Santiment reveals a surge in memecoins discussions, surpassing Bitcoin mentions for the first time in 2025. Dogecoin leads the charge with renewed interest following ETF filing requests, while trading volumes on exchanges like PumpSwap have skyrocketed, indicating a shift towards riskier assets. This speculative behaviour characterises current investor attitudes in the crypto market, favouring lower quality assets in search of higher returns.
In a dramatic shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, there’s a notable surge in discussions surrounding memecoins, overtaking traditional leader Bitcoin. Santiment, a blockchain analytics platform, reports that mentions of these playful tokens have soared to record levels since early 2025, signalling a potential shift toward more speculative investment behaviours among market participants.
The analytics platform noted that for the first time in 2025, talk of memecoins has outpaced that of Bitcoin. This pattern became evident shortly after discussions regarding Bitcoin peaked two weeks prior, correlated with the tariffs introduced under the Trump administration.
Brian Quinlivan, Santiment’s marketing director, highlighted that the overall crypto market has seen an uptick of around 10% over the last week, but Bitcoin lagged behind at a mere 7%. This discrepancy points to a changing mindset, with investors migrating towards riskier memecoins in search of potentially higher returns. Quinlivan remarked that “traders are adopting a gambling mindset rather than a calculated investment approach.”
Particularly noteworthy is Dogecoin, which has rallied back into the spotlight after a period of muted interest in April. Its newfound popularity coincides with various ETF filing requests focused on this memecoin in the U.S. Although the SEC has delayed its decision on these ETFs until mid-June, traders remain optimistic about the prospects.
According to Quinlivan, Dogecoin’s social influence has surged to its highest level in nearly three months, with excitement building over the potential for Nasdaq ETF listings. Moreover, trading activity on the decentralized exchange PumpSwap experienced explosive growth, hitting $11 billion in transactions for April compared to just $1.7 billion in March.
The broader trading volume on Pump.Fun also reached significant heights, totalling $3.3 billion in April, an increase that further emphasises the trading community’s entrenched fascination with memecoins. This apparent trend underscores the cryptocurrency sector’s present state—a phase dominated by speculative investment rather than rational strategy. Investors seem caught in a race to capitalise on opportunities, marking a fragile equilibrium between sound investing and sheer speculation.
