Memecoins have already experienced several cycles of explosive growth and collapse. Now, the crypto industry is once again anticipating a memecoin renaissance. These predictions are becoming increasingly common and are no longer just trader speculation, but also the well-founded opinions of market authorities with insider knowledge.

MoonPay President Keith Grossman is confident that memecoins are returning to the market in a renewed form. He believes the new cycle will prioritize tokenized community attention over utility. If he is correct, this momentum will determine the future of memecoins for years to come.

MoonPay CEO Statement

MoonPay is one of the strongest infrastructure players in the crypto industry. Since 2019, the company has facilitated the purchase of crypto assets via cards and Apple/Google Pay, partnering with giants like Binance and OpenSea. Valued at approximately $5 billion, MoonPay is one of the most important bridges between traditional finance and the crypto economy. The company lowers barriers to mass onboarding for newcomers. Therefore, when MoonPay’s CEO discusses memecoins as an emerging trend, it is not an intuitive assumption but rather an analysis of real consumer behavior based on on-chain data from millions of users.

Key points: Attention tokenization

Despite falling interest and prices, Grossman declared in December 2025 that memecoins are “not dead.” He predicted that they would return in a transformed form, with the key innovation being the tokenization of attention via blockchain technology. This will democratize access to the attention economy, which was previously monopolized by large platforms, social networks, brands, and influencers. Currently, users generate value through likes, reposts, trends, and communities but do not directly benefit from it. Attention tokenization will enable them to monetize this value. Currently, memecoins account for less than 15% of the daily volume on the Solana DEX. However, this decline is temporary, similar to the social media bubble of the 2000s. According to MoonPay data, a new memecoin rally is brewing in the market in 2026, so this is merely the calm before the storm.

Market Reaction: A Call to Action

Investors took Grossman’s words as insight and a clear signal that a new cycle is approaching: the company has access to data on real capital flows, so the opinions of its officials are trusted. Following the 2024 U.S. election, MoonPay transaction volumes grew by 98% in just four months. The launch of Trump Coin in 2025 is particularly telling; MoonPay provided over $160 million in liquidity outside of banking hours. This confirms that the infrastructure is ready for surges in demand. 

What is a “memecoin renaissance”?

According to Grossman, in the upcoming cycle, this term signifies more than just another pump; it signifies a qualitative transformation of the sector. While memecoins were once purely speculative, they are now transforming into an “attention economy.” Community interest is becoming a real financial resource. Experts predict that the memecoin renaissance will be a new stage in the evolution of Web3, where cultural code and internet identity can be monetized directly.

Cyclicality: Why Do Memecoins Disappear and Return?

The market moves in waves, and the growth cycles of memecoins are always synchronized with overall liquidity. In a bull market, excess capital and risk appetite provide the ideal conditions for memecoins to flourish. In bear markets, however, liquidity drains, the hype dies down, and weak projects are weeded out. Still, it is this sector that is always the first to recover. Due to the low barrier to entry and emotional clarity, retail investors are more likely to return to memecoins than to complex decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

Crypto history is full of examples of phenomenal success:

• Dogecoin, for example, was created in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin and was worth over $90 billion at its peak, proving the power of its community.
• Shiba Inu is a project that grew by millions of percent and managed to build an entire ecosystem around its meme.
• PEPE is a modern-day example from 2023 that soared to a market capitalization of $1.6 billion almost instantly.

These examples show that popular memecoins in the next cycle could emerge from any meme. Many were initially created as valueless coins, but liquidity and the attention of millions transformed them into legitimate market instruments.

Memes play a key role in the crypto economy by transforming units of cultural information into financial assets. User attention creates demand through virality. Prices trigger FOMO, which attracts a new wave of users. This self-sustaining cycle makes memecoins a unique speculative asset phenomenon—they create multi-billion dollar markets out of thin air without offering fundamental value. In the era of AI-driven content and ultra-fast information consumption, this influence will only grow, establishing memes as one of the most powerful levers of the future crypto economy.

Reasons for a possible new meme season

• Retail participants remain the main driver of the industry. Unlike cautious funds, they seek multiple, quick returns. After the 2024 US elections, MoonPay’s statistics showed a twofold increase in activity—the most powerful signal since the 2021 rally. For new users, relatable memes are the perfect entry point into crypto thanks to their low barrier to entry and colossal growth potential.
• The second factor is the unprecedented ease of access. Thanks to companies like MoonPay, buying a token now takes seconds. Users no longer need to navigate complex exchanges; a bank card or Apple Pay is sufficient. MoonPay maintains liquidity even during periods of frantic demand when coins grow by thousands of percent in hours. This developed infrastructure directly incentivizes investing in memecoins in 2026, as it virtually eliminates barriers to entry for millions of new participants.
• Social media remains the primary driver of memecoin growth. They generate attention, the primary resource underlying the value of these assets. Social media’s ever-growing influence on memecoins makes this market hyper-sensitive. Today, a single viral TikTok video or celebrity post can increase a new asset’s valuation by hundreds of millions of dollars in a matter of hours.
• The launch process has also become lightning fast. Platforms like Pump.fun have transformed token creation into a conveyor belt—projects can now be launched in just a couple clicks. This amplifies the hype, enabling new ideas to swiftly find an audience and liquidity.
• In 2026, AI influencers joined the game as well. Algorithms can now generate memes and viral content on an industrial scale and react to market trends faster than humans can.

