Co-Founder of Xtrends
Benjamin Notini
Co-Founder of Xtrends
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In 2025, a frenzy of token launches resulted in the failure of 11.6 million tokens — accounting for 86.3% of all token failures recorded since 2021. Much of this collapse was driven by the chaos of Solana’s memecoin boom, where bots and snipers routinely absorbed the majority of the token supply within seconds of launch. Despite generating $1.7 trillion in DEX volume, Solana’s meme coin economy, as promising as it is, leaves many questions unanswered.
The figures demonstrate a broken meme coin ecosystem that runs on predatory chaos, an ecosystem awash with pumps as fast as dumps that leave traders looking at pennies that once were thousands of dollars. Some may argue that trading is a matter of skill, but this isn’t a meritocratic dynamic for the survival of the fittest; it’s an ecosystem that self-destructs through unsustainable growth at the expense of those who seek opportunity in this growth.
Plagued by Bots and Snipers
While the promise of rags-to-riches behind meme coins appeals to many, most of the riches end up in the wallets of snipers which utilise automated scripts to front-run traders, profiting millions, while the token fails after launch. The pattern is perpetuated by examples revealing that more than fifty of the largest investors in the $TRUMP coin profited more than $10 million each, while 200,000 wallets lost money.
What starts as a promise of wealth is then revealed to be a skewed distribution in which few
holders control the majority of the supply, leaving retail audiences with the “hopium” that a
crashing token would see a glimpse of its initial pump. This wild west of an ecosystem has
largely inflated Solana’s 2025 failure rate, with billions in retail capital wiped out, and
legitimate creators apprehensive about token launches.
Communities and Creators Bear the Brunt of Failures
The meme coin market ended 2025 with a 65% decline to $35 billion in market capitalization,
compared with the $100 billion valuation at the end of 2024. The “moon” promised by
creators and sought by communities appears in sight, but is viewed from the Southern
Hemisphere at the bottom of the chart. Trust in creators and launchpads is impeded. A large
question mark looms over the ecosystem’s longevity.
With pumps and dumps already attracting lawsuits, meme coins are drawing regulatory scrutiny that emphasizes enforcement action and prosecution by federal agencies for fraudulent conduct. As the potential of the market is threatened, there needs to be a serious discussion on what a healthier model would look like and how it would empower trends as ownable assets through fair launches and burning mechanisms that maintain longevity.
Fairness in a Fast and Furious Market
Trends fire up and fizzle faster than Gen Z’s TikTok attention span, and with it, countless tokens are launched, leaving retail investors wondering what the “official” trending coin is. Before long, the trend had hit its tokenized peak with bots and insiders bolstering a token, with everyday investors left behind. The industry must look into a trend-first economy with bot-resistant windows and creator rewards that enable fairness in the ecosystem.
One key measure in analyzing the best meme coins to invest in is the project’s tokenomics model to evaluate supply, distribution, and mechanisms that create incremental value. If investors know the “official” token, aren’t threatened by the few’s domination of the supply, chances are not only that they’re more likely to invest, but that their investment is protected from the predatory chaos of the meme coin space. If the industry addresses these points, it can prevent the common 90% crashes as seen with the viral $HAWK meme coin.
Structure Over Hype
The hype surrounding viral movements is fundamental to meme coins, but without the structure that prevents bot-driven chaos, launches remain untenable and unsustainable. It is imperative for the industry to move towards equitable models that reward creators and protect investors from the headline-grabbing rug pulls that audiences have grown desensitized to seeing.
Aversion to this conversation poses a risk of stagnation and growing failure in an increasingly questionable market. With fair launches that take structure into consideration, investors stand to see stability in prices, increased institutional interest, and evolve memecoins beyond speculative volatility, turning predatory chaos into participatory opportunity.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cryptonews.com. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or financial advice.
