Summary: Meme coins are both a financial phenomenon and a cultural craze, with tokens designed to capture out imagination and create social momentum that could make over 100x returns for investors.
Yet, there are thousands of meme tokens and there will probably be a few hundred more online by the time you finish reading this article thanks to launchpads like Pump.fun on Solana.
To filter this sea of options, we’ve spotlighted the most notable meme coins of 2024 for their lasting impact, originality, and viral appeal, showcased in the list below.
- Pepe - Best Overall Meme Coin for 2024
- Popcat - Most Popular Cat Meme Coin
- Neiro - Top Dog Meme Coin
- Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) - AI + Meme Narrative
- SPX6900 - Murad's Top Pick Meme Coin for 2024
Best Meme Coins and Tokens
Meme coins are the most profitable sector in crypto but also the most saturated, with hundreds launching every few minutes.
To find the best meme coins, we looked at factors like strong community backing, viral potential, first-mover advantage, and the cultural relevance of the meme theme.
The table below features the top five meme coins of 2024, showcasing the most important info for them:
1. Pepe
Pepe Coin (PEPE), launched on Ethereum, is a deflationary meme coin inspired by the "Pepe the Frog" cartoon character from the 2000s. With a market cap of around $4 billion, it’s regarded as a blue-chip meme coin, ranking third-largest after 18 months of circulation.
Designed purely for entertainment with no intrinsic value, PEPE serves as a tribute to its iconic meme. It recently broke new record by becoming the first meme coin to enter Japan’s market officially, with BITPoint offering spot trading and lending services.
PEPE is listed on top exchanges like Binance and Bybit, where listings often trigger FOMO-driven price increases. Prominent figures like BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes endorse PEPE, frequently using its meme imagery in his highly popular blog articles.
- Theme: Frog coin.
- Top Competitors: BRETT, HOPPY, BOME.
- Meme Dominance: 59.87%.
2. Popcat
Popcat is a cat-themed Solana meme coin, drawing inspiration from the viral 2020 "Oatmeal Cat" meme, which features a cat with a distinct "O-shaped" mouth in two poses. Designed with simplicity in mind, Popcat’s tokenomics avoids complexities like transaction taxes.
In 2024, Popcat made history as the first cat token to surpass a $1 billion market cap and it's on track to hit $2 billion in November if its growth continues. With 9 out of 11 months in green, Popcat has shown remarkable performance, especially for a new meme.
POPCAT can be traded on top Solana DEXs like Orca, where users benefit from low onchain fees and privacy, or platforms like MEXC or Bybit for those looking to step up the gas on leveraged futures trading. Popcat is endorsed by Ansem and other meme coin promoters.
- Theme: Cat coin.
- Top Competitors: Mog Coin (MOG) and cat in a dogs world (MEW).
- Meme Dominance: 33.72%.
3. Neiro
Initially deployed on the Ethereum blockchain in August 2024, Neiro is a dog-themed meme coin that has performed impressively in its first three months, with September alone delivering a 2,134% return to holders.
Inspired by a real-life Shiba Inu named Neiro, who was adopted by Atsuko Sato after Dogecoin’s famous Shiba Inu, Kabosu, passed away. On the website, Neiro is affectionately referred to as the “little sister of DOGE.”
Currently listed on major exchanges, Binance even mistakenly listed two separate Neiro coins on its spot and futures platforms. With strong cultural ties to the Dogecoin legacy, Neiro’s appeal lies in both its narrative and community support.
- Theme: Dog coin.
- Top Competitors: DOGE, Shiba Inu, dogwifhat, BONK, FLOKI.
- Meme Dominance: 15.15%.
4. Goatseus Maximus (GOAT)
Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) is a meme coin born from an AI experiment involving "Truth Terminal," an AI agent bot that began promoting the token on X (Twitter). This AI-driven hype quickly transformed GOAT from an obscure token into a viral sensation.
