The meme coins market cap is currently hovering above $54 billion up by nearly 20% ion the past day. This surge is evident as roughly seven meme coins now rank among the top 100 crypto by market capitalization, marking a significant shift in investor interest towards these once ‘speculative assets.’

A recent market report from QCP Capital has shed light on this phenomenon, disclosing what drives this meme coins surge.

What Is Driving The Meme Coins Surge

According to QCP Capital, the price appreciation in meme coins can be attributed to a “speculative buying frenzy” during the Asia trading session. Particularly, the firm report suggests that the rallying meme coins is driven by retail FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), indicating a significant shift in the dynamics of market participation.

The analysts from QCP Capital also observed an increase in leveraged buying activity, hinting at the “robust” momentum that could potentially pause should Bitcoin surpass its all-time high in dollar terms. The market report read:

Altcoins, especially memecoins, are rallying hard as retail FOMO really kicks in now. Leveraged buyers will likely not relent until we break all-time highs, which could be any time now.

So far, major meme coins such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, PEPE, and BONK have registered. massive gains, with increases of 27%, 57%, 46%, and 68% respectively over the last 24 hours. These gains reflect the growing investor interest in meme coins and underscore the broader trend of retail investment driving the crypto market.

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, in particular, have solidified their positions within the top 15 global crypto market cap rankings, demonstrating the significant traction meme coins have gained among investors.

Retail Participation Fuelling The Crypto Rally

The surge in memecoins is part of a larger trend of increased retail participation in the cryptocurrency market. Analysts from JPMorgan have echoed the observations made by QCP Capital, noting that retail traders have played a crucial role in the cryptocurrency market rally observed throughout February.

The study carried out by the research group at JPMorgan, under the guidance of Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, highlighted the significant role of “small-scale investors,” commonly known as ‘mom-and-pop’ traders, in driving prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to a two-year high last month.

The researchers noted:

We find that the retail impulse into crypto rebounded in February, thus likely responsible for this month’s strong crypto market rally.

Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has reached new heights, trading above $66,000, marking a nearly 30% increase over the past week. This upward trajectory is also evident in the asset’s market cap, which currently exceeds $1.2 trillion.

BTC price is moving sideways on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTC/USDT on TradingView.comFeatured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

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