Ethereum and Solana are rising, and Crypto X is abuzz with talk about all-time highs just around the corner. But that’s not all that’s happening in the crypto space: Goofy politically-themed meme coins are also soaring.
As the U.S. gears up for a rematch election between president Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, meme coins based off the misspellings of the politicians’ names skyrocketed this week. And it’s all happening on Solana.
Solana, the blockchain once dubbed the “Ethereum killer,” has become an increasingly popular destination for meme coins this cycle. On Wednesday, Solana-based coins with the misspelled names of the candidates — $DANOLD, $TREMP, and $BODEN — were surging.
So far, $BODEN has led the pump, rising more than 1,000 % on Wednesday, March 6th. Though it has since retraced a bit, it currently leads the politically-themed meme coins with a total market cap of $23.3 million, as per data from Dexscreener.
Some hypothesize that the presidential meme coins are a fun way for speculators to bet on who wins the U.S. Presidential election in November. Regardless, the meme coin frenzy around Trump and Biden has inspired other coins based off the misspellings of popular personalities. Two other recent launches include “Wutalik Butterin” (the creator of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin) and “Wandrew Tate” (the controversial media personality Andrew Tate).
Other more established meme coins on the Ethereum blockchain like Dogecoin, PepeCoin, Shiba Inu, and BONK have also experienced big gains this week. Both $PEPE (currently ranked #37 for all crypto by market cap) and Shiba Inu (#11) were up around 150% on the week (CoinGecko).
As Solana and Ethereum continue to rise, buying meme coins can be a way for investors to leverage their bets on the underlying blockchains and take advantage of the FOMO that traditionally arrives during a bull market. Of course, meme coins are also notorious for rug pulls and often pump before dumping, leaving the unfortunate latecomers to hold the bags.
While meme coins are nothing new, the change of theme certainly is. In the past, they have typically been inspired by popular memes, adorable dogs, and funny jokes. Though they usually have little to no utility attached to them, they tend to take off in crypto bull markets, and the lucky degens who add meme coins to their bags at the right time have been known to make millions.
Solana Continues its Ascent as a Top Blockchain
People pumping their hard-earned money into silly pseudo-political meme coins could be a surprise to some, but the fact it’s happening on the Solana blockchain should be expected. Since dumping to under $10 in December 2022 from its all-time highs of $259 per coin, Solana has staged a dramatic comeback to reclaim its position as a leading blockchain.
At Rarity, we’ve written dozens of articles about Solana building during the bear market. Here are some of the most important headlines from the past six months:
- Solana Gaming Project MixMob Acquires Stormtroopers IP
- Generative Art Collection ‘Rubber’ Takes Off on Solana
- Solana Web3 Game ‘Nyan Heroes’ Arrives to Epic Game Store
- Solana NFT Sales Eclipse Ethereum in December
- Solana Phone Loaded with $BONK Token Sells Out
- Solana NFT Project Mad Lads Soars Amid Ecosystem Boom
- VISA Expands Cross-Border Settlement Program to Solana
When Solana crashed to under $10 back in 2022, many thought the blockchain was dead in the water. And though this week’s political meme coin frenzy likely won’t last forever, the recent resurgence of Solana (at the time of writing $SOL is hovering just under $150 per coin) certainly makes it look like the “Ethereum killer” is here to stay.