The memecoin market turned out to be a яркое, but short-lived phenomenon: rapid growth was quickly replaced by a deep decline. The cases of the most talked-about tokens clearly show how quickly investor interest gives way to sell-offs.
Back in mid-2025, the total market capitalization of memecoins was approaching $80 billion. However, by April 2026, the figure had more than halved, down to $32.2 billion. Let’s look at what happened to the most high-profile projects.
1. Official Trump (TRUMP)
TRUMP is one of the most high-profile memecoins, launched by Donald Trump in January 2025. Within the first days, the capitalization of Official Trump reached $9 billion, and the asset itself entered the top 20 cryptocurrencies.
The growth of TRUMP was driven by several factors: Trump’s political influence, limited token supply, and the popularity of the Solana network. However, TRUMP failed to stay at the top.
After reaching a peak of $75.3, the price of Official Trump collapsed by more than 96% to $2.84. By April 2026, TRUMP’s capitalization had dropped to $659 million, and the asset fell to 71st place in the cryptocurrency rankings.
Among the reasons for the decline of Official Trump:
lack of real value,
unlocking of large volumes of tokens,
disappointment in political support for the crypto market,
Overall downturn of the cryptocurrency market.
Even amid broader growth in the crypto market in 2025, TRUMP continued to decline, highlighting its speculative nature.
2. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
Unlike most memecoins, PENGU launched with an existing ecosystem. This ensured strong investor interest.
After listing at the end of 2024, Pudgy Penguins grew more than 10x — from $0.0049 to $0.057. The growth of PENGU was supported by project initiatives: an educational platform, gaming products, and a mobile app.
Additional interest was driven by partnerships, including collaboration with Visa, as well as an attempt to launch an ETF* (exchange-traded fund).
* ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) — an investment fund whose shares are traded on an exchange almost like stocks. Simply put, an ETF allows an investor to “buy a basket of assets” with a single instrument: it may include stocks, bonds, or other assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Despite this, after a brief recovery in 2025, the price of Pudgy Penguins declined. By April 2026:
the drop from peak exceeded 87%,
PENGU price fell to $0.0069,
Pudgy Penguins' capitalization amounted to $438 million.
Nevertheless, PENGU remains among the largest memecoins and is still in the top 100 crypto assets.
3. SPX6900 (SPX)
SPX6900 was conceived as a satirical project — a parody of the S&P 500 index*. Despite the lack of fundamental value, the project quickly attracted attention.
* S&P 500 — one of the most well-known stock indices in the US and globally. It reflects the performance of 500 large, publicly traded American companies and is often used as a benchmark for the overall US market.
After a growth wave in 2023, SPX6900 underwent a correction and then rose again, reaching in July 2025:
a price of $2.28,
a capitalization of over $2 billion.
Later, SPX6900 declined by more than 85% to $0.32. However, over the year, the asset fell by about 37%, which appears relatively stable compared to competitors.
By April 2026, SPX6900 ranks 108th in the cryptocurrency market by capitalization.
4. Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT)
PNUT became a viral project inspired by a high-profile story* about a squirrel named Peanut.
* This refers to a real case widely discussed in the US in autumn 2024. Peanut, a squirrel popular on social media, was seized by New York state authorities from its owner and later euthanized. The story quickly went beyond a local incident: in the media and online discussions, it became an example of excessive government intervention, and the squirrel became a viral symbol of public outrage.
Within a week after listing, the price of PNUT increased nearly 50x to $2.47, and its capitalization exceeded $1.7 billion.
But the hype was short-lived:
PNUT dropped by more than 98%,
the price fell to $0.04,
Peanut the Squirrel’s capitalization decreased to $45 million.
The project fell far beyond the top 100, dropping below the 400th place.
5. Broccoli (BROCCOLI)
BROCCOLI gained popularity after Changpeng Zhao* mentioned it on social media. Additional interest was driven by its launch on the Four. meme* platform.
* Changpeng Zhao (CZ) — one of the most well-known figures in the crypto industry, founder and former CEO of Binance. In the crypto community, his name has long become a brand: his public statements and mentions often influence market sentiment.
* Four.meme — a platform on the BNB Chain designed for quick and simple memecoin (joke cryptocurrency) launches. Its idea is to minimize entry barriers: a token can be launched without complex technical preparation, promoting a “fast start” model.
At its peak, BROCCOLI reached a capitalization of $2 billion, but interest quickly faded.
By April 2026:
BROCCOLI price fell by more than 94% to $0.015,
Capitalization dropped to $15 million,
the project fell outside the top 700 cryptocurrencies.
The main reasons were massive sell-offs by early investors and the lack of real asset value.