Alternative Crypto Assets Hit 2025 Lows: Meme Coins Lose $5B and NFTs Plummet 43%

Alternative cryptocurrencies experienced one of their most significant downturns this year on Friday, as meme coins and NFTs collectively saw billions in losses, continuing a prolonged decline throughout the digital asset space.

Key Takeaways

Alternative crypto assets, including meme coins and NFTs, have sharply declined, leading to a total market capitalization drop.
The meme coin sector lost nearly $4.6 billion in just 24 hours, bringing its valuation to $39.4 billion.
The global NFT market cap plummeted 43% over the past month, reaching a low of $2.78 billion.
Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum saw significant drops, affecting the overall market sentiment.
Despite the downturn, a few assets noted minor resilience, while platforms like OpenSea are adapting to the changing landscape.

According to data from CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, speculative assets have reached their lowest values of 2025, reflecting major declines in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other leading cryptocurrencies.

Meme Coin Market Experiences Significant Crush

The meme coin market was severely impacted, with its total value dropping to $39.4 billion, down from $44 billion just a day earlier. This loss amounts to nearly $4.6 billion in 24 hours, despite a 40% increase in trading volumes.

Meme Coin Market Experiences Significant Crush

This decline continues a trend that began after the market peaked at $116.7 billion on January 5, marking a staggering 66.2% drop in value.

Major tokens experienced widespread losses, with Dogecoin trading at $0.1426, reflecting a 4.21% decline over the day and a 12.88% decrease over the week. Similarly, Shiba Inu fell to $0.000057987, recording a weekly drop of 14.04%.

Meme Coin Trading Activity

Other tokens like Pepe, Bonk, and Floki saw even steeper weekly declines of over 17%, with Dogwifhat experiencing a dramatic drop of 21.13% in the past week.

Notably, trading activities remained focused on the largest assets, with Dogecoin accounting for nearly $3.95 billion in 24-hour volume, while smaller tokens struggled with minimal activity.

A few assets showcased resilience, notably the Official Trump token, which saw hourly and daily gains but concluded the week down 13.53%. SPX6900 emerged as the only significant meme coin to finish the week in the green, gaining 14.04%.

Broader market fatigue added to the pressure, with the total cryptocurrency market cap falling to $2.99 trillion—a 2.2% decline from the previous day and a sharp drop from $3.77 trillion on November 1, erasing approximately $800 billion in just three weeks.

Broader Market Performance

Bitcoin was trading at $85,023, reflecting a nearly 15% decrease weekly, while Ethereum hovered around $2,785, similarly mirroring Bitcoin's week-long losses amid substantial volatility in large-cap assets.

NFT Market Faces Major Decline

The NFT market mirrored the downturn of meme coins. Data from CoinGecko revealed that total NFT market cap fell to $2.78 billion on Friday, marking a significant 43% drop from $4.9 billion just one month prior.

NFT Market Performance

This represents the lowest valuation for NFTs since April and indicates a staggering 80% drop from their peak near $17 billion in early 2022.

Long-term analyses suggest that the NFT market is currently in a prolonged correction phase. Following a surge in popularity during the 2021 boom, the market has hovered within a constricted range throughout most of 2023 to 2025, experiencing sporadic rallies without lasting momentum.

Trading volume remains low, with only $3.99 million traded globally in the last 24 hours, highlighting reduced liquidity across platforms.

Many leading collections have also posted steep monthly declines. Hyperliquid's Hypurr NFTs fell by 41.1%, Moonbirds dropped by 32.7%, and CryptoPunks sank 27.1%, although CryptoPunks retains its status as the highest-valued collection with a floor price of 29.89 ETH.

Leading NFT Collections

Pudgy Penguins saw a 26.6% decrease while still maintaining yearly gains. Only two collections, Infinex Patrons (up 11.3%) and Autoglyphs (which remained relatively flat), defied the downward trend.

Chain-level activities exhibited similar patterns, with Ethereum dominating NFT trading volume, accounting for 62.4% of the week’s $38.5 million in transactions, with HyperEVM, Base, and Solana trailing behind.

Blockchain Activity Trends

Base recorded the most robust monthly user activity, with 253,000 active traders, significantly outpacing both Ethereum and Solana.

As the market faces these challenges, platforms are evolving. OpenSea, traditionally a leader in the NFT space, has rebranded itself into a multi-chain crypto trading aggregator following a drastic decrease in volumes—down more than 90% from 2021 levels.

In October's first half, OpenSea processed $1.6 billion in crypto trades and $230 million in NFT transactions, marking its strongest month in over three years while diversifying into broader asset trading.

The fluctuating landscape of blockchain and cryptocurrency continues to shape the future of digital assets, with ongoing adjustments required for platforms and investors alike.