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Up to 300 cryptocurrencies are currently considered meme coins – cryptocurrency tokens created from memes to attract investors through their viral potential. Meme coins have been trending in 2024, but are they a worthy investment of just a passing fad?
They behave like memes
These cryptocurrencies also behave like memes—their value is based on social media popularity, and to attract attention, some capitalise on current events, others on cuteness, and some are snarky, mean, or outright scams.
A case in point is the current trend of celebrity meme coins – tokens created with a celebrity fronting them. Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token was well received when it launched (with some insider trading allegations), but a ‘celebrity crypto promoter’ presold a similar token that he falsely claimed was backed by her.
All meme coins share one crucial trait: extreme volatility. Their values can skyrocket or plummet unpredictably. Remember, a staggering 63% of all crypto projects have failed.
Even relatively well-known meme coins aren’t immune, with both dogecoin and shiba inu surging within minutes of Elon Musk tweeting his condolences on the passing of Kasubo, the Shiba Inu who inspired the meme.
But this volatility is also precisely why some investors are buying meme coins – that single Musk tweet sent dogecoin up 5% and shiba inu up by 3%, and Azalea’s token soared 22,000% in value on its launch day!
How the doge came about
The story of how a Japanese pet became the face of a cryptocurrency with a current market capitalisation of $23.1 billion is a fascinating tale, and a brief mention of how this came about is necessary to understand the internet meme phenomenon and how it became a category of cryptocurrency.
It all started when Kabosu’s owner, Atsuko Sato, innocently posted cute images of her dog onto her blog. These photos were later discovered and shared on the social network Reddit, sparking ‘much wow’ that spread across Reddit channels, 4chan, and Tumblr, especially when it was combined with the term ‘doge’, which originates from the Homestar Runner webisode ‘Biz Cas Fri 1’.
The doge meme also coincided with the Bitcoin bubble of 2013, when cryptocurrency came into mainstream public scrutiny with incidents like the Mt. Gox collapse and the shutdown of Silk Road, a darknet market that used Bitcoins to facilitate criminal transactions.
This hype over Bitcoin led to the creation of dogecoin, which started as an internet prank but rapidly evolved into a real cryptocurrency.
dogecoin, the first meme coin
dogecoin was the very first meme coin, with its founders later stating that they created dogecoin primarily as a satire of the rampant speculation in cryptocurrencies at the time and did not expect the “complete utter insanity” that occurred when they launched dogecoin, which jumped 300% in value in its first two weeks.
This proved, beyond any doubt, the value that many people put into internet trends and memes.
Meme coins to invest in
If, despite our warnings about their high volatility, you intend to invest in meme coins, then these are four meme coin cryptocurrencies, apart from dogecoin, that are currently trending in 2024:
SHIB
shiba inu (SHIB) was created in 2020 as an alternative to dogecoin (some label it the ‘dogecoin-killer’). Its logo also features a Shiba Inu dog. shiba inu currently has a $14.6 billion Market Cap and is hosted by the Ethereum blockchain.
shiba inu is restricted to one quadrillion coins, though it costs a fraction of Bitcoin. As a community-based blockchain, shiba inu relies on the goodwill of its community, which has created a fully developed Shiba ecosystem.
$WIF
WIF Coin ($WIF) comes from the Dogwifhat meme. It was launched in mid-December 2023 and currently has a Market Cap of US$3.2 billion. WIF Coin is based on the Solana blockchain and has a maximum supply of 998,905,939 WIF tokens.
$PEPE
Pepe Coin ($PEPE) is another popular meme coin. Launched in April 2023, it has a market capitalization of $6.2 billion.
Pepe Coin is based on the Pepe the Frog meme. The Pepe Coin website claims no association with the character’s creator but is using the meme’s notoriety to spread awareness of the coin. This coin has a maximum supply of 420,690 million tokens and a built-in deflationary mechanism to burn a small percentage of tokens during a transaction to create scarcity and increase value.
FLOKI
Floki inu (FLOKI) is a meme coin created by members of the shiba inu community and named after Floki, the Shiba Inu dog that Elon Musk owns. Market cap is currently $2.4 billion, with a total supply of 9,69 trillion FLOKI. This crypto uses a multi-chain token that operates on both the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchains.
Floki is claimed to be different from most other meme coins as it is based on the philosophy surrounding the Floki Project, which has three pillars – maintaining the meme status of the coin; utilising Floki to develop metaverse projects; and a charity pillar to establish a school on every continent.
The bottom line
If you’re considering dipping your toes into the meme coin waters, proceed with extreme caution. Be prepared for wild price swings, and remember, most crypto projects don’t survive the first three years. But if you’re feeling lucky and have a high-risk tolerance, the potential rewards could be significant.
Remember: Do your research, invest only what you can afford to lose, and be wary of scams. The meme coin world is exciting but is also a wild west of speculation.
We also recommend reading this Forbes article on meme coins before you start your crypto journey.
Feature image: Kanchanara/Unsplash