The narrative behind GOAT is unusual, with Truth Terminal positioning it as a “meme religion,” complete with “meme prophecy” posts that have cultivated a loyal, almost cult-like community. As expected, a new AI memes category was born thanks to the token's success.
GOAT has only been around for a month, but it has already reached a market capitalization of over $850 million (twice) and is one of the fastest to become a top 100 token in history. Currently, it has to pump again to get there.
- Theme: AI meme coin.
- Top Competitors: TURBO, CorgiAI, Fartcoin.
- Meme Dominance: 28.73%.
5. SPX6900
SPX6900 is a lesser-known meme token that has gained a dedicated following on crypto Twitter, largely thanks to relentless promotion from meme coin influencer Murad Mahmudov. As a result, the token had great recent gains of 1,542% in September and 422.1% in October.
This token serves as a tongue-in-cheek critique of traditional financial symbols, specifically the S&P 500, which SPX6900 supporters view as an outdated "corporate meme" devoid of true utility or relevance to younger generations.
Its website, designed to mimic major news outlets, publishes fan-fiction-like articles that humorously present SPX6900 as revolutionary. This playful and rebellious brand has attracted a cult-like community, setting SPX6900 apart in the meme coin ecosystem.
- Theme: Uncommon meme.
- Top Competitors: Notcoin (NOT), Gigachad (GIGA), ConstitutionDAO (PEOPLE).
- Meme Dominance: 6.71% (in all uncategorized meme coins).
What are Meme Coins?
Meme coins, also commonly referred to as "memecoins" and "meme tokens," are crypto’s answer to internet jokes, where people turn viral memes into digital assets. They are typically named after characters, individuals, animals, artwork, or anything funny and culturally relevant.
Memes are a powerful way to capture cultural phenomena like presidential elections, as seen with tokens like MAGA and BODEN, or evergreen themes like Pepe and DOGE. What appeals to traders the most is the potential for astronomical returns on investments that meme coins can offer.
How Many Meme Coins Are There?
There are tens of thousands of meme coins, inspired by everything from Shiba Inus to frogs to anything viral. If a meme exists, there’s probably a coin for it (or soon will be), covering themes from pop culture to internet trends.
Token launchpads make it easy to release meme coins, with popular platforms like Pump.fun on Solana and alternatives like Sun Pump on Tron. Sadly, most of these assets go to zero within a day, but those that stick often last for at least one cycle.
How to Find Meme Coins Early
It's hard to find meme coin early before anyone else but it's doable if you know where to look at, and it's most likely not what you think it is. Top crypto influencers on X like Hsaka, Ansem, and Murad are great for pumping meme coins, but key opinion leaders (KOLs) often share information later.
As an alternative, some traders rely on automation tools like Telegram crypto trading bots to scalp new listings on Pump.fun or Raydium before the media hype starts. But here is the hard truth, profiting from meme coins is often a matter of luck, like playing the lottery, and usually involves multiple attempts (like a lot).
Then again, there are success stories, like those found in a recent Lookonchain analysis showing four traders who each earned over $1 million by trading thousands of meme coins. They "played the game" persistently, investing in numerous tokens before finally landing major wins.
Do Meme Coins Have a Future?
Meme coins have proved they’re here to stay, consistently topping both price performance and attention metrics in 2023-2024, according to reports like the ones from CoinGecko.
Even institutions are paying attention; for example, VanEck has created a meme coin index to track a selection of meme coins, much like a traditional fund (though real trading funds could come soon).
However, while meme coins as a whole may have a future, that’s not guaranteed for individual coins. Most meme coins have short lifespans; in fact, out of thousands launched, only 13 big cap ones have remained profitable after 12 months as per our analysis below.
Bottom Line
Meme coins are one of the hardest crypto categories to name clear winners in, but after thorough analysis, PEPE, POPCAT, NEIRO, GOAT, and SPX6900 stand out as top picks for November, 2024.
While the lineup could shift within weeks, these coins still have room to grow upward and even endure at least through the end of this market cycle, thanks to their loyal communities and endorsements from popular figures.