Only Solana could handle a memecoin supercycle

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Memes are old, but they have entered a new paradigm with crypto and now with the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence. Its scale and popularity is most evident in Solana (SOL), the only layer-1 that can enable and sustain the memecoin supercycle.

ICYMI, cryptocurrency has a golden rule: Never go to the middle of the curve. Solana achieved this. It has succeeded at both ends of the bell curve, with gigabrain technical innovations on the right and ultra-degenerate memes on the left.

Now that Solana-based meme Goatseaus Maximus (GOAT) has produced the first AI crypto millionaire, we can put the ‘who will bring mecoins mainstream’ debate to rest. The winner has emerged. Actually it has been for a while. GOATs and FART COINs are new heights alongside the OG Solana memes, paving new paths forward.

None other than Solana

Reddit user Watermelon_nuts describes paying $600 in gas fees to trade memecoin during Ethereum (ETH)’s last bull cycle. The fee situation was so bad that some users ‘recall the gas fee’, while others highlight the pain of finding a ‘diamond in the rough’.

Solana fixed this. Given their low fees (usually

Then there is speed. Memecoin investors love the 1-second chart. Like Solana, this area is moving so fast. Hundreds of tokens are released every minute on platforms like Pump.Fun, for better or worse. The same amount of time can make or break an investor’s fortune.

Solana’s Proof of History (PoH) consensus, among other scalability-focused features, allows it to handle parallel TXs as opposed to L1s using memory pooling. This is a key enabler for high-frequency memecoin trading. Opportunities do not pass while waiting for approval here.

If Solana has become the L1 choice for memecoins, processing over 65,000 transactions per second, imagine where it will be when the Firedancer upgrade increases its scalability by 10x.

According to VanEck (yes, even institutions are optimistic about Solana memes), SOL could reach a target of $330 and capture at least 50% of ETH’s market cap. Ethereum’s revenues are down 99% since March 2024, mainly thanks to memecoins driving adoption and L1 profitability on Solana.

memetic top

Solana-backed memecoins are up over 30% by Q3 2024. The biggest meme cults on the ETH side, Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE), fell 5%.

This growth cycle has pushed Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) to over $6 billion, a two-year high. DEX activity, which primarily includes memecoins, also increased by 43% to over $11 billion, outpacing Ethereum and other L1s.

Among OGs, BONK, POPCAT, and WIF are great examples of Solana memes gaining unprecedented traction. But most importantly, they took the game beyond speculation.

BONK captured the spirit of the chain and established itself as Solana’s ‘social layer’. POPCAT’s community takeover has proven the cultural impact of memecoins as well as their potential to increase durability. And having a ‘VC Hat’ product is testament to $WIF’s success.

Solana’s memetic ecosystem now moves up a notch, with $GOAT increasing by 12,000% in the first 24 hours. Although a typo called into question the integrity of Token Terminal’s AI narrative (and rightly so), launching the AI ​​x Crypto-Meme meta was a historic development in itself.

Like it or not, both AI and cryptomemes are rapidly spreading mind viruses. Together, they dominate over 66% of the crypto mindset. This is the first time something like this has happened, but it certainly won’t be the last.

AI and memes are a match made in heaven. Both succeed through speed and breadth of distribution. Frankly, Solana is the only platform where this intersection takes shape. Others may follow, but unless it becomes Solana again, nothing can replace the first.

second to first

There is no doubt that Ethereum first achieved major crypto memes. But the holistic—almost exponential—explosion of the memecoin ecosystem occurred about 6-7 years later in Solana.

The biggest reasons for this are interdependence and mutual prosperity. There is also, of course, the inherently fun, bold, and investigative nature of the Solana community.

The Solana blockchain and its memetic ecosystem have grown hand in hand, as mentioned above. For example, in October 2024 alone, Solana’s TVL increased by 13% thanks to memecoin trading. Whereas Ethereum, for example, has stagnated.

Both big-brained groups and degenerate communities embrace Solana’s meme culture. It’s also about being intellectual and saying ‘oh! You are so stupid about this. Instead of spewing FUD and fussing over the banality of left-wing growth, they take what works and run with it to the top.

Solana’s innovation-participation balance is exemplary in this respect. It’s technically sound but a fun space to be in; is the key to mass adoption.

Hopefully other chains will truly understand and embrace the power of memecoins so crypto as a whole can grow. Otherwise, Solana will race alone; already a league ahead.

brainchild

Brainchild, project lead at Memecoin Ponke, is a versatile professional with expertise spanning marketing, sales, networking, product design, accounting, finance, and futures trading. As a systems thinker, he is an expert at balancing both the big picture and complex details. Brainchild leads the legal and accounting teams at Muscle Studios, fostering seamless collaboration between departments. A diverse skill set enables innovative, user-focused solutions to be successfully brought to market, particularly in the dynamic nozzle space.