The crypto market is going through an unstable period, marked by a sharp decline in the most speculative assets. In 24 hours, memecoins lost more than 5 billion dollars, bringing their capitalization to an annual floor. NFTs follow the same trajectory, reaching their lowest level since April. This plunge is part of a broader flight-to-safety movement, with investors massively deserting high-risk assets.
While many analysts see these cryptos as a lucrative bubble for platforms, memecoins reached their lowest level of the year this Friday, November 21, with total capitalization brought down to 39.4 billion dollars.
This number marks a drop of 66.2 % from the peak of 116.7 billion dollars recorded on January 5. In just 24 hours, more than 5 billion dollars were wiped out from the market, despite a notable 40 % increase in trading volume.
This dynamic is part of a general correction context. Thus, the overall crypto market capitalization went from 3,770 billion dollars at the beginning of November to 2,960 billion on November 21, a loss of 800 billion dollars in three weeks.
The top ten memecoins have all been impacted, without exception, showing short- and medium-term losses. Currently, none manages to stay in the green, all indicators pointing downwards. Here are the key elements :
This widespread decline is nevertheless accompanied by growing activity, with an explosion in trading volumes, a possible sign of massive investor disengagement.
All these elements testify to a sharp disinterest in speculative assets, in a context of increased crypto market volatility. The severity and speed of this correction signal a strengthened risk aversion climate, likely to reshape investor priorities in the coming weeks.
Alongside the collapse of memecoins, the NFT market is going through a period of sharp contraction. The capitalization of non-fungible tokens dropped to 2.78 billion dollars on November 21, compared to 4.9 billion thirty days earlier.
This is the lowest valuation recorded since last April. This 43 % decline in one month confirms a growing disinterest from investors for collectible cryptos, whose speculative cycle seems to be slowing down.
Most major collections are affected. Hyperliquid’s Hypurr NFTs show a spectacular drop of 41.1 % over 30 days. Moonbirds fall 32.7 %, CryptoPunks 27.1 %, while Pudgy Penguins lose 26.6 % of their value.
Two exceptions stand out however: Infinex Patrons rise 11.3 % over the past month, while Autoglyphs limit the damage with a slight decline of 1.9 %. These isolated performances are nevertheless not enough to reverse the overall trend.
Unlike memecoins, which are affected by short-term market dynamics, the drop in NFTs seems to fit into a more structural trajectory, marked by a lasting decline in interest for this type of asset.
While the current correction reflects a form of market consolidation, it raises questions about the sustainability of certain segments of Web3. The frenzied speculation that propelled these assets in 2021-2022 appears to have lost momentum. Some analysts will see this as a necessary purification phase, while others as a deeper repudiation.
