Studio Ghibli Meets Crypto: OpenAI Fuels the Surge of Ghibli-Themed Meme Coins

Ghibli-themed meme coins are gaining massive attention, with soaring market value and strong community interest.

This surge is driven by the global influence of Studio Ghibli, an iconic anime brand, and advancements in AI technology, particularly OpenAI’s new Ghibli-style image generation feature.

OpenAI’s New Model Sparks Community Buzz

OpenAI recently updated its GPT-4o model, introducing a text-to-image feature (formerly text-to-video) that allows users to transform regular images into Studio Ghibli’s signature anime style—famous for films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke.

“We are launching a new thing today—images in ChatGPT!” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on X (formerly Twitter) on March 25, 2025.

Studio Ghibli’s global fanbase and AI-driven innovations have sparked a new wave of enthusiasm, particularly among anime fans. The feature has gone viral, with social media flooded with Ghibli-style AI-generated images.

Even Shaw, founder of a16z, joined the trend by changing his profile picture to a Ghibli-style avatar featuring the words “Eliza Labs” on a hat and “PARTNERS” on his shirt. This move caught the attention of both the crypto and Ghibli fan communities.

AI’s Impact on the Meme Coin Market

The GPT-4o update has inspired the creation of Ghibli-themed meme coins, encouraging users to generate and engage with Ghibli-style content. This has triggered a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) effect, leading investors to rush into these tokens.

Numerous Ghibli-themed tokens have emerged on Pump.fun, DexScreener, and GMGN. Among them, the Ghibli Token on Solana (h9d3…dqs7) stands out as a top performer. According to gmgn.ai, this token recorded a 52.54% surge in just one hour, reaching a market cap of $23 million.

Most of these Ghibli-themed tokens are launched on Solana, boosting its Total Value Locked (TVL) and attracting new users to the ecosystem. Meanwhile, Bitget Seed, a platform focused on promising projects, launched Ghiblification (GHIBLI) Token on March 27, 2025, to capitalize on this trend.

The hype around these meme coins has also drawn attention from crypto influencers. On X, a user named DeeZe shared their belief in Ghibli tokens’ potential:

“If this AI model had launched three months ago, Ghibli Token could have hit a nine-figure market cap,” said DeeZe

OpenAI’s Ghibli-style image generation could pave the way for a new wave of pop culture-inspired meme coins. Similar projects may emerge, drawing themes from other anime brands or popular movie franchises, leading to a more diverse meme coin market.

However, Ghibli tokens, like all meme coins, are highly volatile. Prices could plummet if FOMO fades. Additionally, Studio Ghibli is known for its strict copyright policies. If the company takes legal action against the unauthorized use of its brand, Ghibli tokens, and similar projects could face legal risks.