Finst

Grayscale Says Fundamentals Are Outpacing Memecoins in Crypto

Grayscale sees the strongest growth in financial protocols like Hyperliquid, while memecoins continue to lose ground. Stablecoins and on-chain trading are also gaining more weight.

By Finst News
• 2 min read
Grayscale Says Fundamentals Are Outpacing Memecoins in Crypto

Key Takeaways

  • Grayscale says the crypto market is increasingly rewarding tokens with real fundamentals, while memecoins are losing ground.
  • Within the Financials Crypto Sector, Hyperliquid is performing strongly, while the Consumer and Culture Crypto Sector has fallen about 75% since early 2024.
  • The analysis shows that investors are placing more value on tokens with a clear economic role, like stablecoin and on-chain trading infrastructure.

Grayscale says the crypto market is increasingly favoring tokens with real fundamentals, while memecoins continue to fade. The asset manager says financial protocols led by Hyperliquid are now well ahead of speculative tokens that do not have a clear revenue model.

Sectors Are Splitting More Clearly

Grayscale says that view is supported by its Crypto Sectors framework, which it built with FTSE Russell. The model sorts more than 150 protocols by function and is updated every quarter, giving investors a more useful way to read the market than relying on narratives or hype alone.

The Financials Crypto Sector is where that strength is showing up most clearly. It includes protocols that process on-chain financial transactions and services, and Grayscale says it is benefiting from growth in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and other blockchain use cases. The firm also notes that stablecoin settlement volumes recently reached new records, underscoring demand for this kind of infrastructure.

Grayscale says the divide becomes even sharper in a bear market. Tokens without revenue or a clear use case tend to get hit the hardest, while projects with measurable activity usually hold up better.

Hyperliquid Is Leading the Way

Since early 2024, the Financials Crypto Sector has gained about 15%, while the Consumer and Culture Crypto Sector has dropped about 75%. In other words, financial tokens have outperformed consumer-focused peers by roughly 90 percentage points.

Grayscale says that weaker category is mostly made up of memecoins such as Dogecoin, which now accounts for about 85% of its market value. On the other side of the split, Hyperliquid is emerging as the standout name in the financial segment.

The on-chain exchange directs trading fees into an Assistance Fund that buys back HYPE, linking the token’s value more closely to platform activity. HYPE rose from an all-time low of around $3.81 (€3.34) in late 2024 to a peak of $76.70 (€67) in June 2026, and it was trading near $63 (€55) on Monday. That leaves the token about 29% higher this year and puts it among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market value.

Why This Matters for Europe

For European crypto investors, the takeaway is simple: the market is paying more attention to tokens with a clear economic role, not just a compelling story. That could also matter for firms exploring on-chain trading, stablecoin infrastructure, and other products that are tied more to actual usage than to pure speculation.

Grayscale’s analysis also fits a broader trend in which some fund managers are starting to treat leading protocols more like businesses with cash flow. That shifts the crypto valuation debate away from sentiment alone and toward real, measurable usage.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. The information provided may be incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated and should not be relied upon as such. Nothing on this website should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrency. Investing in crypto-assets involves risk of loss.