A new trend of AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli has unexpectedly fueled the creation and rapid rise of themed memecoins on the Solana blockchain.
Social media users began sharing artwork inspired by iconic films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, triggering a wave of interest in related tokens. Within just 24 hours, dozens of new tokens emerged, and one — GHIBLI — quickly reached a market cap in the tens of millions of dollars.
AI Art Trend Explodes After GPT-4o Launch
On March 25, OpenAI rolled out image generation capabilities with its new GPT-4o model. Users immediately began creating illustrations in the Ghibli anime aesthetic, sparking a flood of AI-generated images reminiscent of characters from Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle.
The trend gained momentum as prominent figures joined in. Both OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and entrepreneur Elon Musk posted portraits of themselves generated through GPT. Although neither mentioned any memecoins directly, their participation alone was enough to stir excitement in the market.
GHIBLI Token Takes the Lead
The most prominent token so far is Ghiblification (GHIBLI), which was launched less than a day ago and already hit a market cap of $18 million, according to DEXScreener. The token’s price surged to $0.018, marking an astronomical increase of approximately 39,000% since its launch.
In response to its success, at least 20 similar tokens themed around the studio were launched shortly after. Some traders see this trend as a sign of revival in the memecoin market, which had lost 57% of its total value since December 8.
Traders Hope for a New Memecoin Rally
Crypto trader Sachs expressed optimism that GHIBLI could reach a $100 million market cap, noting that the memecoin market is in desperate need of a positive spark.
Memecoin Market Has Seen Similar Waves Before
Analysts note that the current surge mirrors the CHILLGUY phenomenon from last November. That token was born from the viral “Just a chill guy” meme and skyrocketed to a market cap of $643 million within just 12 days of launch.
However, that rally was short-lived — according to CoinMarketCap, CHILLGUY has since dropped 95.41% from its all-time high, highlighting the volatile nature of memecoin hype cycles.
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