As the cryptocurrency market trends higher, memecoins are posting bigger gains than major coins, signalling a shift in investment flows. The market is interpreting this as the spread of a so-called “barbell strategy” of investing in two extreme types of assets at the same time.

CoinDesk, a blockchain media outlet, reported on March 16 that bitcoin (BTC) showed strength and briefly topped $75,000. Over the same period, XRP and Solana (SOL) rose more than 4 percent, while ether (ETH) gained about 7 percent. The CoinDesk20 index, made up of major assets, also rose about 4 percent, reflecting broad market strength.

But memecoins posted the biggest gains. Pepe (PEPE) surged about 19 percent in a single day, the best performance among the top 100 tokens. Bonk (BONK) and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) also rose more than 10 percent, and Shiba Inu (SHIB) also outpaced major coins. Four of the day’s top five gainers were memecoins.

The market explains this trend through the barbell strategy. It refers to a strategy in which investors hold core assets such as bitcoin, which is seeing broader institutional adoption, while also making speculative investments in highly volatile memecoins.

The structure also differs from past bull markets. In previous cycles, bitcoin gains tended to spread into decentralised finance (DeFi) or play-to-earn (P2E) projects, but in the recent market memecoins appear to be leading gains in altcoins.

Experts analyse that the rapid increase in new tokens is one factor behind the phenomenon. CoinMarketCap data shows the total number of cryptocurrency tokens has exceeded 37.8 million over the past three years. As the number of projects rises sharply, investment demand is being spread across a wider range of assets.

Some market participants, meanwhile, see cryptocurrency regulatory bills under discussion in the United States as a potential catalyst to reinvigorate the market. But concerns are also being raised that there may not be enough time to secure regulatory clarity.

Risk appetite also appeared in traditional financial markets. S&P 500 futures rose and international oil prices moved to test the $100-a-barrel level.

At the same time, Nvidia GTC, the annual developer conference hosted by artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Nvidia, opened, drawing market attention. With Chief Executive Jensen Huang mentioning an AI roadmap, the cryptocurrency industry is also watching for signals tied to data centre demand.