Memecoins, once dismissed as speculative internet jokes, are now commanding serious attention from institutional finance. As of mid-2025, the total market cap of memecoins exceeds $60 billion — larger than both Tron and Cardano — and investors are asking a bold new question:

Will there be a memecoin ETF?

According to Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg, the answer is likely yes. He sees a “really good chance” that the U.S. will see a memecoin-focused ETF — specifically an actively managed one — by 2026, following the debut of a broader wave of active crypto ETFs.

This isn’t just a wild prediction. The data and momentum support it. Here’s what you need to know — and how Ave.ai is helping traders stay ahead of this shift.

Why Now? The Case for a Memecoin ETF

The idea of a memecoin ETF may seem like satire, but the underlying market dynamics are anything but funny.

• Memecoin trading volume has exploded in 2025, especially on chains like Solana and BSC.
• Retail traders dominate this space, driving daily volume spikes via platforms like Pump.fun and Telegram call groups.
• Ave.ai data shows over 1,000 new meme tokens launched per day during peak periods in Q1–Q2, with real-time dashboards tracking buy-ins from whales and influencers.

This high-velocity environment, fueled by social sentiment and micro-narratives (e.g., politics, AI, animal themes), creates both massive opportunity and extreme volatility — conditions ideal for an actively managed ETF that can respond in real time.

Unlike passive ETFs that track a single coin or index, an active memecoin ETF could:

• Rotate between hot narratives (e.g., AI tokens, political memes)
• Avoid rug-pulls and dead projects using safety indicators
• Adjust allocations based on market cap, trading momentum, and community engagement

Volatility Is Real — But So Is Alpha

Let’s not sugarcoat it: the memecoin market has cooled off since its January peak. According to both market data and Ave.ai trackers:

• DOGE is down ~75% from ATH
• SHIB is down ~85%
• PEPE is down ~60%
• TRUMP fell 86% despite election season buzz

But this isn’t just a crash — it’s a cycle. Historically, memecoins lead retail sentiment. They crash hard, yes — but they also recover earlier and faster than many altcoins during market rebounds.

And that’s exactly why an ETF matters: it could smooth out the chaos, curate exposure to top performers, and capture retail-driven rebounds while avoiding deadweight tokens.

Regulation: The Final Boss

The biggest roadblock to a memecoin ETF remains the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Under the 1933 Securities Act, tokens classified as securities cannot be included in ETFs. This puts the spotlight on current applications for spot DOGE ETFs submitted by:

• Grayscale
• Bitwise
• 21Shares
• Osprey Funds
• Rex Shares

Some applications even reference BONK and TRUMP, suggesting a broader vision for memecoin-focused investment products.

Balchunas previously gave DOGE ETF approval odds of 75% in 2025, but blockchain prediction platform Polymarket now places that at 44%. Despite the setback, Bloomberg reports over 70 crypto ETF applications are pending with the SEC this year — a potential turning point for crypto finance.

Ave.ai: The Trader’s Edge in a Memecoin ETF World

Whether or not ETFs are approved soon, institutional interest is already here. And retail traders who want to stay ahead need tools that can match the speed and depth of professional analysis.

Ave.ai is already powering that edge. Here’s how:

• Signal Center: Real-time buy/sell signals from smart money, KOLs, and influencer wallets
• Chart Pattern Recognition: Automated detection of common pump/dump structures, helping avoid traps
• Narrative Clustering: Surfacing emerging themes like “AI meme,” “doge derivatives,” or “political tokens” before they trend
• Smart Money Score: A confidence index aggregating capital flows, wallet age, and trading behavior into a safety signal

For ETF issuers and traders alike, Ave.ai provides the data backbone for decision-making in this meme-driven, rapid-fire ecosystem.

Final Take: From Twitter Threads to Wall Street Sheets

Memecoins are no longer just for degens. The sheer size, speed, and narrative power of this market are forcing traditional finance to pay attention. If even a single active memecoin ETF gets approved, it will validate what crypto-native traders have known all along:

Memecoins aren’t a joke — they’re a new asset class.

In that world, the winners won’t be those who buy every new token. They’ll be those who read the signals, follow the flows, and use platforms like Ave.ai to move smart — not just fast.