MARCH 4th, 2025

Meme coins have transitioned from playful experiments to some of the largest digital assets by market cap, with several ETF filings now targeting tokens like DOGE and TRUMP. But should meme coins be included in institutional-grade financial products?

This debate has intensified in early 2025 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a staff statement on meme coins, raising concerns about their volatility and speculative nature. Despite regulatory skepticism, meme coins continue to dominate trading volumes, challenging traditional notions of what makes an asset investable.

SHOULD THE EAGLE INDEX INCLUDE MEME COINS?

At Kaiko Indices, this question became central after the release of the EAGLE Index, which benchmarks the top five U.S.-based cryptocurrencies. The selection process for constituent assets prioritizes liquidity and size, ensuring a dynamic and well-balanced portfolio. Notably, the EAGLE Index includes meme coins, as some were found to have close ties to the U.S.

The release of the EAGLE Index sparked discussions across the industry, particularly among product issuers. Some reconsidered their stance on including meme coins in the strategies they offer to clients, especially after observing the EAGLE Index’s significant outperformance compared to similar indices. Others, however, pushed back, arguing that meme coins introduce excessive volatility and lack the fundamental characteristics typically required for institutional-grade assets.

Regardless, there is currently no industry standard defining whether these assets should or should not be included in the investable crypto universe.

A LACK OF CONSENSUS

To better gauge industry sentiment, we conducted a poll asking: “Should meme coins be part of the investable crypto universe?”

The results revealed that most voters had strong opinions on the topic, with “Yes” and “No” votes far outnumbering “Maybe”.

When isolating just the Yes and No votes, the industry appears to be completely split—both options received an equal number of votes, reinforcing the lack of a clear consensus.

INDUSTRY-BASED DISPARITIES

However, breaking down the data further by industry revealed key differences:

Crypto professionals: The majority voted in favor of including meme coins, pointing to their significant market presence and liquidity.

Traditional finance (TradFi) professionals: The majority voted against, citing concerns over fundamentals and volatility.

TOWARDS INDUSTRY-LEVEL STANDARDISATION

The inclusion of meme coins in an investable crypto universe challenges the traditional ways the industry evaluates, vets, and selects assets for benchmarks that power financial products. Some argue meme coins lack real value, while others believe they reflect the evolution of markets where culture and community play just as important a role as technology.

At Kaiko Indices, we’re committed to open discussions with our clients and industry stakeholders, contributing to the development of a clear standard for the crypto industry. Our goal is to improve efficiency and foster operational stability, helping the industry mature.

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