Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) Dominate Discussions as Interest in Memecoins Wanes, Santiment Reports

Crypto could be headed into a healthier market cycle as interest in memecoins wanes and attention shifts back to Bitcoin, Ether and other layer-1 altcoins.

Crypto could be setting itself up for a healthier market cycle as interest in memecoins is waning and attention is shifting back to Bitcoin, Ether and other layer-1 altcoins, according to onchain analytics platform Santiment.

Tracking social sentiment, the platform found that top layer-1 blockchains such as Ether, Solana, Toncoin and Cardano are dominating 44.2% of discussions among specific coins.

In comparison, the top six memecoins are only getting 4% of the discussion on social media, Santiment said in a Feb. 10 post to X.

The shift in focus away from memecoins could signify a “more stable and sustainable market environment” because Bitcoin and layer 1 networks represent the foundational infrastructure of the crypto space, it said.

“Layer-1 blockchains support smart contracts, decentralized applications, and network scalability — key drivers of long-term growth in the industry,” it said.

The tracker also found memecoins such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Pepe are being talked about “less and less across social media,” with Santiment speculating the drop could be due to recent volatility.

The social sentiment tracker analyzes crypto-specific social media channels such as X and Telegram for the top 10 words that have seen the most significant increase in social media mentions compared to the previous two weeks, as per its methodology.

Santiment said cycles dominated by memecoins typically signal a phase where traders are chasing short-term gains and precede market corrections as the hype fades.

Memecoin activity notably flourished after the launch of US President Donald Trump's memecoin, with Pump.fun usage recording an all-time high of $3.3 billion in weekly trading volume.

Millions worth of Bitcoin and Ether on the move

In other news, Santiment reported on Feb. 11 that 224,410 Ether exited exchanges between Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, marking the most significant movement from known exchange wallets in a single day in the last two years.

“Though more of a long-term metric, this is a strong sign for Ethereum's struggling price,” said Santiment, as it signals strong confidence by investors over the long term.

On the other hand, Crypto Dan noted in a recent Quicktake market update that 14,000 Bitcoin that had been inactive for the last seven to 10 years moved throughout Feb. 10.

“Despite the large volume, these coins have not been transferred to any exchanges, suggesting that they are not intended for immediate sale,” said Crypto Dan, a contributor to the onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant.

“This kind of movement does not necessarily mean that Bitcoin's price will drop. In the past, similar cases have occurred, but they did not always lead to a price decline.”

However, he did note that the average acquisition price of these coins is relatively low, which could influence the holders' “future decisions regarding potential sales.”