Meme-based cryptocurrencies, also known as “memecoins,” saw their prices go up due to the launch of a new protocol that supports them. This protocol, called Runes, became active during the recent bitcoin (BTC) halving event.
Runes operates on the Bitcoin network and allows for the creation of fungible tokens like memecoins, stablecoins, and other digital assets. Casey Rodarmor, the creator of popular online NFTs called Ordinals, developed this protocol, which has gained widespread acceptance since its launch over a year ago.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, memecoins are currently the most registered assets on the protocol. This surge in demand for memecoins might be linked to the recent launch of Runes.
According to data from the CoinGecko explorer, BONK was one of the memecoins that saw the most significant increase in price, rising by over 30%. BONK is the sixth-largest memecoin by market capitalization, currently valued at $1.3 billion (USD). Similarly, shiba inu (SHIB) and FLOKI, the second and fifth largest memecoins, experienced a similar increase of around 15%. However, memecoins like PEPE and dogwithat (WIF), which reached new all-time highs a month ago, saw more modest increases.
Meanwhile, dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin by market capitalization, reversed the slight increase it experienced after the bitcoin halving, continuing its underperformance in this market niche. It is currently trading nearly 80% below its 2021 all-time high.
Additionally, some BRC-20 tokens, a bitcoin token standard predating Rune, also saw price increases. Notably, meme cryptocurrencies like bitcoin wizards (WZRD) surged by over 20%, while SATS rose by nearly 15%.
ORDI, the BRC-20 token with the highest market capitalization, saw a slight increase of around 5%. However, not all assets in this category benefitted from the new network development; PUPS, for instance, has been in correction mode since reaching an all-time high price a week ago.
As such, the memecoin market may experience continued high volatility depending on the adoption of Runes and the price movements of bitcoin (BTC), the primary digital currency, which is currently in a period of sideways trading.