MIRA crypto’s 2024 journey – Is it the same as other Solana-based memecoins?

• Research into a rare brain tumour and how a memecoin helped this cause is a fascinating, heartwarming story
• Memecoins have been losing popularity in recent weeks, with Dogecoin losing the least

In September 2024, Siqi Chen, Founder and CEO of Runway, shared the painful news that his 5-year old daughter Mira was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Craniopharyngioma, an extremely rare but benign tumour that can cause severe side effects, has no cure.

In recent months, Chen has been working with Dr. Todd Hankinson from the University of Colorado, whose lab is the only one in the world that focuses on this rare type of tumour. The GoFundMe campaign started three days ago and has already raised $243k for research into combating this tumour.

MIRA crypto helps add funds to the research

Additionally, a Solana [SOL] based memecoin called MIRA was created by an internet denizen, and half the token’s entire supply was sent to Chen’s Solana address. The token reached a remarkable $80 million in market cap on Thursday, 26 December, and Chen responded online with amazement. Wary of causing a rug pull type event, Chen resolved to sell $1,000 worth of MIRA perpetually.

The whole event captured how crypto, vastly regarded as a space ripe for scams and get-rich-quick schemes, can sometimes come together to support a cause. Another popular example of a memecoin used for a good cause was when Vitalik Buterin donated $1.2 billion worth of Shiba Inu [SHIB] tokens to the India Covid Relief Fund in 2021.

State of SOL-based memecoins

Source: BONK/USDT on TradingView

MIRA hit an $80 million market cap on Thursday but at press time, was just below $8 million. The social experiment saw goodwill generated, but also saw early traders profit. This caused some consternation online, but it is the way of the market. Other memecoins have also struggled, and their price performance comparison was insightful.

The three leading Solana-based memecoins by market capitalization were Bonk [BONK], dogwifhat [WIF], and Popcat [POPCAT]. Their price performance since mid-August was compared, along with Dogecoin [DOGE]. It showed the rise and fall of memes in mid-November, and their swift fall since then.

Read Solana’s [SOL] Price Prediction 2025-26

Dogecoin has held out the best. Though its gains were not as steady as POPCAT’s, the leading memecoin has been able to defend its gains better since it is the most popular meme in the market.

Source: Dune Analytics

The price trends of the memecoins lined up well with the monthly active addresses on the Solana network. The uptrend in September and the peak in November can be explained by increased participation due to the memecoin frenzy. However, this phenomenon has lost strength over the last six weeks.