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| By Marija Matic |
The crypto market may have been trading sideways recently, but one coin has been defying the trend: Telegram-linked Notcoin (NOT, Not Yet Rated).
I mentioned NOT a few weeks ago when it first launched. It’s a memecoin on the Toncoin (TON, Not Yet Rated) network, the blockchain launched by the messaging app Telegram.
In that piece, my focus was on the incredible potential of TON. But the interim weeks have shown that NOT refuses to be left out of the conversation.
It skyrocketed a staggering 317% last week and shows no signs of slowing down yet.
Is this surprising? Well, somewhat.
While I am very bullish on this coin, there is an intriguing part of its rally: It defied expectations.
See, Notcoin has announced recently that users need to claim their NOT tokens — which are earned in a game you can play on Telegram — by June 16. If claimed in time, these tokens can be withdrawn to the user's wallet where they can then be sold, held or used in the Toncoin ecosystem.
Then, on June 16, some unclaimed NOT tokens will be used by the team for future development, while other tokens will be destroyed.
Typically, such claim periods trigger sell-offs as users cash out. But NOT seems to be defying the odds.
So, what's going on?
NOT isn't your typical memecoin. Sure, it is fun and has a strong community spirit, but unlike most other memecoins, it also has a purpose: to onboard users to the world of web3 through simple Telegram-based games.
The simplicity and addictiveness of its game made NOT the hottest coin coming out of the Telegram ecosystem, as the new era of mining coins through monetized games within messaging apps emerges.
And that’s given it the support it needed to avoid selling on the news.
To remind you, I recently discussed Telegram's potential in the blockchain space, including the launch of NOT. You can learn more about Telegram's "SocialFi" phenomenon here.
NOT's Meteoric Rise
The incredible demand for this new coin has quickly propelled it into the top 60 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
But here's the surprising part: NOT's trading volume is currently the fourth largest in the world, sitting right behind giants like Tether (USDT, Stablecoin), Bitcoin (BTC, “A”) and Ethereum (ETH, “A-”):
This massive volume, coupled with a relatively small market cap — in comparison to other memecoins — suggests there's room for more growth.
Consider this: Dogecoin (DOGE, “C+”) has a market cap 10 times larger than NOT! And Shiba Inu (SHIB, “C+”) is six times larger!
In fact, there are five memecoins larger than NOT at the time of writing.
And I believe it will grow, thanks to Telegram’s support.
Telegram's foray into memecoins with NOT is just the beginning. They have big plans regarding SocialFi and gaming on their fastest growing messaging platform.
Telegram's popularity — with an estimated 1.562 billion total users and 800 million monthly active users in 2024 — has provided a large Total Addressable Marketfor NOT to tap into.
This fertile ground has helped NOT establish itself as the world's biggest web3 game, boasting 36 million players in just three months.
NOT Is Redefining the Rules
From the start, NOT has marched to the beat of its own drum.
It was the first major "tap-to-earn" application, proving the power of decentralized coin distribution. Notably, the biggest influencer holds a minuscule 0.02% of all tokens, highlighting the coin's fair distribution.
Unlike many other coins, it boasts:
- No VC investors: The growth is purely community driven.
- No big whales: The token distribution is balanced.
- No shady schemes: Transparency is key.
- Zero marketing spend: The community creates the buzz.
Instead of empty promises, NOT's motto is, "Probably nothing." They believe in building value over hype, a strategy that could pay off in the long run. Especially as memecoins as a whole are being praised as an escape from unfair token distribution and price manipulations by whales.
From its hypergrowth with zero marketing to its listing on Binance and massive distribution, NOT doesn't play by the typical crypto rule book. This gives it the potential to become something truly unique.
The coin already boasts over 53,000 communities on Telegram, and TON — Telegram's main coin — has tripled in value, indicating strong faith in the ecosystem.
So, while the broader market lags, NOT is wide awake and making waves.
In the meantime, NOT is still in a claiming period. That means the majority of the tokens have not yet been distributed, so there is still a potential for a price correction in the coming days, which could represent a good opportunity to buy.
Keep an eye on this one. It could be a memecoin with serious staying power.
Best,
Marija Matić
