decrypt.co
Dogecoin ($DOGE) is pulling the meme coin market higher Friday, jumping 12% in the last 24 hours as traders prepare for Solana meme coin launchpad Pump.fun’s initial coin offering (ICO) for its $PUMP token.
Meme coins on the whole are outperforming the majors like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The category is up 13.9% in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinGecko, compared to gains of 4.9% and 6.6% for BTC and ETH, respectively.
At a current price above $0.20, $DOGE has now spiked 23% over the last week, making it the second-biggest gainer in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, following XRP with a more than 25% jump.
The meme coin category gain is buoyed by even bigger jumps in established Ethereum-based meme coins like Pepe (PEPE) and Mog Coin (MOG), which have jumped 15.8% and 31.6% in the same timeframe.
While Bitcoin has clawed to new all-time highs over the last two days, the meme coin category has jumped more than 21% on the week, signaling a renewed interest in the more volatile and risky assets that users have been creating on launchpads like Pump.fun.
On Saturday, crypto traders will have a new way to bet on the future success of meme coins and token launchpads like Pump.fun as the Solana-based platform hosts an ICO for its official $PUMP token.
With a starting price of $0.004, which values the token at a $4 billion FDV, the platform will allow users from outside the U.S. and UK to buy up to 15% of its $PUMP token supply via six centralized exchanges participating in the ICO.
Crypto traders are already showcasing demand for the token, driving its pre-market price up to more than $0.005 where it's available for trading—like on Hyperliquid, where it has amassed nearly $100 million in perps volume over the last 24 hours.
Will that demand translate to a near-immediate sellout of the 150 billion $PUMP tokens though? That’s what Myriad's prediction market is asking users to decide, with a market which seeks predictions on whether or not the ICO will be completed within the first hour. (Disclaimer: Myriad is a product of Decrypt’s parent company, DASTAN.)
As of Friday morning, predictors think it will, with odds of more than 78% for “yes” it will sell out in the first hour of trading—about an 8% jump in favor in the last 24 hours.
Joining in on the meme coin run, popular Pump.fun-launched tokens like FARTCOIN and PNUT have added to the success of the category as well ahead of the $PUMP launch, jumping 12% and 25.5% respectively in the last 24 hours.