Let’s start with the basics.

Memecoins aka what we usually call shitcoins, move because of LIQUIDITY

And who is that liquidity? Yeah… it’s us. The traders actively playing on-chain.

Memecoin liquidity is heavily tied to the overall crypto market conditions.

As I’m writing this (May 2026), the market isn’t looking great, and there aren’t that many people actively trading on-chain. If you’ve been in crypto for the past 2 years or so, you can definitely feel the difference.

Source: https://tokenterminal.com/explorer/projects/solana/metrics/token-trading-volume?interval=365d

We can see that since the peak of the bull run in early 2025, trading activity on Solana has been declining up until now. That basically means a lot of traders have already left the market since last year and when traders leave, liquidity leaves with them.

So to keep it simple what really moves the market is us, the traders, acting as the liquidity.

And that liquidity? It’s driven by attention and hype.

So at its core, memecoins are driven by attention. Where does that attention come from?

• A wave of positive news around crypto or memecoins
• Big brands or celebrities getting involved in the ecosystem
• Trends that are going viral

All of these combine to create both attention and liquidity.

Now for the million-dollar question: are memecoins dead?

In my opinion, not completely. Right now, they’re just lacking attention and liquidity.