Dogwifhat Zooms to Nearly 50 Cents as Solana Meme Coins Make a Comeback

On-chain metrics suggest a renewed frenzy for meme coins on the Solana blockchain, similar to last year’s frenzy that drove the price of SOL to nearly $121.

Trading volumes and users across several meme coins that sprouted in December have surged in the past week, data shows, while viral favorite dogwifhat [WIF] surged above previous highs amid futures listing and network effects.

WIF rose as much as 50% to 48 cents in the past 24 hours before retreating, as traditional finance firm Franklin Templeton alluded to the tokens’ “wif hat” meme in an X post late Wednesday, buoying sentiment.

In follow-up tweets, the company’s digital assets team said it was “impressed” by the growth of Solana-based applications in Q4, and that it was one of the ecosystems it was watching alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Much of the token’s memetic value is derived from its connection to an image of a dog wearing a hat – and the “wif hat” usage that has caught on and grown among crypto circles.

You are unsure how to feel about Laser Eye Ben? Just think instead of Ben wif hat

— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) January 17, 2024

Other meme tokens, such as usedcar [USEDCAR], popcat [POPCAT], and kpop [KPOP], spiked as much as 50%, although they have relatively lower market capitalizations of under $20 million, data from tracking service Birdeye shows.

Several viral Solana tokens fell as much as 80% from their peak as the meme coin frenzy died off, and early investors took profits on their outsized gains - including some that had made millions of dollars from a low initial investment.

Part of the recent appeal could have also stemmed from Solana Mobile’s announcement of a “Two” phone, which is expected to ship in 2025 and is priced at $450. Speculation among traders is that buyers of the phone could receive airdrops and applications from Solana-based applications, similar to a $650 airdrop to Saga phone owners last year.

The prospect of token airdrops sent the prices of MYRO skywards as the project alluded to giving something special to “Two" phone buyers

The phone is the second from the company, following Saga’s recent success after nearly being deemed a failure. Meanwhile, value locked on Solana applications appears to be steadily gaining in the past week, data shows, after a brief slide in the first week of 2024.