The rise of prediction markets has, to some extent, killed off the meme-driven market trends. Here are some stats: - Monthly trading volume in prediction markets grew from about $1.2 billion at the beginning of 2025 to over $20 billion by January 2026. - More than 800,000 unique wallets participate every month. - Coinbase's prediction market hit over $100 million in annualized revenue by March. A lot of crypto players have overlooked one thing: for a long time, MEME coins and small altcoins carried too much of the narrative function that tokens weren’t originally meant to handle—like betting on Trump, betting on interest rate cuts, betting on wars, or betting on Musk launching a coin. Retail investors could buy MEGA, buy DOGE, etc., to engage in speculative storytelling. Essentially, before prediction markets existed, the entire crypto market lacked a direct tool for trading on events. After prediction markets emerged, things became much simpler. Retail investors no longer need to put their money into air coins issued by shady operators. If you want to bet on whether the next president will win, just go to a prediction market and place your bet. If you want to bet on whether SBF will get out of jail, just place your bet directly. Naturally, prediction markets have shaken the foundational value of some altcoins and MEME coins. These altcoins relied on event-related narratives to attract liquidity. The ones that come to mind include: 1. PEOPLE 2. TRUMP 3. PUMP 4. PEPE 5. ZORA 6. KAITO