Memecoin trading activity on Solana is tracking Bitcoin’s recovery, with the average daily trading volume rising 46% between April and May.

According to Blockworks data, monthly trading volume for memecoins on Solana was $58.7 billion as of May 21, already over $1 billion higher than the volume registered in April.

Additionally, memecoins accounted for 64.6% of all monthly trading volume on Solana as of May 21, up from 56% in April.

Notably, memecoin activity correlated heavily with Bitcoin breaking the $100,000 threshold on May 8, gradually increasing to nearly $4.2 billion. This is the highest daily trading volume for memecoins on Solana since Feb. 15.

A price increase in the memecoin sector reflects the volume growth. In the past month, the memecoins were the fifth-best-performing sector in crypto among 22, rising 59% on average, based on Artemis data.

Lack of confidence despite boosted volume

Weekly volumes also show consistent growth since Bitcoin bottomed on April 7. Memecoin weekly trading activity showed an average increase of 16% as of the week ending May 18.

Between May 12 and May 18, Solana-based memecoins reached nearly $24 billion in weekly volumes. This is the highest level since the week ending on Feb. 16.

In the last week of April, memecoins represented 61.5% of all volume traded on Solana, the highest proportion since the week ending on Feb. 16.

Despite the market starting to decrease on Feb. 1, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order making trade tariffs official, the plunge in Solana’s memecoin activity happened only two weeks later.

On Feb. 14, Argentinian president Javier Milei endorsed the LIBRA memecoin as a way to fund small ventures in the country. 

Although the token’s market cap reached $4.5 billion, its price crashed 95% only two days after Milei’s mention. 

A few days later, a report by Nansen highlighted that two wallets profited over $10 million with the token. The addresses bought LIBRA right after Milei’s endorsement and sold at the exact $4.55 peak.

The incident prompted rumors of heavy insider activity on Solana’s token launches, which caused a major dent in investor confidence, which has yet to recover to levels seen before the incident.

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Swiss lender UBS, which manages over $1 trillion in assets, said wealthy clients have begun allocating up to 5% of their portfolios to crypto as a way to hedge against inflation and currency volatility.

According to the Swiss bank’s 2025 Global Investment Returns Yearbook, affluent investors are diversifying beyond traditional assets by investing in Bitcoin (BTC) and alternative cryptocurrencies.

Shifting portfolio strategies

The report highlighted how crypto has evolved from a fringe asset into a recognized component of modern portfolio construction, particularly as long-term concerns mount around the US dollar and other fiat currencies.

The 2025 Yearbook noted that traditional diversification models, once reliant on real estate, commodities, and global equities, are being rethought in response to structural inflation and increased systemic risk.

Digital assets are gaining attention for their low correlation to legacy markets and their potential to act as buffers against macroeconomic shocks.

The analysis echoes comments made by Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who recently highlighted that institutional and high-net-worth investors increasingly view crypto as a macro hedge. Hougan similarly said that these investors are starting to increase their allocations to crypto from 1% to up to 5%.

Generational split

UBS data shows a clear generational divide in how clients approach crypto. Younger investors, primarily those under 50, are significantly more likely to incorporate digital assets into their core holdings.

Many view cryptocurrencies not just as a hedge, but as a bet on the future of financial infrastructure, driven by advancements in blockchain, tokenization, and decentralized applications.

These investors are also more comfortable with volatility and more receptive to emerging technology sectors. For them, crypto fits naturally alongside venture capital and tech exposure in portfolios designed for long-term growth.

In contrast, older clients tend to approach crypto with greater caution, often limiting exposure to small, controlled allocations through regulated products or tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments.

For these investors, crypto serves a complementary role, similar to gold, insurance against systemic tail risks, rather than a primary growth engine.

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