The memecoin market retreats to approximately $35.4 billion, despite several spectacular rallies.
PUMP stands out thanks to token revenues and buybacks made by Pump.fun.
Some new token listings are based on very low liquidity and remain highly fragile.
Large memecoins still do not participate in a broad recovery across the sector.
The market is still dominated by short-term, speculative moves that are highly concentrated in a few networks.
The memecoin market is down nearly 4% over 24 hours
The memecoin market capitalization has just reached about $35.4 billion this September 29, down 3.7% over the day. This correction confirms a trend that was already visible. A previous market analysis had shown a $35.2 billion capitalization and a 4.2% drop over 24 hours.
Thus, the trading volume is set at approximately $4 billion, according to data provided by CoinGecko. The sector therefore is not following a collective rise. Capital moves quickly between a few projects and several networks.
The main fluctuations illustrate this fragmentation:
Baby Cali jumped almost 11,400%, before dropping 17% in an hour;
Shareholder Cat gained approximately 7,300%, then pulled back 37% in an hour;
PUMP advanced by about 12% thanks to Pump.fun activity;
DOG, SPX6900, and NPC lost between 11% and 14% in 24 hours.
The three biggest gains correspond to tokens that are only a few hours or a few days old. Indeed, their valuation remains between under $1 million and $9 million. These moves do not necessarily reflect the situation of the large memecoins.
PUMP benefits from Pump.fun’s revenues and buybacks
PUMP stands out from all the other pumps due to an identifiable catalyst. Pump.fun’s native token had reached a capitalization of nearly $2.4 billion after its run. The platform therefore used part of its revenue to buy back its tokens on the market.
Currently, DefiLlama records $1.71 million in fees in a single day, of which nearly $920,000 are protocol revenues retained by the protocol. Approximately $625,000 have been attributed to token holders through buybacks carried out by PUMP. These figures keep growing and therefore differ from the previous record of $2.11 million.
In about thirty days, Pump.fun has generated more than $46 million in fees and $34 million in revenue. Token buybacks reached nearly $25 million over the same period. This programmed demand provides support that most memecoins do not have.
However, PUMP suffered a pullback during the session. Therefore, its initial advance does not guarantee a lasting evolution. Buybacks can support the price, but they do not neutralize either profit-taking or the overall market slowdown.
Extreme spikes hide a liquidity problem
The truly available liquidity should be compared with the percentages shown by the new tokens. Baby Cali and Shareholder Cat only had between $289,000 and $576,000 in liquidity, despite estimated valuations in the millions of dollars.
A high capitalization does not mean that all token holders would sell their tokens at the last displayed price. When the order book is still shallow, just a few buys are enough to blow up the price. As a result, the following sells can trigger an equally fast correction.
The JACK token provides an even more severe example. In fact, it lost 86% in six hours after recording $12.8 million in volume, while its liquidity did not exceed $54,000. A significant position would therefore have been difficult to liquidate without a strong aggravation of the decline.
During this September, a study published analyzed the 15 million tokens launched on Pump.fun over two years. The researchers identify five manipulation practices, including “wash trading,” coordinated token transfers, token copies, and artificial promotion on social media.
The sector is still waiting for a true broad-based rally
The large memecoins are still not fully participating in the move. PENGU, BONK, and WIF have fallen again between 2% and 6% after booking gains earlier in the week. PENGU, in particular, had jumped close to 38% thanks to attention around Korea Blockchain Week.
Most of the gains are now concentrated in Solana and the Robinhood blockchain. As a result, tokens from the latter accounted for more than one-third of the top 30 performances. This concentration shows that investors are following specific narratives rather than a lasting sector-wide move.
Bitcoin’s return above $85,000 would improve risk appetite. However, a true memecoin recovery could require a broader rally, durable liquidity, and participation from the biggest tokens. For now, the market mainly rewards short-lived catalysts and exposes late buyers to sudden reversals.
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