Solana’s token minting frenzy loses steam as memecoins get torched

The surge in Solana token launches is dropping momentum as some memecoins face elevated scrutiny over their speculative nature and ties to scams.

Every day token launches on Solana collapsed to 49,779 on Feb. 19, tumbling from an all-time excessive of 95,578 on Jan. 26. This was the bottom depend since New Yr’s Day 2025, according to Solscan information.

Memecoins noticed a resurgence in January after US President Donald Trump launched a pair of tokens, kicking off a wave of memecoin mania driven by political figures.

That cycle seems to have peaked. Argentine President Javier Milei additionally contributed to the downturn when his official X account tweeted a few memecoin referred to as Libra (LIBRA), which he claimed was tied to Argentina’s financial development.

Associated: Argentine President Milei arrives in US amid fallout from LIBRA scandal

The publish has since been deleted, and the token’s creators are going through accusations of insider buying and selling and rug-pulling buyers for $251 million inside hours. Information agency Nansen estimates that 86% of LIBRA traders lost at least $1,000.

Memecoin drama weighs on Pump.enjoyable

Pump.enjoyable, the launchpad accountable for round 60% of Solana’s token launches, is feeling the squeeze. 

The platform recorded simply 35,152 new tokens on Feb. 19, its weakest day since Christmas 2024. Income plunged to $1.69 million, the bottom since early November, in accordance with Dune Analytics.

Associated: Pump.fun’s memecoin freak show may result in criminal charges: Expert

Solana rode the memecoin wave to dominate trade metrics — together with charges, energetic addresses and transactions — however studies counsel inorganic activities and bots often tied to memecoins had been behind a lot of the exercise.

Memecoin fallout hurts altcoins and births new SEC unit

Some trade watchers fear that the memecoin frenzy amongst retail buyers could limit capital and restrict development within the broader altcoin market. As Cointelegraph reported, 24% of the 200 prime crypto tokens traded at their lowest mark in over a year.

In the meantime, trade veterans have publicly spoken out towards the latest surge of memecoin scams and insider buying and selling actions tied to high-profile token launches.

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder, not too long ago expressed his disappointment within the blockchain neighborhood’s criticism of Ethereum’s intolerance of “casinos” in a Mandarin “Ask Me Something” session.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong claimed some memecoins have “gone too far,” to the extent that individuals are insider buying and selling.

On Feb. 20, the US Securities and Alternate Fee introduced the institution of the Cyber and Rising Applied sciences Unit to supervise misconduct and fraud involving blockchain and crypto. The unit will prioritize retail investor safety.

Journal: Solana ‘will be a trillion-dollar asset’: Mert Mumtaz, X Hall of Flame