The cryptocurrency market took a hit despite the positive US-China trade talks. Bitcoin slipped to $103,888, while Ethereum dropped 2% to $2,508. Other altcoins like Dogecoin, Solana, and XRP were also down.
However, Moo Deng, the meme coin on the Solana blockchain, has jumped 125% in the last 24 hours. Several factors seem to be fueling this rally. For the unversed, in 2024, Solana memecoins gained popularity and saw huge price jumps. But by 2025, most of them crashed hard, losing more than 90% of their value. Surprisingly, this week, some of these “dead” coins are showing signs of life with impressive gains.
What’s Driving The Price Rally?
On May 11, Binance added MOODENG and GOAT to its Alpha Projects batch, which helps early-stage tokens get more attention. This gave them a boost after interest had slowed after controversies like the LIBRA token incident.
The token shot up over 60%, hitting $0.20, after the announcement. Its market cap also jumped from under $140 million to over $180 million within hours. Over the past week, Moo Deng has skyrocketed by over 600%, reaching its highest price since January.
Its popularity is also growing due to its link with the viral Thai hippo mascot, which has sparked a lot of social media hype, driving the price even higher. It is currently up 97%, trading at $0.2447.
Rising Demand and Future Interest Drive The Surge
Moo Deng rose last week due to the rising institutional demand for SOL and increased retail interest after Bitcoin topped $103,000. This sparked a rally among all the top 10 Solana memecoins, with the overall market cap rising by 33.7% to $12.6 billion.
It also saw a rise in its futures open interest, currently at $274 million, according to data from CoinGlass. Just a month ago, it was only $13.4 million. This increase shows growing trader interest and more speculative activity in the market.
Analysts expect the price to rise between $0.24 and $0.34 soon. Although a red trend line showed the price was dropping before the recent surge, the token may continue its upward movement with targets set at these levels.
