It’s been a wild week in the crypto market, with Bitcoin grabbing headlines as it soared to a new all-time high of $108,268 before crashing back under $100k. Meanwhile, meme coins have followed suit, with majors like Dogecoin climbing over $0.41 before falling to $0.325 today.

Behind the volatility in these headline-grabbing tokens, meme coins have been on a tear. The most explosive gains have come from newer tokens like $PENGU and Solana meme coins like Bonk, both of which have been working their way up the meme coin charts.

Meanwhile, meme coin ICOs like Flockerz and Solaxy are seeing increasing momentum.

Let’s take a closer look at all the action in the meme coin market as we head into the final stretch of 2024.

Meme Coin Sector Marches Upward, Led by $PENGU and $BONK

The meme coin sector spent much of early December extending its winning streak, adding more than $17 billion to its total market cap between December 1 and December 8. The sector’s valuation has fallen to $96 billion in recent days, mostly driven by Dogecoin’s losses.

But look beyond Dogecoin, and the meme coin market offers a very different picture. In the past 24 hours alone, Pepe is up 11.7%, Shiba Inu is up 8.4%, and Dogwifhat is up 5.3%.

The biggest winners of this upward trend have been tokens like Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) and Bonk, which are up 11.2% and 12.3%, respectively, since yesterday.

Bonk’s gains helped it overtake $WIF to become the top Solana meme coin by market cap—a cat-and-mouse game the two tokens have played for months, and which Bonk looks increasingly likely to win.

Plus, technical analysis indicates there could be more gains for $BONK just around the corner. Using Elliott Wave analysis, @ManofBitcoin on X stated a potential pump to $0.000118 might come when Bonk breaks out of its current trend.

$BONK: The price has formed a wick to the downside but the daily candle closed above the trend line. So wave-4 is still valid. pic.twitter.com/3bz8iZ7EFX

— Man of Bitcoin (@Manofbitcoin) December 20, 2024

The gains in $PENGU are especially noteworthy because they represent continued momentum since the token listed on Binance on December 17. $PENGU is up nearly 500% since the listing and has a market cap of $1.8 billion, making it the 6th-largest meme coin overall within just days of its launch.

Meme coin traders and analysts have taken note of an emerging trend for which $PENGU is just the latest data point: Binance has the power to create winners out of emerging tokens in the meme coin market simply by listing them.

Figuring out which tokens the exchange will list next is now one of the best ways to find profits in the meme coin market.

Some Analysts Eye Emerging Meme Coins $SOLX and $FLOCK for Massive Gains

While it’s impossible to know which coins Binance’s listing teams have their eyes on next, a number of analysts are watching two emerging meme coins that they think could be destined for the exchange.

The first is Solaxy ($SOLX), a new project that plans to build the first Layer-2 scaling solution for Solana. While the $SOLX token is primarily a utility token, it makes a nod to the meme coin market by using a surfing, mustachioed Pepe as its mascot.

The $SOLX token presale is on now and has raised more than $4 million in less than a week, raising expectations that this project could be huge. A couple of analysts are certainly excited about Solaxy because of its potential to benefit from the meme coin supercycle.

The Solana blockchain already struggles from congestion issues, and a surge in meme coin trading could make these problems worse. Solaxy provides a solution for meme coin traders by offering a faster and cheaper Solana-based network for executions.

Another project on crypto some analysts’ radar is Flockerz ($FLOCK), a viral new meme coin that’s pioneering a vote-to-earn mechanism to engage and reward its community.

Under the vote-to-earn scheme, traditional staking rewards are thrown out the window. Instead, proposals for new development, partnerships, and how to use the $FLOCK treasury are voted on by the Flockerz community. Every time investors vote, they receive $FLOCK tokens as a reward.

This approach has the benefit of bringing the community together to build a more vibrant project while ensuring that investors get a real say in the project’s future through their $FLOCK tokens. Analysts like ClayBro are bullish on this approach, declaring Flockerz a ‘top meme coin to buy now.’

$FLOCK is also a hit with investors, who have poured more than $7 million into the Flockerz token presale so far. With that kind of backing, it’s likely that Binance might closely be watching this presale and could put its weight on the scales with a listing after the $FLOCK token launches.

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Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 10 arrested 792 people linked to a massive crypto-romance scam operating out of Lagos.

