The Surprising Losses in Memecoins and AI Altcoins in 2025

The cryptocurrency market in 2025 faced challenges, with memecoins and AI-themed altcoins being significant topics of discussion. Yet, their performance was lackluster, with both sectors seeing major declines year-to-date (YTD). As the last quarter of the year unfolded with volatility, the market’s approach has shifted towards caution, curbing the enthusiasm for pure speculative investments. Despite a high level of interest, many found it difficult to secure profits in this tough landscape.

What Happened to Memecoin and AI Token Performance?

CoinGecko reported that memecoins faced an average YTD decrease of 31.6%, with more prominent coins experiencing falls between 44.6% and 82.5%. However, Ribbita, within the Virtuals ecosystem, notably resisted this trend.

AI-themed altcoins mirrored this pattern, witnessing declines from 49.8% to 84.3%. However, specific tokens like Alchemist AI and Kite managed to buck this downward trend. This scenario highlights how turning popular narratives into financial returns is increasingly difficult.

Did Other Cryptocurrency Narratives Face Similar Losses?

Indeed, weaknesses spread beyond just memecoins and AI altcoins. DeFi coins, for example, faced an average YTD loss of 34.8%, while DEX coins saw declines similar to AI, at 55.5%. Layer 2 solutions also disappointed with an average loss of 40.6% for the second consecutive year.

Conversely, Real World Assets (RWA) thrived, emerging as the year’s most rewarding narrative with a substantial 185.8% average YTD gain. This success was fueled by the Keeta Network’s massive rally, which surged an astonishing 1,794.9%, alongside Zebec Network and Maple Finance’s contributions. Still, these advances fell short compared to the previous year’s 819.5% rise.

Layer-1 solutions were also successful, marking an average gain of 80.3% YTD. Privacy-centric blockchains like Zcash and Monero saw particularly notable gains, as did Bitcoin Cash, BNB, and Tron. CoinGecko notes that RWA and Layer-1 narratives were unique in sustaining positive returns over two years.

– The “Made in USA” altcoin narrative achieved a 30.6% YTD gain.
– Zcash gains helped counterbalance losses elsewhere.
– Gaming and DePIN narratives saw sharp declines, with losses of 75.2% and 76.7%, respectively.
– Solana‘s ecosystem underperformed with a 64.2% YTD drop.

Significant developments in 2025 highlight the complexity of the cryptocurrency landscape, where despite interest in trending themes, profitability remains challenging. As noted, some narratives held stronger against the downturn, offering crucial insight into the market’s unpredictable nature.