GME Crash: GameStop Tribute Meme Coin on Solana Plunges 52%

What’s up must come down again: that’s broadly true for cryptocurrencies but especially for meme coins, which can swing violently in either direction based on social media sentiment and other factors. Latest case in point, the GameStop-inspired GME coin, which is plunging after a rapid rise this week.

Minted on Solana, GME has dropped over 52% on the day according to data from CoinGecko, dropping to a current price under $0.0046. Launched less than a week ago, GME popped to an all-time high price of nearly $0.012 on Thursday but has fallen about 67% since.

The so-called GameStop token is not affiliated with the storied video game retailer. The company has not promoted it at all, and did not respond to a request for comment from Decrypt earlier this week.

However, that’s common for meme coins, which are often created by “degen” traders to capitalize on the name of a public figure, brand, or news event—or, as the term implies, a popular internet meme. Examples of meme tokens include Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and BONK, along with recent coins inspired by Elon Musk and Henry Kissinger.

The GameStop token multiplied in value earlier this week as traders caught wind of the meme coin and started buying up bags of it. Trading volume hasn’t fallen substantially, with about $19.5 million over the past 24 hours—nearly as much as Decrypt reported on Wednesday. But the market cap has plunged with the price, down to nearly $30 million at present.

While not an official GameStop offering, the GME token’s rise and current fall echoes that of the actual GME stock offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

GameStop’s distressed shares skyrocketed in January 2021 amid the so-called meme stock phenomenon, prompting a short squeeze situation as the price jumped by nearly 30x in the span of a month. But GME has gradually declined over the last couple years, with shares falling to a current price of just over $14 at present.

Today, incidentally, marks the day that GameStop plans to close its NFT marketplace. The move was announced in January after the marketplace was launched in 2022, with GameStop citing “continued regulatory uncertainty” as the reason for closing shop.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.