Cryptocurrencies have been one of the most common topics of discussion lately. When it comes to meme coins, it seems interest is growing in how they are doing in comparison with the other cryptocurrencies. This type of currency blends the media concept of memes with the field of decentralized finance, making financial dealings in this crypto simply more fun.
In this article, we will first provide a proper definition of meme coins: what they are, and what they are used for. Then, we will give some examples of the most popular types of meme coins and touch on matters such as applications, common characteristics, and others. Although we will not be presenting anything like a Dogecoin in-depth analysis, we will throw in a prediction of whether meme coins will skyrocket or not in the next days, months or even years.
What is a Meme Coin?
Let’s get this straight before we continue. A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency, which originated from some sort of internet meme. To qualify as a meme coin, a cryptocurrency must have some meme culture as part of its overall design. As this is becoming quite a popular trend, we can find some different ways in which meme coins were developed.
For example, some teams even incorporate memes into the technical design of their tokens. This can be seen as a little easter egg, where, as an example, the maximum supply of a given coin can be meme-related numbers such as 420 or 69.
Meme coins are often built on popular layer-one networks, meaning the ones related to the most famous types of crypto, such as Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. Some of them also have their own networks though, as they have become quite popular since their development.
What Can You Use a Meme Coin For?
This is one of the main differences between meme and non-meme coins. The majority of cryptocurrencies have one main goal, often related to matters such as fast transactions, smart contracts, and others. When it comes to meme coins, they mainly focus on going viral, just like memes. As with other cryptos, meme coins are volatile and inherently risky.
The beauty of these coins is their interrelation with the field of pop culture, and they often work more like a gadget than an actual cryptocurrency. They are also used for speculative and trading purposes, and investors choose them in the hope of profiting from their popularity.
As a general rule, it can be argued that meme coins work like regular tokens. Take Dogecoin as an example of a popular meme-coin. This coin has its native blockchain, which is quite similar to the way Bitcoin works. It is based on a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm, but it also has an unlimited inflationary supply that is different from Bitcoin, working as a store of value due to its limited supplies.
Other meme coins, for example Shiba Inu, create their ecosystem and other side projects to provide more value to their users and promote the coin even further.
Safety of Meme Coins
Due to their dependence on the memes they were inspired by, meme coins tend to be more volatile than other traditional cryptocurrencies. Take the phenomenon of Pepe the Frog for example. It went from being worth nothing – no offense to the meme – to achieving a market capitalization of almost $2 billion in less than a month, to then losing 70% of its value just a week after that. Meme coins are not unsafe. They are simply volatile, just like memes.
What Are the Most Popular Meme Coins?
At this point, there are more than thousands of meme coins in the market, and it is safe to bet that new ones are being created every day. Only a few managed to navigate the market properly, surviving in the harsh environment, and have become instituted within the field of cryptocurrencies.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is the original meme coin and the most popular one on the market at this point. The best part? Dogecoin was funded as a joke back in 2013. Ten years later, it still retains its popularity and value.
This coin was created by Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer, and it attracted some big names as supporters of this project; one of them being Elon Musk. Together with Musk, Vitalike Buterin also became part of those who supported the project, and this is known to have improved Dogecoin altogether.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another famous bitcoin which was inspired by Dogecoin, and it also relies on the same meme. It is known to be an “experiment in decentralized spontaneous community building,” which in itself is interesting as it is. The experiment is known to have been successful, as SHIB is the second largest meme coin in the world, both looking at market cap and community coin charts.
Pepe coin (PEPE) should also be considered as one of the most popular meme coins due to its extreme and sudden popularity. Created in April 2023, this coin has gained unprecedented popularity. Its design is inspired by Pepe the Frog, and it is often described as the “most memorable meme coin in existence.”
Will Meme Coin Skyrocket?
This article started with the question of whether or not meme coins will skyrocket. Are meme coins here to stay, or are they just another passing phenomenon? Well, that’s not certain. But some things can be mentioned in this regard, such as the fact that some of these meme coins are combining advanced technology with other aspects such as active community engagement and the fascination for meme culture, which could make them last in the market at least for as long as their respective memes last.
Researchers and crypto enthusiasts are looking at this phenomenon with a positive outlook, and they argue that this field of decentralized finance will remain current due to its belonging to the evergreen field of memes.
For as long as memes continue to exist, meme coins will exist as well. The increase in their popularity depends on several factors, and they should be considered on a case-to-case basis to be properly evaluated.
