7 months ago
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Major cryptocurrency exchange OKX deviated from its regular listing pattern to onboard popular Solana memecoins Dogwifhat and Cat in a Dogs World.
OKX enabled Dogwifhat (WIF) and Cat in a Dogs World (MEW) deposits around 7 a.m. UTC. By 9 a.m. UTC, WIF and MEW became tradable in Tether (USDT) pairs. According to the crypto exchange, withdrawals are scheduled to open for both memecoins on April 16 by 10 a.m. UTC.
Despite launching late last year, Dogwifhat is arguably the biggest memecoin in Solana’s (SOL) ecosystem. The token was inspired by a dog named Achi, whose owner posted a picture of the dog in a hat.
WIF has peaked at a market cap of over $4 billion and traded above $4 this year, but the token plunged below $3 following a sweeping market correction. Following the listing news, WIF declined more than 7% in 24 hours and exchanged hands around $2.72 per CoinGecko.
WIF price chart | Source: CoinGecko
Conversely, the MEW meme token surged over 51% after OKX announced trading support. MEW still traded under a cent at a $444 million market cap. The cat-themed crypto juxtaposes canine-inspired memecoins like WIF and older projects such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
MEW price chart | Source: CoinGecko
OKX pivots from strict listing policy
Listing WIF and MEW may signal a shift from the typical listing policy on crypto trading venue OKX. Last month, a user implored OKX CEO Star Xu to consider listing certain projects, touting the concepts as community-oriented and “cutting-edge.”
Xu responded by saying that the platform followed a specific listing strategy and would not cater to online requests.
Let me clarify OKX listing team’s vision is discover valuable and early stage utility tokens for our customers. We don’t accept pitching for listing, we research potential projects from the market and keep to track the performance of the tokens for long time. Our listing… https://t.co/JgRr6JaZJq
— Star (@star_okx) March 18, 2024The reasons for the apparent pivot are unclear and remain unknown at press time, but this has not stopped crypto X participants from speculating. Several users said the platform was forced to adapt to bull run demand or risk losing money.
“Think the reason is that we are in bull season, and if they don’t adapt this, they would lose their revenues”
– X user Oliver WongListing WIF and MEW also comes as the platform prioritizes its U.S. compliance efforts. Regulators in the region, like the U.S. SEC, have frequently said that most cryptocurrencies fall under securities laws, although these agencies have yet to specify their stance on memecoins.
