Solana Memecoin: Beginner’s Playbook 2025

Solana memecoins are more popular than ever — blending Internet humor with the opportunity for substantial profits. In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to get started trading memecoins on Solana. 

What is a memecoin? 

A memecoin is a cryptocurrency that derives its value from internet memes or pop culture trends. 

Unlike more established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, memecoins typically lack intrinsic value or a functional purpose. Instead, their success depends on social media buzz and speculative trading.

Here are a few examples of popular Solana memecoins: 

$TRUMP: Just days before his 2025 inauguration, President Donald Trump launched his own memecoin — $TRUMP. The coin quickly became one of the most popular in the cryptocurrency ecosystem — with 7% of crypto investors transacting with the coin within 2 days of its launch. 

$BONK: Similar to projects like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, BONK is a dog-based memecoin. Originally launched in 2022, BONK is still one of the most popular memecoins in the Solana ecosystem.

$CHILLGUY: $CHILLGUY is a memecoin based on the popular ‘just a chill guy’ meme. The coin saw a rapid rise and fall in December 2024. 

The reason why memecoin trading has become so popular is because these tokens are highly volatile. Their prices can surge or crash in short spans of time, creating opportunities for large profits—but with significant risk!

Why is Solana popular for memecoins? 

Solana has emerged as the go-to blockchain for memecoins due to its speed, low costs, and strong community. 

High speeds and low speeds: Unlike Ethereum, where high gas fees can deter frequent transactions, Solana enables users to trade quickly and cheaply. With the ability to process 65,000 transactions per second, Solana outpaces most of its competitors in scalability.

Phantom wallet: Solana wallets like Phantom make interacting with the blockchain and trading memecoins easier than ever! In addition, platforms like Pump.fun and Moonshot make creating and trading memecoins easier than ever! 

Solana: The #1 choice for memecoins: From October 2024 to January 2025, Solana accounted for an impressive 94.9% of all memecoin trading volume, far surpassing Ethereum (3.4%) and Binance Smart Chain (0.5%).

Has Solana faced scalability issues? 

Solana’s popularity has not been without challenges. The launch of TRUMP in January 2025 brought significant traffic, temporarily causing network congestion and delays on major exchanges. 

This has spurred interest in Solaxy ($SOLX), a Layer-2 solution designed to enhance scalability and reduce congestion—developments that could further solidify Solana’s position in the memecoin market.

Can you make money from Solana memecoins? 

The short answer is yes—but it’s far from guaranteed. 

The pros of memecoin trading 

While memecoins can potentially offer large profits, they do require nearly perfect timing. Buying a token early — when hype is just beginning to build — is the key to being a successful memecoin trader. 

The cons of memecoin trading 

Unlike cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH, most memecoins lack any real-world use case, making their prices entirely dependent on speculation. Additionally, the space is rife with rug pulls — where bad actors exploit investor enthusiasm, pump up the price of a memecoin, sell their holdings, then leave investors with worthless assets. 

How do I mitigate the risks of memecoin trading?

Avoid putting all your funds into memecoins, and only invest what you’re willing to lose. If you’re new to the space, consider starting with small amounts and studying market trends before diving in fully.

How do you get started trading Solana memecoins? 

Here’s how you can get started trading Solana memecoins: 

1. Set Up a Wallet: Download a Solana wallet like Phantom. 
2. Purchase SOL: Buy Solana tokens on a centralized exchange like Coinbase, then transfer it to your wallet! 
3. Use Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): Use a decentralized exchange like Jupiter that allows you to trade memecoins. 
4. Verify Token Addresses: Make sure you find the correct token address for the  memecoin you wish to trade. This can help you avoid a potential counterfeit token. 

Tips for Solana memecoins

Here are a few tips for new memecoin traders: 

‍Use tools to identify memecoins
There are tools you can use to find rising memecoins. Blockchain explorers like Solscan can help you find memecoins with high trading volume. Photon offers Memescope — a tool that allows you to see rising memecoins soon to be listed on major decentralized exchanges! 

‍Follow high-performing wallets on Solscan
Some traders choose to follow high-performing wallets on Solscan. Studying top traders can help you identify new memecoins and refine your trade strategies. 

‍Engage with communities
Join Solana-focused Discord groups, Telegram channels, and X spaces. These platforms are often the first to highlight emerging trends and tokens. However, you should beware of ‘pump and dump’ scams, where scammers hype up a memecoin on social media before selling off their holdings. 

‍Stick to a strategy
Define your investment strategy, such as targeting specific market cap ranges (e.g., micro vs. mid-cap tokens). Other metrics you could use are liquidity and developer activity.

‍Manage risk
Never invest more than you can afford to lose and avoid emotional decision-making. Remember, the memecoin market is highly volatile. 

One alternative to memecoin trading is simply investing in SOL for the long-term. It’s likely that if Solana continues to be a popular blockchain for memecoin trading, the price of SOL will increase over time. 

How are memecoins taxed? 

Selling and trading away memecoins on Solana and other blockchains is subject to capital gains tax. 

You’ll incur a capital gain or loss depending on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it. 

If you make a significant profit through memecoin trading, it’s recommended that you keep a portion of your income aside for tax payments. This guarantees that you’ll be able to pay off your tax bill even in the case of a market crash. 

Looking for an easy way to report your cryptocurrency taxes? Crypto tax software like CoinLedger can automatically import your transactions from Solana and hundreds of other blockchains and exchanges and generate a complete tax report in minutes. 

Conclusion

Solana’s high-speed, low-cost blockchain makes trading memecoins easy. However, it’s important to consider the risks and tax implications before you get started.