Fartcoin briefly taps $1B market cap despite altcoin bloodbath

Solana-based memecoin Fartcoin gained 113% over the past 30 days to briefly surpass a market capitalization of $1 billion on Dec. 18 — despite most of the altcoin market suffering a double-digit slump over the day.

Fartcoin — a memecoin without any utility — stood out as the broader crypto market faltered after the Fed announced a 25-basis-point rate cut, along with signals that 2025 could see fewer cuts than previously expected.

Between 8:20 pm and 9:00 pm UTC on Dec. 18, Fartcoin’s price was an outlier in the altcoin market, spiking approximately 21% to $1.02, pushing its market cap to $1.02 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

The rally didn’t last long. Hours after surpassing $1 billion, Fartcoin retraced by approximately 16%, now trading at a price of $0.83 with a market cap of $838.4 million.

‘Funniest possible outcome,’ says investor

The biggest altcoin losers over the past 24 hours were Dogwifhat WIF $2.25 , with a 16.92% decline, Bonk BONK $0.00003096 , down 15.24%, and Theta Network (THETA), falling 14.84%.

Some took a lighthearted view of Fartcoin’s rise to a $1 billion market cap.

“The funniest possible outcome is usually the most likely,” investor Brandon Beylo said in a Dec. 18 X post, saying investors are “fleeing to safety in Fartcoin.”

Fartcoin is currently trading at $0.83 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Investment research firm Hedgeye said in a Dec. 18 X post, “Fartcoin briefly hits $1 billion in market cap as investors flee risk assets, seek safety.”

“Hedge fund managers will raise billions and hire teams of Ivy League grads just to underperform degen 14-year-olds trading Fartcoin in their mom’s basements,” Liquidity Capital founder said in a Dec. 18 X post.

Fartcoin has been trading for two months

Fartcoin launched on Oct. 24 and, in nearly two months trading, has had significant volatility, from reaching a market cap of $423 million on Nov. 22, before retracing all the way down to $160 million market cap by Dec. 5. 

Unlimited Funds co-founder Bob Elliot said in a Dec. 18 X post, “If Fartcoin is going parabolic, maybe monetary policy is far from “very restrictive.”

Meanwhile, Bone Fide Wealth president Douglas A. Bentforth said in an X post, “the Fed cannot own Bitcoin, but they said nothing about Fartcoin.”

On Dec. 9, Syncracy Capital co-founder Daniel Cheung said there will probably be more time for traders to take advantage of buying opportunities this cycle.

“There will be intra-month volatility, but the pullbacks likely will be a “buy the dip” scenario for much longer than everyone expects,” Syncracy Capital co-founder Daniel Cheung said.