Retail is Here: Viral TikTok $CHILLGUY Meme Heralds New Era of Memecoin Trading

There can be little doubt: Retail traders have finally returned to the crypto market. 

Viral internet memes from outside the crypto world are reaching astronomic valuations, while Crypto Twitter is starting to get left behind chasing TikTok trends.

What pushed $CHILLGUY’s market cap to over $500M and what does it tell us about retail trading habits?

TikTok Meme Hits $500M

$CHILLGUY has become the latest meme to reach critical mass on Solana. Since launching via pump.fun on November 15, the viral memecoin has exploded in popularity on TikTok, rising to an all-time high market cap of $500M.

In bullish markets, memecoins are known to go on blistering runs, netting early investors outsized gains. One such trader turned $3,000 into over $746k in several days. 

But $CHIILLGUY’s meteoric surge to dominance played out slightly differently. Unlike most crypto memecoins, the $CHILLGUY run was largely unobserved by Crypto Twitter, with most of the coin’s hype, excitement, and shilling happening on TikTok.

$CHILLGUY’s TikTok-driven rise potentially signals a completely new paradigm for memecoin traders. Instead of camping on social media platforms like 𝕏 and Telegram to gauge sentiment, TikTok has emerged as a new battleground within Solana’s ‘trenches’.

Has Retail Arrived: $CHILLGUY Holder Distribution Says Yes

Alongside the emergence of the CryptoTok meta, onchain data indicates that Solana adoption is reaching unprecedented levels.

According to SolScan data, $CHILLGUY and other popular CryptoTok coins accrued considerably larger holder bases than established memes, despite having lower market caps. 

For example, $CHILLGUY has been live for less than a week, but has already amassed over 84,000 holders. In comparison, $MOODENG, one of the biggest memes of this cycle, only has 54,000 holders. Both coins have similar market capitalizations, yet $CHILLGUY has a larger holder base despite its dramatically shorter lifespan.

This new trend is supported by alternative CryptoTok means with larger holdership when compared to established memes.

Based on the data, newer coins are reaching far wider audiences. Additionally, the average holder owns less tokens in CryptoTok coins than in established favorites, suggesting that these coins are popular among holders with smaller portfolios, which could likely be retail traders.

Reinforcing this thesis, inexperienced holders are actively looking for assistance on alternative social media platforms that crypto natives typically avoid. One confused Reddit confessed that they were having difficulties selling their $CHILLGUY because it wasn’t listed on Coinbase.

Collectively, theses indicators suggest that the moment bear market survivors have been waiting for has arrived. At this stage of the cycle, retail investors are well and truly here.

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