanced mix of experience levels in the Binance customer base.

Regarding investment allocation, 43.97% of the users reported dedicating less than 10% of their overall wealth to crypto, while 24.33% allocated between 10% and 25%. Furthermore, trading activity remains significant, with 31.09% engaging in daily trades and 22.91% trading weekly.