Crypto: Memecoin market collapses to lowest level of the year

The crypto market is going through an unstable period, marked by a brutal decline in the most speculative assets. In 24 hours, memecoins lost more than $5 billion, bringing their capitalization to an annual low. NFTs are following the same trajectory, reaching their lowest level since April. This tumble is part of a global flight to safety, with investors massively deserting high-risk assets.

A flash collapse of memecoins

While many analysts see these cryptos as a lucrative bubble for platforms, memecoins reached their lowest level of the year this Friday, November 21, with a total capitalization reduced to $39.4 billion.

This figure marks a drop of 66.2% from the peak of $116.7 billion recorded on January 5. In just 24 hours, over $5 billion wiped from the marketdespite a notable 40% increase in trading volume.

This dynamic is part of a context of general correction. Thus, the overall capitalization of the crypto market went from 3,770 billion dollars at the beginning of November to 2,960 billion as of November 21, a loss of 800 billion dollars in three weeks.

The top ten memecoins were all impacted, without exception, posting losses in the short and medium term. Currently, none manages to remain in the green, with all indicators trending downward. Here is the key elements :

• Dogecoin (DOGE) falls 14.10% over seven days;
• Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Bonk (BONK) and Floki (FLOKI) suffer losses of up to 20%;
• The TRUMP memecoin, linked to Donald Trump, recorded the smallest drop in the top 10, with –11.65%;
• SPX6900 lost 14.26% over the same period.

This generalized decline is, however, accompanied by increasing activity, with an explosion in trading volumes, a possible sign of a massive disengagement of investors.

All of these elements demonstrate a sudden disinterest in speculative assets, in a context of increased volatility in the crypto market. The severity and speed of this correction signal a climate of heightened risk aversion, likely to reshape investors' priorities in the weeks to come.

The end of a cycle of euphoria in terms of NFTs?

Alongside the collapse of memecoins, the NFT market is going through a period of sharp contraction. The capitalization of non-fungible tokens fell to $2.78 billion on November 21, compared to $4.9 billion thirty days earlier.

This is the lowest valuation recorded since last April. This decline of 43% in one month confirms a growing lack of interest among investors in collectible cryptos, whose speculative cycle seems to be stalling.

Most large collections are affected. Hyperliquid’s Hypurr NFTs show a dramatic 41.1% drop over 30 days. Moonbirds falls 32.7%, CryptoPunks 27.1%, while Pudgy Penguins gives up 26.6% of its value.

Two exceptions stand out, however: Infinex Patrons increased by 11.3% over the past month, while Autoglyphs limited the damage with a slight decline of 1.9%. However, these isolated performances are not enough to stop the overall trend.

Unlike memecoins, which are affected by short-term market dynamics, the fall of NFTs seems to be part of a more structural trajectory, marked by a lasting decline in interest in this type of asset.

If the current correction reflects a form of market consolidation, it calls into question the sustainability of certain segments of Web3. The frenzied speculation that carried these assets into 2021–2022 appears to have lost its vigor. Some analysts will see it as a necessary phase of purification, while others a deeper disavowal.