Meme coins and artificial intelligence, particularly AI agents, have become dominant narratives in 2024. Binance analyzed these market segments and shared its expectations for their future.

Memecoins were a standout trend of 2024 and dominated crypto mindshare. Not far behind was the AI narrative, with AI agents in particular picking up steam over the last few months.

We recently discussed these topics in our Full-Year 2024 & Themes for 2025 Report 🧵 pic.twitter.com/zgh7Ps42AO
— Binance Research (@BinanceResearch) February 4, 2025

Meme Coins

Researchers attributed the hype around meme coins to their “fair launch,” meaning no hidden insider allocations or token unlocks.

Another factor contributing to their popularity is accessibility through Telegram bots and platforms like Pump.fun.

In 2024, sentiment against venture capital firms surged, fueled by the underwhelming performance of many assets.

The issue of “low token supply in circulation and high FDV” created a perception that retail traders were “losing” while early investors were “winning.” This sentiment became the driving force behind the meme coin narrative.

According to Binance, trading meme coins at extreme valuations can be compared to playing a AAA game—it offers users the opportunity for high rewards in a high-risk environment.

Activity in this sector is concentrated on Ethereum and Solana. Ethereum remains the home of established meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE.

Solana has taken the lead due to lower fees and an integrated product ecosystem. The popularity of Phantom, Jupiter, and Pump.fun has also played a role in this shift.

AI Agents

Binance identified two key areas within the AI agent segment:

Digital assistants
Infrastructure providers

AI agents focused on market analytics and entertainment have gained the most traction.

AI Agent Frameworks

Among infrastructure providers, Binance highlighted elizaOS (formerly Ai16z), which offers an SDK for integrating AI agents into Discord, X, Telegram, and other applications.

Analysts noted that elizaOS plans to launch an AI-managed investment DAO in Q1 2025. Its roadmap includes tokenomics upgrades, a launchpad for digital assistants, enhanced capabilities, and funding for public goods.

Another project, Virtuals, focuses on entertainment-driven AI agents. It uses assistant tokens and a native token, Virtuals, while its G.A.M.E. framework emphasizes gaming integrations.

Other notable projects include Zerebro, Griffain, vvaifu.fun, and AIXBT, the latter known for market commentary and strong popularity.

Additionally, the AI agent economy is expanding through SaaS-based models.

Binance noted that teams are now concentrating on building “swarms”—groups of digital assistants that collaborate to solve complex tasks. Companies like OpenAI and Google are actively working in this space.

Earlier, CoinGecko identified meme coins as the top trend among traders in 2024.

Meanwhile, some in the crypto community have expressed doubts about the long-term popularity of AI agents.