Studio Ghibli-Inspired Meme Coins Surge on Ethereum and Solana After OpenAI’s 4o Release
Meme coins themed after the beloved art style of Studio Ghibli are rapidly gaining traction on Ethereum and Solana, following the launch of image generation capabilities in OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o model.
On March 25, OpenAI enabled image generation in its flagship chatbot, sparking a wave of Studio Ghibli-style portraits shared across social media. The Japanese animation studio, best known for films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, became a viral aesthetic for AI-generated art almost overnight.
Altman and Musk Fuel Ghibli-Inspired Trend with AI-Generated Portraits
High-profile figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined in the trend, posting Ghibli-style portraits of themselves.
Notably, neither mentioned any related cryptocurrencies. However, their influence on online culture — especially Musk’s history of affecting meme coin markets — helped fuel investor excitement. One standout token, Ghiblification (GHIBLI), has emerged as the leading Ghibli-themed memecoin. According to DEX Screener, GHIBLI has surged to a $20.8 million market cap within 19 hours of its creation, trading at $0.02083 — up over 39,000% since launch. At least 20 other similar tokens have appeared, riding the momentum of the viral trend. Some traders interpret the frenzy as a hopeful signal for a recovering memecoin market, which has declined 57% since December 8, shortly after Bitcoin reached $100,000. Crypto trader Sachs expressed his optimism on X, stating he hopes one of the Ghibli-themed tokens reaches a $100 million market cap to reinvigorate the sector.
The Rise of Ghibli Memecoins Reflects a Broader Pattern of Trend-Driven Token Launches
In November, Solana-based CHILLGUY, inspired by the “Just a chill guy” meme, skyrocketed to a $643 million market cap just 12 days after its debut. However, CHILLGUY has since plummeted 95%, highlighting the volatile nature of trend-based crypto investments.
Meme Coin Hype Fades as Failed Launches and Rug Pulls Deter Investors
Investor enthusiasm for meme coins has significantly declined following a string of failed launches and rug pulls, according to CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong. Earlier this month, Ong pointed to a sharp drop in activity on token launchpad Pump.fun after the controversial Libra (LIBRA) rug pull. Data shows that the number of newly created tokens and daily graduated tokens on the platform has plunged over 90% from its February peak. “The launch of TRUMP and MELANIA marked the top for memecoins as it sucked liquidity and attention out of all the other cryptocurrencies,” Ong stated. As reported, on-chain analysis has revealed that the majority of Libra meme coin investors suffered significant losses in what appears to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme. The Libra token, which was falsely linked to Argentine President Javier Milei, collapsed within hours after insiders cashed out over $107 million, erasing nearly 94% of its value. According to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, over 86% of traders, amounting to 15,430 wallets that traded with gains or losses exceeding $1,000, sold at a loss. The combined realized losses reached a staggering $251 million.