Memecoins are wrapping up 2025 near year-end lows after a sharp reversal from the Christmas 2024 peak. CoinMarketCap data put the sector’s market capitalization at about $35 billion on Dec. 19, the lowest reading this year. It later rebounded to about $36 billion.
That value sits far below last Christmas Day’s level near $100 billion, a period that coincided with peak retail attention. Sector trading volume also cooled, falling about 72% over the year to $3.05 trillion as speculative participation weakened.
Market data points to a broad reset in memecoin liquidity and turnover. Lower capitalization often comes with thinner order books and wider spreads. Consequently, fewer large orders can support rallies when prices move quickly.
Memecoins have often tracked shifts in retail risk appetite. Market reporting tied the 2025 drawdown to retail traders moving away from highly speculative assets. This shift also made it harder for new tokens to pull in fresh capital.
CoinGecko research suggests the market is concentrated around a handful of large tokens. The firm said Dogecoin remained the largest memecoin by market capitalization. It represented 47.3% of the memecoin market share in 2025.
Trading volume trends support the same shift. As turnover dropped, short-term traders reduced rotation through new launches and older meme assets. Additionally, lower turnover reduced fee generation for meme-heavy venues and launchpads.
Year-end trading clustered in the most liquid names. Smaller memecoins saw fewer large prints and shorter runs. Consequently, price discovery happened through abrupt gaps rather than steady moves. This pattern matched the drop in volume.
Politics played a central role in the memecoin surge that peaked around the 2024 election cycle. CoinGecko reported that the total memecoin market cap peaked at about $150.6 billion in December 2024. It linked the rise to election-driven narratives.
During that period, election-themed tokens dominated social media, launchpads, and on-chain activity, according to later market reporting. However, the 2025 cycle exposed supply concentration risks. It also produced faster reversals once early buyers sold into new demand.
High-profile launches tied to political figures also shaped sentiment. Market reporting linked the sector’s cooling to sharp collapses and insider activity around prominent tokens. Consequently, traders moved toward more cautious positioning.
NFTs also weakened in December, reinforcing the view that speculative crypto segments lost momentum together. CoinGecko data showed total NFT market valuation fell to about $2.5 billion in December, the lowest level in 2025. This value represented a 72% decline from a $9.2 billion peak in January.
Sales activity remained soft. Weekly NFT sales stayed below $70 million during the first three weeks of December. Market reporting cited CoinGecko and CryptoSlam data for those figures.
Participation metrics fell at the same time. CryptoSlam data showed unique sellers dropped below 100,000 during December for the first time since April 2021. Meanwhile, unique buyers fell through the month. Total transactions fell to about 800,000 in the third week of December.
Pricing pressure also extended to established collections. CoinGecko data cited 30-day floor price drops of roughly 12% to 28% for several top projects. Those included CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins.
Dogecoin also gained an ETF wrapper in the United States in September, even as broader memecoin liquidity tightened.
Taken together, the numbers indicate a more selective market heading into year-end. Retail traders reduced turnover in memecoins and NFTs, while capital concentrated in larger, more liquid crypto assets.
Consequently, memecoins continued to act as a risk gauge, but they closed 2025 with weaker participation than a year earlier. The December 19 low showed how quickly memecoin liquidity can fade when retail demand suddenly steps back.
Also Read: A Smarter Way to Analyze Dogecoin: Scenarios, Signals, and Market Regimes
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