Meme Coins Thrive as Bitcoin Search Volumes Drop to Yearly Lows

Despite concerns from people like Mark Cuban, platforms like Pump.Fun fueled the impressive meme coin growth. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor tried to reignite interest in Bitcoin by pitching a collection to Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ripple’s CTO recently criticized Craig Wright’s claims about Bitcoin’s original vision. Despite the dip in Bitcoin’s search interest, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw strong inflows on Friday, while Ethereum ETFs still struggled with outflows.

Bitcoin Search Interest Declines

Google search volumes for the term “Bitcoin” reached their lowest point in a year during the week of Oct. 12 of 2024. On a scale of 100, worldwide interest in the search term dropped to just 33 by the end of the week.

In contrast, the search volume for “meme coins” was much higher at 77 out of 100, although it did not surpass the previous all-time high of 100 that was set in October of 2023. Despite this, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju is still optimistic, and predicts that meme coin search volume will reclaim its peak by the end of October 2024.

Meme coins outperformed other sectors in the crypto space throughout 2024, and are not showing any signs of slowing down. According to Step Finance, 491,000 new tokens have been created on the Solana network since Sept. 12, 2024. On Oct. 9, Solana Floor reported that almost 20,000 new tokens were minted on the Solana network in just 24 hours, with the majority being meme coins. Solana’s meme coins collectively reached a market cap of over $10 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of close to  $2.3 billion as of Oct. 12.

Platforms like Pump.Fun played a big role in fueling the meme coin boom on Solana as it offers users a streamlined interface, low transaction fees, and quick access to liquidity through decentralized exchanges like Raydium. This accessibility made it possible for almost anyone to create new tokens on the platform. 

Earlier in the year, Justin Sun launched the SunPump platform on the Tron network, which operates very similarly to Pump.Fun. Since its debut in August, SunPump already saw the creation of about 90,000 new meme coins.

Despite the ongoing enthusiasm for meme coins, many investors and industry leaders are still very critical of these assets. Investor Mark Cuban even voiced his own concerns, and stated that “every meme coin is a rug pull in the works.” He also warned against trading these speculative assets because of the serious risks involved.

Saylor Pushes Bitcoin to Ronaldo

Michael Saylor may have tried to boost the online interest in Bitcoin after he pitched a “Bitcoin collection” to Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo over the past weekend. This pitch was made after Ronaldo’s social media post showcasing luxurious timepieces he designed in partnership with American jeweler Jacob & Co. The collaboration between Ronaldo and Jacob & Co. was first announced in 2022, and features two timepieces, Flight of CR7 and Heart of CR7.

Saylor is well known for his unwavering advocacy of Bitcoin, and often introduces the leading crypto to influential people. Earlier this year, he promoted Bitcoin as a valuable investment humorously by stating that the only thing better than Bitcoin was more Bitcoin.

Ronaldo is no stranger to the crypto world either. In November of 2022, he launched his own non-fungible token (NFT) collection, “CR7,” in partnership with Binance. However, his venture into NFTs was met with legal challenges, including a $1 billion class-action lawsuit related to Binance’s NFT campaign. Despite these setbacks, Ronaldo decided to continue his NFT journey, and even unveiled his fourth collection with Binance in May of 2024.

While Ronaldo entered the NFT space when the market was already in decline, he was still undeterred. This was despite the fact that about 95% of the NFT market was considered worthless by late 2023. Bitcoin has also seen a decrease in excitement, especially with Google search interest recently reaching a yearly low. However, Saylor is still optimistic, and predicts that Bitcoin’s price could eventually soar to $13 million.

Ripple CTO Rejects Wright’s Bitcoin Vision

David Schwartz, chief technology officer at Ripple, also recently shared his thoughts about Bitcoin. He specifically criticized Craig Wright who called himself the creator of Bitcoin, and labeled his statements on the purpose of the original cryptocurrency as “delusionary nonsense.” 

Wright recently claimed that Bitcoin Core developers have to prove that Bitcoin is identical to the original vision proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto. He argued that developers must show that every change in Bitcoin aligns perfectly with Satoshi’s documented intentions.

Wright even filed a £911 billion lawsuit against Bitcoin Core developers, insisting that the case revolves around sticking to the original writings of Satoshi without any reinterpretation. However, Schwartz dismissed the idea, and stated that no one is obligated to follow Satoshi’s desires for Bitcoin.

Wright declared himself as Satoshi in 2016, and has been in conflict with the Bitcoin community for years. He is also known for engaging in legal actions to claim rights over Bitcoin technology. Earlier this year, a U.K. court ruled that Wright did not create Bitcoin. In another legal case in May, he was even accused of fabricating evidence by a U.K. judge during the COPA trial. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Recover

Despite the recent dip in Bitcoin interest, United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) still saw net inflows of $253.6 million on Oct. 11. This happened after three consecutive trading days of outflows. 

Leading the inflows was the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, which brought in $117.1 million, while the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF saw $97.6 million flowing into the fund. The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF recorded its largest inflow in 11 days with $38.8 million, and the Invesco Galaxy and VanEck Bitcoin ETFs also saw positive inflows. 

Bitcoin ETF flow (Source: Farside Investors)

However, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), along with Bitcoin ETFs from Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie, and WisdomTree, reported no net inflows. This was the third-largest combined inflow day for spot Bitcoin ETFs without BlackRock’s IBIT contributing.

Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust experienced an outflow of $22.1 million. The recent inflows more than compensated for the $140 million in outflows from Bitcoin ETFs between Oct. 8 and 10, and coincided with a jump in Bitcoin’s price on Oct. 11.

On the other hand, US-based spot Ether ETFs continue to struggle. Seven of the nine Ethereum ETFs recorded no net inflows on Oct. 11. This was the third time this happened in the last five trading days. 

Combined, spot Ether ETFs saw a small net outflow of $0.1 million on Oct. 11. The Fidelity Ethereum Fund was the only one that reported inflows. The Grayscale Ethereum Trust recorded an outflow of $8.7 million. The 21Shares, VanEck, and Invesco-issued Ethereum ETFs have now seen at least eight consecutive days of no inflows.

Ethereum ETF flows (Source: Farside Investors)

Low demand for Ether ETFs, compared to Bitcoin ETFs, may be due to the timing of their launch. Bitstamp CEO for the Americas, Bobby Zagotta, suggests that uncertainty surrounding the US election, regulatory concerns, and broader sociopolitical factors are causing investors to take more of a “wait-and-see” approach.