VanEck subsidiary’s memecoin index soars 137% YTD

The MarketVector Meme Coin Index (MEMECOIN) has experienced a significant surge of over 137% since the beginning of 2024, indicating the continued rise of the top memecoins. In comparison, the S&P 500 index has only seen a 9.3% price increase year-to-date. This demonstrates the outperformance of MarketVector’s memecoin index, which has exceeded the S&P 500 index by more than 15 times this year, according to data from TradingView. The memecoin index has gained over 137% year-to-date and 186% over the past year, currently trading at $76.60 as of 8:52 am UTC.

MarketVector, a subsidiary of the asset management giant VanEck in the United States, launched its memecoin index on October 31, 2021. This index includes the six largest memecoins, with Dogecoin (DOGE) having the highest allocation rate at 30.7%, followed by Shiba Inu (SHIB) at 28.3%, Pepe (PEPE) at 14.5%, Dogwifhat (WIF) at 12.5%, Floki Inu (FLOKI) at 7.14%, and Bonk (BONK) at 6.7%. The inclusion of these memecoins in the index is based on a “high risk, high return strategy,” making it appealing to investors with a speculative nature. Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert and author, states that the volatile nature of memecoins attracts investors seeking quick and significant returns.

Analyzing the individual components of the memecoin fund, Pepe has experienced the highest gain, increasing by 482% year-to-date. Floki follows with a rise of 372%, while Shiba Inu takes the third spot with a 112% increase. Among the top memecoins, Bonk has performed the worst but still surpasses the returns of the S&P 500 by more than six times. Memecoins often deliver exponential returns, even when compared to the top cryptocurrencies. Altcoins, excluding the 10 largest cryptocurrencies, have only seen a 24% increase in market capitalization year-to-date, contrasting with the memecoin index’s 137% growth.

Despite the profitable yearly returns, the six largest memecoins have experienced a sell-off during this week, raising concerns about the potential end of the memecoin season. Dogwifhat has suffered the greatest decline of over 15%, while Pepe has seen a decrease of over 5%, the smallest decline among the top memecoins. It is challenging for traders and technical analysts to predict the price movements of memecoins since they lack underlying utility and are primarily driven by social media hype cycles. Trading volume is often used as an indicator of sentiment surrounding memecoins. reported that weekly memecoin trading volume has been decreasing across all blockchains since early March.