The suspects, who included 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, and several other foreign nationals, were caught during a surprise raid at an imposing seven-story structure known as Big Leaf in the affluent Victoria Island neighborhood.

Sophisticated Scam Network Unveiled

According to information shared by the agency, the operation followed intelligence reports, which indicated that Big Leaf was a hub for fraudulent activities targeting victims around the globe.

Investigations revealed a highly organized network where foreign operatives collaborated with local accomplices to swindle unwitting individuals through romance and investment hoaxes.

The Nigerian recruits, chosen for their proficiency with computers, were reportedly trained for at least two weeks on how to impersonate foreign women and engage victims in romantic and business conversations.

They then created fake profiles on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram, which they used to lure targets to invest in bogus crypto schemes hosted on a platform called Yooto[.]com. The website required users to pay an activation fee starting from $35, with promises of high returns.

Per investigators, after the Nigerians initiated contact with potential victims and built their confidence, they handed over communication to the foreign operatives who then executed the scams. This division of labor ensured that the local accomplices were kept in the dark about the full extent of the criminal enterprise.

During their inquiries, authorities found at least 500 SIM cards and high-end computers on the premises, which were presumably used to maintain anonymity and target individuals primarily from North America and Europe.

Further, they stated that the Nigerian recruits received cash payments for their part in the con, with no documentation, helping to obscure the identity of the operation’s masterminds, who remain at large.

The agency is working with international partners to uncover the full extent of the scheme and any connections it may have to organized crime networks.

Large-Scale Crypto Fraud Schemes

Crypto scams have been on the rise recently, with a study by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) revealing that Australians had lost nearly $270 million to fake investments.

Elsewhere, South Korean law enforcement apprehended 215 people accused of perpetrating a $232 million crypto rip-off. Among those arrested was a popular YouTuber with more than 600,000 followers who allegedly ran a phony investment consulting firm pushing a purported digital asset product promising 20-fold returns.

Also, in October, Hong Kong police dismantled a huge cross-border fraud operation that used deepfakes to lure men into deceptive crypto investments.

Like in the Nigerian case, the Hong Kong group, consisting of at least 27 individuals, operated from a building in the city’s Hung Hom area. Upon raiding the facility, authorities recovered computers, mobile phones, and about $25,000 in suspected criminal proceeds.

Ethereum has once again failed to reclaim the critical $4K resistance level, leading to a notable decline in price. However, the cryptocurrency has now reached a significant support zone, where a rebound followed by consolidation is anticipated.

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Ethereum’s $4K price region has proven to be a critical resistance zone over the past year, consistently halting bullish advances due to strong selling pressure.

Most recently, the price faced another rejection at this level, triggering a significant sell-off. This decline was further fueled by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks, suggesting the central bank might pause its current policy of lowering key interest rates.

Despite this setback, ETH has found support at the $3K level, a crucial price zone, leading to a rebound above the $3.5K threshold. Currently, the cryptocurrency is consolidating within the $3.5K–$4K range, with expectations of a potential bullish attempt to retest the $4K resistance following this consolidation phase.

The 4-Hour Chart

On the 4-hour chart, Ethereum’s rejection at the $4K resistance triggered a sharp decline, breaking below the ascending wedge pattern—a clear indication of sellers’ dominance. This bearish momentum pushed the price lower, leading to a pullback before resuming its downtrend.

At present, Ethereum is trading within a significant support zone, defined by the 0.5 ($3.2K)–0.618 ($3K) Fibonacci retracement levels.

This is expected to provide stability in the short to mid-term, with the likelihood of continued consolidation and minor retracements. If this support holds, buyers may re-enter the market, setting the stage for another attempt to challenge the $4K resistance.

By Shayan

Ethereum’s failure to reclaim the $4K threshold triggered significant liquidations in the futures market, followed by a flash crash that appears to have substantially cooled the broader sentiment.

The chart illustrates the funding rates metric, a reliable indicator of futures market sentiment. While Ethereum’s aggregate funding rates saw a sharp spike last week, the rejection at $4K led to substantial liquidations, bringing funding rates back to levels conducive to a bullish trend.

This cooling effect could pave the way for a more sustainable rally in the coming weeks. A similar pattern was observed in January 2024 when a sharp decline in funding rates calmed the futures market, setting the stage for Ethereum’s next major impulsive rally. This historical precedent suggests that the current market reset could mark the beginning of another bullish phase.