The unofficial GameStop memecoin has surpassed $100M in market value
GME, the unofficial Solana memecoin parody of American GameStop retailer, surpassed $100 million in market capitalization due to its eponymous (but unrelated) component.
As of May 14, GME memecoin has returned 2,291% in the past week and is trading at $0.01449 at press time. The move was largely fueled by investor interest in New York Stock Exchange-listed GameStop Corp shares, which have soared 228 percent in the past five trading days.
Additionally, listings of GME memecoin on centralized exchanges such as Bitget and BingX appear to have spurred buying activity.
The sudden and unexpected return of Keith Gill—the trader seemingly widely credited with launching his Reddit-infused GameStop short squeeze in 2021—sparked another short squeeze on GME shares among conservative investors. In the 24 hours since Gill's return to X, GameStop's shares have risen as much as 111% in value.
Average day traders aren't the only ones benefiting from the market's excitement.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, who owns a 12% stake, reportedly has $1 billion in unrealized capital gains.
The memecoin hysteria has gripped much of the crypto industry this year.
On May 13, PEPE, the unofficial Pepe the Frog memecoin planted on Ethereum, gained more than 34% in one day and set a new record of $0.00001119 on Binance.
On March 22, Solana's memecoin Dogwifhat (WIF) price hit a record high of $700,000 following its Vegas Sphere fundraising. Following the conclusion of the campaign, YFF's value increased by 25%, briefly increasing the token to $3 and a total market capitalization of $3 billion.
On April 3rd, a trader engaged in Bitcoin wallet Donotfomou (MOEW) memecoin on the Base blockchain, selling their positions shortly after launch, reportedly turning $13,000 into $2 million in several hours.
The carelessness of investors gambling on memecoins has drawn warnings from experts.
In a statement on April 24th, famous defy sleuth ZackXBT wrote that 12 Solana memecoins raised $26.7 million from a combination of investors and abruptly abandoned the project. According to ZachXBT, the most expensive “abandoned” presale project was a memecoin named “I like this coin” with the token LIKE.
Related: Memecoins rally as Bitcoin recovers to highs.
