Buying a memecoin means getting SOL or ETH on an exchange, moving it to a self custody wallet, and swapping it on a decentralized exchange using the token's contract address. Before any of that: a study of Solana memecoin traders found 6.25 percent made a profit over ninety days, and the median trader lost $120. The procedure is easy. The outcome is usually a loss.
We are not neutral about this and we are not going to pretend the numbers say something else. Our guide on the category found that 6.25 percent of Solana memecoin traders made a profit over ninety days, and the median one lost $120.
We publish the instructions below because people do this whether or not anybody explains it, and doing it without knowing about contract addresses, slippage and approvals costs more than doing it informed. That is the only argument for this page.
Six steps, and the one that matters most is step four
Decide the amount, and write it off
Before anything else. Treat it as spent the moment you commit it, because statistically it is. If losing it would change your month, the amount is wrong.Buy SOL or ETH on an exchange
Memecoins are not listed on regulated exchanges, so you buy the network's own asset first. How to buy Solana covers this.Move it to a wallet you control
A self custody wallet. Write the recovery phrase on paper. This wallet will be connecting to unfamiliar sites, so do not use one holding savings.Get the contract address from a source you trust
This is the step that decides everything. The name, ticker and logo can all be copied in a minute, and a lookalike token with a different address is the oldest trick on any launchpad. Copy the address from the project's own site or a major aggregator, never from a reply or a direct message.Check the token before you swap
Paste the address into the token checker. Mint authority still active means they can print more. Freeze authority active means they can freeze your balance. A top ten holder share above roughly a third means you are exit liquidity.Swap, with slippage set deliberately
On a decentralized exchange, paste the address, set slippage as low as will fill, and read the wallet prompt before signing. High slippage on a thin token is how a swap fills far worse than the screen suggested.
The numbers, not the stories
| The claim | What the data says |
|---|---|
| "People are getting rich on these." | A few are, and they are the ones you hear from. 6.25 percent of Solana memecoin traders were profitable over ninety days. The median trader lost $120. |
| "You just have to get in early." | Getting in early is also how you end up in the ones that go to zero within a day, which is most of them. Survivorship bias makes the strategy look better than it is. |
| "The chart says it is going up." | On a token with thin liquidity and a concentrated holder base, the chart mostly shows what a handful of wallets are doing. |
| "It has a big community." | Community size is cheap to manufacture and tells you nothing about the token contract. The on chain checks are not cheap to fake. |
Four pages that cost nothing
The outcome data in full
Where the 6.25 percent figure comes from, what it measures, and what it does not.
Memecoins, honestlyCheck any token in thirty seconds
Mint authority, freeze authority and holder concentration from the address.
Token safety checkerSpotting a rug pull
The patterns that show up before the liquidity disappears.
Rug pullsPosition sizing
How to decide the amount so a total loss is survivable, before you feel anything about it.
Position size calculatorCommon questions
What percentage of memecoin traders make money?
A study of Solana memecoin traders found 6.25 percent were profitable over a ninety day window, and the median trader lost $120. That is the base rate to measure any plan against. Where the number comes from.
Can I buy a memecoin on Coinbase or Binance?
Usually not. Regulated exchanges list a small number of large assets, and new memecoins are not among them. That is why the process involves buying SOL or ETH first and swapping on a decentralized exchange.
How do I know I am buying the real token?
By the contract address, and by nothing else. Names, tickers and logos can be copied in a minute, and lookalike tokens are routine. Take the address from the project's own site or a major aggregator, and paste it into the token checker before swapping.
What slippage should I set?
As low as will actually fill. High slippage lets a thin market fill your order far worse than the screen suggested, and on an illiquid token that difference can be most of your money. If a swap only fills at twenty percent slippage, that is information about the token.
Is buying memecoins gambling?
In practice, for most people, yes, and it is more honest to treat it that way. It produces nothing, has no cash flow to value, and the outcome distribution looks like a lottery. Sizing it as entertainment money rather than an investment is the position most consistent with the data.
Want somebody on the call while you do it?
Orca sessions are one to one and screen shared. You click everything, we never ask for keys, and you keep the recording.