A new crypto trend called "MartyrFi" is minting millions from dead or killed animal memes, with tokens like PNUT and FRED hitting market caps up to $2 billion.
Animal-based meme coins have been all the rage for months on end.
Tokens like Moo Deng (MOODENG), Popcat (POPCAT), dogwifhat (WIF) and cat in a dogs world (MEW) have essentially stolen most of the spotlight recently, garnering massive trading volumes and community interest.
But a new trend is beginning to emerge — MartyrFi tokens.
So, what exactly is MartyrFi, we hear you ask.
This is the term used to describe a rapidly ballooning segment of the meme coin market, filled with tokens that pay homage to animals that either died too soon or were outright killed.
The sector has exploded with interest in recent weeks as tokens like PNUT and FRED whipped up a frenzy on social media and made headlines around the world.
Let’s see what’s going on, shall we?
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What Are the Most Popular MartyrFi Tokens?
The memeification of so-called dead animal martyrs first began earlier than you might expect — almost a decade ago, in fact.
Source: CNN
The sector was arguably kickstarted way back in 2016 with the death of a western lowland gorilla known as Harambe — who was killed after a young boy fell into his zoo enclosure.
The decision caused a social media storm, as outraged viewers criticized the lethal attack on the primate. In the days following Harambe’s death, several vigils were held as a way to show respect for the deceased animal.
Despite this, the first MartyrFi tokens didn’t appear until the start of 2024 (or perhaps earlier). According to our research, the first known MartyrFi token was launched in January 2024.
Source: HARAMBE Token Page
Harambe on Solana (HARAMBE) was met with immediate demand, sending its market capitalization soaring to $74 million within 3 months of launch. Since then, the token has suffered extreme volatility (like many meme coins) and has witnessed several 500% growth and 80% dump phases in succession.
The token now sits at a $63 million market cap after a recent wave of interest fueled by the prevailing MartyrFi hype train.
While HARAMBE was among the first cohort of MartyrFi tokens, a new batch has taken the concept and ran with it — drawing a great deal of attention to the emerging meme con subsector.
Some of the most prominent MartyrFi coins now include:
Peanut (PNUT)
Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) is a meme coin launched on the Solana blockchain in early November. It is based on an internet celebrity squirrel, known as Peanut, who was euthanized by New York state authorities over potential rabies concerns.
Source: PNUT Token Page
Following his death, the squirrel became a symbol of government overreach, and one of the first meme coins based around his legacy was sent soaring to over $2 billion market cap following a social media frenzy.
This frenzy included a series of posts from x.com owner Elon Musk, who repeatedly blasted the government for its actions.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1852743766957838743
The success of PNUT spawned an array of clones, some of which achieved considerable success. This includes the likes of #1 Tiktok Squirrel (PEANUT) and Peanut the Squirrel on Ethereum (PNUT).
Teddy The Blind Dog
Back in May, a police officer shot and killed a 13-pound dog on camera for apparently displaying “rabid” behavior.
The officer later discovered that the dog was acting strangely due to being unable to see, ergo he was blind.
As you might expect, social media users slammed the actions of the officer and called for his dismissal from the Missouri police force, as the “justice for teddy” gained popularity.
Source: TEDDY Token Page
A Teddy The Blind Dog (TEDDY) MartyrFi token was launched on November 13 with immediate success — expanding to over $4.7 million market cap within less than a day of launch at its peak.
The token has now consolidated at a $400k market cap and is trading sideways.
Ozzy the Otter
Like many other MartyrFi coins, Ozzy the Otter rose after the death of an internet-famous otter, known as Ozzy.
On November 14, 2024, Ozzy passed away sparked the creation of a slew of MartyrFi tokens aimed at honoring his life and death.
Several of these gained significant momentum. The current leader is the Ozzy the Otter [R.I.P] (OTTER) token, which achieved a peak market capitalization of almost $1.9 million.
Source: OZZY Token Page
Unlike many other MartyrFi coins, Ozzy was not killed or taken unjustly, but simply died naturally. Despite this, the x.com community ran with the concept, turning it into a meme.
Since then, Ozzy's previous owner and tiktoker Pernie, has been vocal about the project and is now leading its growth.
First Convicted Raccon Fred (FRED)
Last but certainly not least is First Convicted Raccon Fred (FRED) — a MartyrFi meme coin based around a raccoon known as Fred who was killed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Yes, the misspelling in the title is accurate.
Fred lived in the same home as the previously mentioned squirrel, Peanut, and was also put down due to rabies concerns. Like Peanut, it was found that Fred did not, in fact, have rabies and hence was taken unjustly.
The social media community wasn’t a fan of this, and so created a meme coin to commemorate the departed creature.
Source: FRED Token Page
The FRED token reached a peak market cap of almost $320 million on November 14, just two weeks after its launch. It’s now hovering around $186 million after a pullback from its all-time high.
What Is the Appeal?
In case you haven’t noticed, some of the most popular MartyrFi tokens have what can only be described as extraordinary trading volume.
Take PNUT for example. In the last 24 hours alone it racked up more than $3.1 billion in trading volume.
To put that into perspective, that makes it the 10th most traded cryptocurrency (behind Solana).
Besides this, it achieved impressive CEX support within days of its launch — getting listed on Binance, OKX and KuCoin among other prominent exchanges.
https://twitter.com/binance/status/1855851927927738570
But perhaps most impressive is the sheer volume of social media engagements some of these tokens garner.
The appeal behind this sector is as obvious as it is abstract. Meme tokens honoring animals tragically lost resonate emotionally, blending the viral appeal of cute pets with the community-driven ethos of many cryptocurrencies.
They inspire remembrance, collective support and fun while also incentivizing users to grow the community (and their bags).
Whether feigned or genuine outrage, the numbers don’t lie — MartyrFi tokens are hot right now.
How High Can They Go?
As we’ve already established, the MartyrFi market leader — Peanut (PNUT) — achieved a market cap of over $2 billion.
This puts the lower bound on the maximum potential of MartyrFi tokens at $2 billion.
However, if a token is able to generate significantly more momentum than PNUT, it’s possible that this number could be greatly exceeded.
Historically, the most successful meme coin of all time — Dogecoin (DOGE) hit a market capitalization of almost $90 billion at its peak in May 2021. This represents the known maximum bound for a meme coin.
Given that the TOTAL market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies tends to increase each cycle, this suggests that this cycle’s biggest winners might even exceed the performance of DOGE. This puts the projected maximum market capitalization at beyond $90 billion.
Of course, only the most crazily viral, resonant and accessible MartyrFi memes have even the slightest hope of reaching anywhere near this level of success.
That said, one poignant quote comes to mind:
>> Have fun, but stay safe out there, traders. Narratives often come and go, it will take time to see if this one has staying power.
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