Meme Coin Market Crash: $28 Billion Vanishes as Prices Plunge 40% to July Lows

Market Overview - The meme coin sector has experienced a significant decline, with nearly $28 billion lost in less than 48 hours due to a broader crypto market crash, reducing the total market capitalization from $72 billion to $44 billion, a drop of almost 40% [1][2] - A modest recovery occurred, bringing the market cap back to $53 billion, but it remains below the recent peak of $77 billion, currently standing at around $57 billion [2] Performance of Major Tokens - Meme coins, particularly driven by retail speculation, were severely impacted, with Dogecoin falling nearly 20% to around $0.19, Shiba Inu dropping 13%, and Pepe losing over 21% [3] - Other significant tokens like BONK and FLOKI also experienced declines of over 20% during the same period [3] Market Composition - The top 10 meme tokens now represent approximately $47 billion, accounting for about 82% of the total market cap, with all currently trading in the red [4] - Politically themed tokens, including the meme coin linked to U.S. President Donald Trump, also saw a 20% drop over the week [4] Trading Activity and Trends - BNB Chain has recently surpassed $38.7 billion in value with a daily trading volume of $335 million, driven by new meme projects [5] - During late September to early October, BNB meme coins gained significant attention, with some tokens surging by tens of thousands of percent before collapsing [5] - Over 100,000 traders participated in the BNB meme coin frenzy, with nearly 70% reporting profits at its peak [5] Market Risks - Most tokens have collapsed by as much as 95%, resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions in value after warnings from industry leaders regarding the lack of endorsement for these tokens [6]