Memecoins attract users, but platforms reap the profits: Report

**Memecoins Drive Cryptocurrency Adoption While Platforms Capture Majority of Profits**

Galaxy Research's comprehensive analysis reveals that memecoins serve as powerful gateway assets, attracting new users to the cryptocurrency ecosystem and blockchain technology. However, the financial benefits predominantly flow to intermediaries rather than retail traders.

The report highlights how memecoin trading has become a significant driver of crypto adoption, introducing newcomers to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and digital asset markets. Despite generating substantial trading volumes, individual traders often struggle to achieve meaningful profits from these volatile assets.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, launchpads, and automated trading bots emerge as the primary beneficiaries of the memecoin phenomenon. These platforms capitalize on increased transaction fees, listing fees, and trading spreads generated by heightened memecoin activity. Meanwhile, retail investors face challenges including front-running by sophisticated bots, high gas fees on blockchain networks, and extreme price volatility.

This dynamic underscores the evolving cryptocurrency market structure, where infrastructure providers and institutional players increasingly capture value from retail trading activity. The findings suggest that while memecoins successfully onboard new users to Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency markets, the profit distribution remains heavily skewed toward platform operators rather than individual traders.