Why Is GME Rising?
The GME meme coin is a tribute to the GameStop meme stock saga, and because of a new tweet from Roaring Kitty – one of the main characters in the initial GameStop meme stock surge. The GME meme coin is riding on the wave of renewed interest in GameStop, rising in value by over 30 times.
Key Takeaways
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GME is a meme coin on the Solana network based on the popular GameStop meme stock that uses the same ticker (GME).
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The GME/SOL pair was created on January 28, 2024 in a fair launch.
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GME memecoin skyrocketed to a market cap of over $120 million following a post on X signaling the return of Roaring Kitty – the YouTube content creator famous for his role in the 2021 whirlwind involving the GameStop stock.
Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty on X) led one of the most interesting events on Wall Street in 2021, causing a rally in the market price of GME, the Nasdaq-listed stock of gaming equipment company, GameStop. The short squeeze story and everything that came with it was championed by the ‘cult’ Keith unintentionally created with the intent to go against the traditional finance institution that runs Wall Street. The Reddit group r/wallstreetbets housed the millions of ‘degenerates’ that contributed to this story.
While the GME story might never fade away, the price of the stock had been settling until Roaring Kitty tweeted for the first time since June 19 2021.
— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) May 13, 2024
This led to a rise of interest in GameStop stocks, which in turn led to the spike of interest in the GME meme coin.
What Is GME (GameStop)?
GME is a Solana meme coin created as a tribute to the popular GameStop meme stock event in 2021 based on information from GeckoTerminal. Like any other meme coin, GME was created without any intent of blue-chip utilities.
The theme? To replicate the events of January 2021 – rebelling against the financial titans and creating value solely with the power of the community; also to grow the value of the GME meme coin beyond the market cap of the GameStop stock.
Like most meme coins, GME has a low-entry barrier. Users don’t need to do extensive investment research, and just have to buy into the coin because it has a fun community. GME adopts the slogan ‘we love the coin’ a pluralized form of the phrase used first by Keith Gill and popularized by the ‘degenerates’ who championed the GameStop fiasco.
GME draws its popularity from the original GameStop story and the community members that have shown support for the meme coin across social media channels and other media. The GameStop meme coin community has grown to thousands of followers on social media and on the project’s Telegram community.
GME has seen significant success in the goal of community-building, another important contributor to its popularity is the memecoin boom sustained on the Solana network.
Do note that the GME meme coin has no ties to the actual GameStop stock.
GME’s Rise in Popularity
GME’s value grew over 30 times since May 13, following the presumed return to social media of Keith Gill, the leading figure in the GameStop Stock story. The post on his X account under his popular pseudonym – Roaring Kitty – has been viewed by over 25 million people at the time of writing and sparked a frenzy in the meme coin space and on Wall Street, with the meme stock reaching new heights for the first time since late 2021.
Like its namesake, GME’s price has skyrocketed to new heights since May 13 2024. GME’s market cap rose to over $100 million from levels below $4 million on May 11 2024, with token prices rising from $0.00049 to $0.019 at time of writing.
This event trickled down to other memecoins with a reference to Keith Gill, GameStop, and Wall Street, such as AMC, and a handful of Wolverine-themed tokens. But the GameStop meme coin story had begun even before this event.
History of GME
The GME/SOL pair was created on Raydium on January 28, 2024, as a fair launch on the Raydium DEX on the anniversary of the GameStop story. This follows the release of ‘Dumb Money’; a Netflix movie based on this story about a week earlier. According to the official website:
“This isn't just a cryptocurrency; it's a movement, a display of the digital community and the power of the underdog. Born on the Solana blockchain, known for its lightning-fast transactions and pioneering spirit, the $GME Memecoin embodies the essence of that historic rebellion against financial titans, channeling the raw energy and incredible support that defined the GameStop mania”
The community grew with a horde of crypto influencers joining the movement echoing the slogan ‘We love the coin’. Social media ‘raids’ formed the bulk of the marketing efforts with different pictures decorated with the red headband popularly worn by Keith Gill during his YouTube streams, and ‘the Headband Stays on’ slogan. The headband photos can be generated on the project’s website.
The GME meme coin reached over 15,000 holders within the first week of launch. On March 2, 2024, it crossed the 20,000 holders count for the first time.
Following a long consolidation, the GME meme coin market cap went into a steady decline reaching a market cap of $2.5 million on April 30, 2024, until Keith Gill’s return to social media and the investment space on May 13 2024. Other meme coins based on the GameStop and Keith Gill story include a cat-themed memecoin that references the popular YouTuber.
GME Tokenomics
About 6.9 billion GME tokens are currently in circulation. The total supply is unknown, however, this asset appears to have no extra mint functions. GME tokens are mainly used for trading, with no additional utility at time of writing. GME currently has a 24 hour trading volume of $147,644,110 and a market cap of over $134 million.
Gamestop (GME) trades on centralized and decentralized exchanges with the GME ticker, note that several copies could exist, so always verify the token address before committing any funds. Active trading platforms for GME include centralized exchanges like Coinex, Bitget, and BingX, and decentralized exchanges on the Solana network including Orca and Jupiter. See active trading pairs for GME memecoin.
Final Thoughts
GME draws its popularity and inspiration from the GameStop meme stock story, although it doesn’t have any ties to the GameStop stock. Like other meme coins, GME is built on its community. However, meme coins are prone to high volatility, and potential investors should be aware of the risks associated with trading cryptocurrencies. This article is only intended for informational purposes, and should not be taken as financial or investment advice.
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