Ghibli memecoins surge as internet flooded with Studio Ghibli-style AI images

Solana Ghibli-inspired memecoins are surging in popularity as ChatGPT users have flooded social media with Studio Ghibli-inspired images over the past 24 hours.
On March 25, OpenAI launched image generation for its ChatGPT-4o mode, leading users to splash images across social media style in the art style of Studio Ghibli — known for its anime films Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk contributed to the trend, posting portraits of themselves generated by the model. Musk, with over 219 million followers on his platform X, has a history of influencing memecoins such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) with his posts.
Sam Altman posted a Studio Ghibli-inspired AI image while announcing ChatGPT’s image generation tool. Source: Sam Altman
Neither Musk nor Altman mentioned any Ghibli-themed memecoin. Still, the largest Ghibli-themed token by market cap, Ghiblification (GHIBLI) has reached a market cap of $20.80 million since it went live 19 hours ago, according to DEX Screener.
At the time of publication, it is trading at $0.02083, up approximately 39,010% since it was created.
The Solana-based memecoin Ghibli has climbed by nearly 40,000% since it launched on March 26. Source: DEX Screener
At least 20 other Ghibli-related memecoins have been created since. Some crypto traders see it as a potential sign of life for the memecoin market, which has dropped 57% in value since Dec. 8 — just days after Bitcoin first hit $100,000.
Crypto trader Sachs said in a March 26 X post that he is praying the memecoin “runs to $100M to bring some hopes into these markets.”
“Severely needed,” Sachs added.
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It follows the recent trend of memecoins sparking out of cultural references and movements. The CHILLGUY token launched on Nov. 15 on the Solana blockchain, riding the wave of the viral “Just a chill guy” meme that gained popularity on social media.
CHILLGUY’s value surged, reaching a peak market capitalization of $643 million by Nov. 27.
However, investing in memecoins tied to daily trends comes with significant risk. CHILLGUY is down 95% from its November high, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.