The meme coin market is said to have gained the most attention in this ongoing bull cycle. With Bitcoin recently surpassing the golden $100k mark and even hitting a new all-time high of $103,647 in early December before retracing, tokens in this niche have completely stolen the spotlight, with even new entrants like Luigi Mangione, Daniel Penny, and Hawk Tuah among the sea of tokens making top crypto headlines.
In this article, we take a brief look at each of these trending meme coins, highlighting the key elements that have contributed to their growing popularity while also gauging their potential as a cryptocurrency.
Best New Meme Coins Trending Now
Here are some of the meme coins trending in major crypto news:
Luigi Mangione
Luigi Mangione is one of the meme coins themed around the fatal murder of health insurance executive Brian Thompson in Manhattan, New York. The token was developed on December 9 after the news of the arrest of the alleged murderer – Luigi Mangione – dominated the airspace.
Prior to the arrest, footage showing how Brian Thompson was murdered in cold blood had flooded the internet. In the footage, a suspect was seen walking close to the deceased before eventually shooting him from the back. The suspect, according to the police, is Luigi Mangione.
While there’s no doubt that the broad daylight murder has become the topic of online discussion, there is a twist in the way the social media community now feels about Luigi Mangione. Multiple media reports indicate a surprisingly supportive tilt towards the suspect, especially after his X account was suspended. Amid a strong wave of online commentary about the suspension, Elon Musk waded in and quickly reinstated the account.
Right now, the 26-year-old Ivy League engineering graduate has become the face of many meme coins. However, among the numerous meme coins themed around the Italian American, Luigi is the only one that has significantly capitalized on the increasing media attention and hype around the murder to go viral, appearing on numerous publications including Bitcoin.com.
Moreover, within two days of its launch, the token saw a sharp rise in its market cap, hitting $60 million before experiencing a heavy pullback. At the time of writing, the token’s market cap dropped to $8 million, indicating that the hype around the token has diminished drastically.
Considering the fact that the token only feeds off the interest in the murder case, it has no long-term sustainability and might even be susceptible to rug pulls and extreme market volatility.
Daniel Penny
Daniel Penny, a new Solana meme coin, is yet another token that has been trending over the past couple of days. Inspired by Daniel Penny – a military veteran who was cleared of a manslaughter charge earlier in the week – this low-cap token has been the subject of online conversation since his invitation to the Army-Navy game became public knowledge.
Don’t forget that the Marine expert was charged for criminal negligence in the death of Jordan Neely last year. The case quickly became the talk of the town, especially after a New York City medical examiner revealed that the death was caused by “compression of the neck.”
Neely was said to have suffered from schizophrenia and was high on synthetic marijuana and was starving before Penny placed him in a restraint learned during Marine Corps training. However, after a lengthy trial, the jury found him not guilty of the second-degree manslaughter charge leveled against him.
Penny was invited by the Vice President-elect of the United States J.D. Vance to join Donald Trump and other major political leaders at the football game. His inclusion among Trump’s suite at the memorable event this weekend caused a 3x surge in the market cap of the token, pushing it above $600k before a correction.
While there’s no doubt that $PENNY is among the new tokens trending in crypto news, its frenzy is gradually flaming out. Don’t forget it has no utility and only relies on the hype around the engagement of Daniel Penny with the brand new president of the United States.
Moreover, its extremely low market valuation means the token will be vulnerable to more volatile actions. In fact, just little transactions among its small cohort of traders can trigger heavy price fluctuations for $PENNY.
Hawk Tuah Coin
Launched barely a week ago on Solana, Hawk Tuah has been in the news – though not for the right reasons. It was launched by Haliey Welch – a Tennessee native who became famous after her “hawk tuah” catchphrase response in a YouTube interview earlier this year. After amassing hundreds of thousands of followers, Welch started her own podcast – Talk Tuah before finally deciding to launch a token.
In less than hours of its launch, the token hit a $490 million market cap before suddenly retracing more than 90% of its value. Hawk Tuah’s heavy downtrend after an impressive debut has raised suspicion about the project being a rug pull.
As a matter of fact, in recent days, several crypto commentators including Stephen Findeison have been calling out Welch, accusing her of defrauding her social media followers through a “pump and dump” scheme.
In a rapidly growing crypto world, the term “pump and dump” is synonymous to rug pull, indicating a situation whereby developers hype a crypto project before launch and then sell for profits. However, in this case, Welch is insisting that no member of the team sold the tokens they owned.
The ensuing controversy from the fall of this project has made top news on multiple publications, including CoinDesk. Investors have also filed complaints with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could translate into bigger trouble for the 22 year-old internet celebrity.
Are Luigi Mangione, Daniel Penny & Hawk Tuah Coin Good Investments?
The absence of a fundamental value or use cases in Luigi Mangione, Daniel Penny, and Hawk Tuah Coin means their price performance will only be driven by speculative trading and community hype. As such, they may not be a good investment option for investors scouting for projects with both short and long-term growth potential.
With this in mind, investors are now turning to Wall Street Pepe (WEPE) – a brand-new meme coin that has gained significant buzz due to its novel utility ideas, strong community backing, and impressive staking perks.
Wall Street Pepe is currently one of the best-performing presale ICOs, despite launching barely a few weeks ago. Built on Ethereum, Wall Street Pepe’s major appeal lies in its relatable theme which portrays the iconic Pepe character as a Wall Street trader who has stormed the market to save small traders from the oppressive practices of legacy whales and insiders.
Like other financial sectors, the crypto market has always been dominated by big guys who constantly manipulate the little guys to enhance their own gains. To change this narrative, Wall Street Pepe is building a group of hungry and ambitious investors – “WEPE Army,” who will work together to out-trade the whales and move the market.
At its core, the project brings the ruthless trading style of the Wolf of Wall Street into the crypto space. Don’t forget that Wolf of Wall Street is the nickname of Jordan Belfort – a key personality whose cutting-edge memoirs, masterclass courses, and elite investment seminars have helped build highly-successful traders.
By incorporating the smart trading strategies and insights of the Wolf of Wall Street, Wall Street Pepe wants to level the playing field and create the next generation of wealthy investors. Beyond offering relevant trading signals and alpha calls, the project will grant exclusive access to a private group where members can constantly share trading ideas and opportunities to ensure collective wins.
Those who share their successful trades with other members of the community will be rewarded. There will also be a special trading competition where members will compete against one another for the purpose of earning additional rewards.
The next attractive aspect of Wall Street Pepe is its standard staking perks, discouraging last-minute sell-offs and incentivizing long-term holding.
Most importantly, Wall Street Pepe has been audited by Coinsult, adding a trust factor to the project and raising its visibility among potential investors.
So far, the WEPE presale has been largely successful, garnering over $21 million from investors. Thanks to its social media popularity, revolutionary trading offerings, and community-driven tokenomics, notable experts like ClayBro believe WEPE has 100x potential, making it a viable investment for investors seeking to fully maximize the bull run.
For those interested, one WEPE is available for a discounted rate of $0.0003641 and can be exchanged with USDT and ETH.
For more information, follow WEPE on Twitter or join its Telegram channel.