These factors together explain why memecoins are on the rise again. Technology has made creating and generating hype virtually seamless, ushering in a massive new wave of coins with no fundamental value. MoonPay’s announcements have reinforced analysts’ forecasts for the meme season. They point to a key growth factor: memecoins and retail investors are realigning, paving the way for liquidity to return to the market.

MoonPay’s Role in Mass Adoption

A massive influx of liquidity requires simple tools. This is why the development of fiat gateways is crucial for the mass adoption of cryptocurrency and memecoins. MoonPay acts not just as a service but also as a strategic bridge that removes the main barrier: the technical complexity of entry. The fewer clicks between a user and a purchase, the faster new trends emerge.

MoonPay has transformed the process of purchasing tokens to be indistinguishable from ordering food or clothing. The main revolution is the direct purchase of memecoins with fiat currency. Previously, investors had to complete several steps: fiat → exchange → cryptocurrency → exchange. Today, this process has been streamlined into a single step. Users no longer need to understand order books or liquidity; a bank card is sufficient. MoonPay offers cryptocurrency purchases via Visa and Mastercard, as well as integrations with crypto wallets and NFT platforms. The company provides built-in solutions for apps and Web3 services and infrastructure for legal operation in various jurisdictions. These features increase trust and strengthen MoonPay’s influence on the cryptocurrency market, paving the way for new growth cycles.

Why memecoins often become the first crypto asset

MoonPay statistics confirm that, for most beginners, the path to the crypto economy begins not with Bitcoin but with meme tokens. This is explained by a combination of psychology and accessibility.

1. The million-coin effect: The low price enables you to purchase millions of tokens for a small sum. Psychologically, this creates the illusion of owning a substantial asset and the expectation of substantial profits, which is not possible when purchasing a small amount of an expensive Bitcoin.
2. Intuitive Threshold: Memes are understandable without a white paper. Unlike complex DeFi tools, you don’t need to understand smart contracts; a basic knowledge of internet culture suffices.
3. Social resonance: The constant hype surrounding meme coins on social media creates a sense of presence. Newcomers see that everyone is talking about them and feel encouraged to make their first purchase.

Ultimately, meme coins act as a powerful marketing tool for the entire industry. By serving as an entry point, they encourage users to explore more serious assets, turning memes into a crucial element of mass cryptocurrency adoption.

Opportunities and risks

Investors are turning their attention to memecoins because of their ability to demonstrate explosive growth in a short period of time. Unlike major cryptocurrencies, memecoins have a relatively small market capitalization, making them more sensitive to capital inflows. Even a small amount of new investment can lead to price increases of hundreds or thousands of percent. This is precisely how Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and PEPE rose in past cycles.

Analysts are considering the possibility that memecoins’ future in the crypto market lies in a new model: tokenizing attention and integrating with AI and Web3 platforms. This could create conditions in which new tokens grow faster and more widely than in previous cycles.

While the sector’s renaissance offers enormous opportunities for short-term growth, it’s important to remember that memecoins are speculative assets with extreme volatility.

Statistics show that the vast majority of memecoins disappear within the first year after launch. This highlights the significant risks of investing in memecoins, particularly for inexperienced market participants. Most projects fail, turning into classic pump-and-dump schemes where the price immediately collapses after the hype fades. Memecoins without fundamentals only last as long as they can hold the audience’s attention.

How Investors Should Prepare for Meme Season

One of the biggest mistakes investors make is entering the market at the peak of the hype. FOMO often leads to buying tokens at peak prices. Experienced market participants, on the other hand, analyze early signals that may indicate the beginning of a new cycle. These inсlude:

• increased trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), especially in the Solana and Base ecosystems, 
• an increasing number of new token launches, 
• rapid growth of communities on X and Discord, 
• and increasing media attention to the sector.

Despite positive expectations, investors limit their investments in memecoins. The generally accepted strategy is to allocate no more than 1-5% of a portfolio to them.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which memecoins could be next?

While it’s impossible to accurately predict which memecoins will take off, there are certain patterns that can help you assess a project’s potential. They typically emerge in ecosystems with low fees and high user activity, such as Solana or Base. Analysts are paying particular attention to new categories of tokens:

• AI memecoins;
• tokens associated with famous individuals or brands;
• memcoins with integrated utilities, such as staking or DeFi functions.

Is it worth getting into memecoins early?

Early entry can provide the highest returns, as memecoins show the fastest growth during the initial stages. However, it also comes with the highest risks, so invest only what you can afford to lose.

How do you know when meme season has begun?

Key signs inсlude increased memecoin trading volumes, a greater number of new tokens, and heightened social media activity. Ideally, this occurs alongside rising Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, creating a generally bullish sentiment. 

Is it possible to make money without insider information or hype?

Yes, but it requires discipline and analysis. Despite memecoins’ heavy reliance on the media, successful investors also rely on objective indicators such as liquidity dynamics, tokenomic transparency, developer activity, and community growth.

Conclusion 

MoonPay’s president’s statements confirm that the market is preparing for a new cycle in which memecoins could take center stage once again. The simplification of cryptocurrency purchases through services like MoonPay is accelerating the influx of retail investors, and the development of social platforms and the attention economy is increasing demand for new tokens. It’s important to understand that MoonPay’s CEO isn’t talking about a return to the old model but rather the evolution of the sector. Memecoins are gradually becoming a tool for tokenizing attention, where value is formed at the intersection of technology, culture, and the digital economy.

Thank you for your attention. Invest safely and profitably!

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