The meme coin rally that defined the 2024-2025 cycle is well in the rearview mirror. Dogecoin is down more than 87% from its all-time high, and Shiba Inu has lost over 93% of its peak value, according to CoinGecko. In their place, a new category — ‘crime coins’ — is drawing speculators with rapid price surges and extreme insider concentration.
Meme coins lose ground
Dogecoin dropped more than 13% in the last month. Shiba Inu fell almost 15% over the same period. Trading volumes for both have dwindled as investor attention shifted elsewhere. Bitcoin, meanwhile, hit fresh all-time highs — but the old meme coin leaders couldn't follow. The run that started with Solana's BONK in late 2024 now looks like a distant memory.
The rise of crime coins
‘Crime coins’ are cryptocurrencies that skyrocket over a short window, often with very high negative funding rates and more than 80% of the supply held by insiders. Examples include RIVER, PIPPIN, RAVE, and LAB token. They don't pitch themselves as jokes or community projects. They're purely momentum plays — and that momentum can vanish in minutes.
LAB token's spectacular rise and fall
LAB token delivered one of the most dramatic moves. It rose more than 200x in two months, then crashed over 90% in a matter of hours. At its peak, LAB futures trading volume on Binance hit over $1.6 billion in a single day. The collapse wiped out latecomers who bought near the top. It's a textbook example of the crime coin pattern: insider-heavy supply, extreme volatility, and a rapid unwind.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to trade at new all-time highs, leaving the meme coin class behind. Whether crime coins can sustain any momentum — or if they're just the next in a long line of speculative bursts — remains an open question.
