PolitiFi and Animal-Themed Memecoins Surge as NFT Sales Drop 44% in Q2

In the second quarter, memecoins surged while the broader crypto market, including NFTs, struggled. Despite the market downturn, several PolitiFi and animal-themed memecoins continued to thrive. A notable decline in NFT sales contributed to this trend, according to Apollo Crypto’s investment chief.

NFT sales experienced a dramatic drop, falling from $4.14 billion in Q1 to $2.32 billion in Q2. This 44% decline was partly due to a flood of celebrity, political, and animal-themed memecoins. Data from CryptoSlam highlights the severity of this drop, reflecting a broader market downturn.

While NFTs struggled, memecoins maintained massive trading volumes. CoinGecko data reveals that memecoins saw $3.6 billion in trading volume in the last 24 hours alone. This surge can be attributed to the rising popularity of PolitiFi memecoins linked to the United States presidential election. Additionally, new celebrity tokens emerged on Ethereum and Solana, further boosting the market.

Among the top-performing memecoins were MAGA (TRUMP) and Pepe (PEPE). These coins saw significant price increases in Q2. However, the overall network activity on platforms like Ordinals and Runes showed a decline. Both Ordinals inscriptions and Runes contributed less than 2 Bitcoin (BTC) per day in miner fees over the last week.

Despite the downturn, the NFT market showed signs of hope. NFTs made a minor comeback in the last quarter of 2023, achieving over $3 billion in sales. This resurgence could hint at a potential recovery in the latter half of 2024. December 2023 was particularly notable, with NFT sales reaching $1.77 billion, the largest since June 2022.

Top NFT collectibles like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Clubs continue to maintain substantial market caps. CryptoPunks boast a market cap of $994.9 million, while Bored Ape Yacht Clubs stand at $345.9 million, according to CoinGecko. In contrast, the two largest Ordinals projects, NodeMonkes, and Bitcoin Puppets, have market caps of $121.1 million and $94.2 million, respectively.