Markets
Meme Coin’s institutional holdings have increased since January, led by Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Pepe
According to cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, institutional allocations to meme coins have increased more than 300% this year, reaching an April peak of nearly $300 million.
The influx indicates how the sector is enjoying newfound favor among professional investors, Bybit said in a report on Wednesday. Popular choices among institutional investors were dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), especially thanks to their ample liquidity on the spot market. Holdings were tracked exclusively on Bybit and do not include those on other exchanges.
The Solana BONK meme token has emerged as the most favored among the new meme coins that have come to prominence this year, attracting over $75 million in institutional bets.
Holdings fell by nearly half, to $125 million, in May as institutions took profits.
Stablecoin holdings fell during the period to $1.4 billion from $1.7 billion, as did exposure to bitcoin (BTC)ether (ETH) and meme coins increased.
As of May 1, DOGE held the largest share of meme coin holdings for both retail and institutional investors. Institutions allocated a larger share of funds to DOGE: 36% compared to 24.5% for retail investors.
“This suggests that while both groups see DOGE as a key asset within the memecoin space, institutions favor it more, perhaps due to its greater liquidity and relative stability,” Bybit said. “Both cohorts also enjoy Ethereum-based memecoins (PEPE) and (SHIB), with retail users holding 20.95% and 14.61%, respectively, compared to 22.23% and 10.39 % of institutions.”
In recent months, ecosystem meme tokens Ethereum and Solana have gained prominence as a way to bet on the growth of a blockchain.