The crypto market is currently witnessing the meteoric rise of the “cat in a dogs world” (MEW), which has surged over 85% in the last seven days. Launched earlier this year on the Solana blockchain, MEW is swiftly climbing the popularity ladder.

It aims to challenge the traditionally dog-dominated meme coin scene led by Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

MEW Outperforms Top 10 Meme Coins

Currently, MEW ranks tenth in market capitalization among meme coins, boasting a market value of $692 million. According to CoinGecko, the trading volume of the coin has exceeded $250 million. As of writing, MEW traded at $0.007781, experiencing a 5.7% surge within 24 hours.

The surge in MEW’s popularity isn’t solely due to its endearing branding. The developers have declared this period the “global cat season,” anticipating that cat-themed meme coins will outperform their canine counterparts.

Read more: 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024

Consequently, MEW’s performance has already begun to overshadow other dog-themed meme coins, including Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK), and Floki (FLOKI).

Furthermore, recent collaborations have pushed MEW’s growth. A notable partnership with the Web3 gaming project Pixelverse introduced MEW’s logo—a stylized white cat—into Pixelverse’s Telegram stickers, significantly boosting its visibility. Moreover, there are more crypto exchange listings and promotional activities.

On July 22, MEW’s trading volume skyrocketed to $2.07 billion, reflecting substantial speculative interest and propelling it to sixth in the cryptocurrency trading volume rankings.

Read more: How to Buy Solana Meme Coins: A Step-By-Step Guide

However, this explosive growth is shadowed by serious allegations of unethical practices. A pseudonymous account known as “cex offender” on X (Twitter) has raised alarms over undisclosed paid promotions involving key opinion leaders (KOLs).

“Insiders were told before launch and have been going around offering 250,000 usdc worth to many of your favorite influencers to bull post it but not disclose they were paid. What I’m hearing is that many of these influencers will be under federal investigation,” cex offender said.