Crypto Market Makers Increasingly Participate in MEME Market Operations, Collectively Holding Over $120 Million in MEME Coins

With the continuous expansion of the market scale and the gradual maturity of operational models, MEME is gradually moving towards scaled and institutional

As the MEME market continues to expand rapidly and operational models gradually mature, MEME is moving towards scaled and institutional operations. Among them, the participation of some crypto market makers is also increasing, which will further promote the continuous improvement of liquidity and stability in the MEME market.

According to PANews statistics, the five crypto market makers, Wintermute, GSR Markets, Auros Global, B2C2 Group, and Cumberland DRW, collectively hold over $120 million in MEME coins. Among them, Wintermute has the largest institution with the most coverage of popular projects. Several of its held MEME coins have successfully launched on Binance, indicating its deep layout and influence in the MEME coin field. In contrast, other institutions have smaller holdings, mainly consisting of established MEME coins like PEPE and SHIB, with significant transfers or sell-offs occurring on multiple platforms.

It is worth mentioning that DWF Labs, which previously made a high-profile layout in MEME, no longer holds any MEME projects in its public address, possibly related to increased U.S. regulatory scrutiny on MEME market makers. In early October this year, several market makers, including Gotbit, ZM Quant, and CLS Global, were accused by multiple U.S. regulatory agencies of manipulating the MEME market, with the operator of MyTrade pleading guilty and the CEO of Gotbit being charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly orchestrating large-scale fraudulent trading.

The following is a detailed analysis of the five crypto market makers' MEME coin holdings:

1. Wintermute

According to Arkham data, as of November 8, Wintermute holds 19 MEME coins valued at over $1 million, with a total holding value exceeding $110 million. The top three projects by holding value are MOODENG, GOAT, and PEPE, which together account for 40.9% of Wintermute's overall MEME holdings. Moreover, most of these MEME coins come from Ethereum and Solana, and many are popular projects.

It is noteworthy that among the 19 MEME coins held by Wintermute, 13 projects have successfully launched on Binance, accounting for 68.4%, suggesting that this institution has become a bellwether for MEME coin listings on Binance.

2. GSR Markets

According to Arkham data, as of November 8, GSR Markets holds over 48.51 million NEIRO (uppercase), accounting for 4.8% of the total supply, valued at over $5.08 million. Since October, GSR Markets has transferred over $99.13 million in NEIRO to the exchange Bybit in multiple transactions, but Spot On Chain monitoring suggests that this operation may be aimed at providing more liquidity rather than selling.

3. Auros Global

According to Arkham data, as of November 8, Auros Global mainly holds PEPE, NEIRO (both uppercase and lowercase), and SHIB, with a holding value of $330,000, of which only PEPE is valued at $197,000. Notably, since September 30, Auros Global has been frequently transferring lowercase NEIRO to exchanges like Binance and Uniswap, with each transaction being below $70,000.

4. B2C2 Group

Currently, B2C2 Group only has significant holdings in SHIB. According to Arkham data, as of November 8, B2C2 Group holds SHIB valued at $6.89 million. Since this year, B2C2 Group has gradually transferred large amounts of SHIB to platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, with individual amounts mostly in the millions of dollars.

5. Cumberland DRW

Cumberland DRW also chooses to hold established MEME coins, but with a smaller allocation. According to Arkham data, as of November 8, Cumberland DRW holds approximately $210,000 in PEPE and $18,000 in SHIB. In recent months, Cumberland DRW has gradually transferred millions of dollars worth of PEPE and SHIB to platforms like OKX, Robinhood, and FalconX.