In the blockchain space, there are two types of cryptocurrencies: regular coins and meme coins. Regular coins are digital assets that leverage cryptography for security purposes, in other words, decentralized systems that enable secure, peer-to-peer transactions over the Internet. Besides the well-known cryptocurrencies we’ve all come to know and love, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, many other projects deserve attention. Understanding the Bitcoin price USD is important because it has a ripple effect on the price of other digital assets.
And then there are meme coins, which have become remarkably popular because they’re funny, often featuring quirky names, logos, and branding that hint at memes, an integral part of Internet culture. Memes are created as a witty reply to the complicated and enigmatic world of cryptocurrencies and can get the point across in ways we wish we could, carrying a more profound meaning. They take the form of skillfully blended templates of text, images, and videos. Meme coins have been around for some time, but we didn’t see the hype until recently, when Elon Musk tweeted about various coins, leading to substantial price movements.
They’ve Been Popping Up Left and Right, with Some of the Biggest Being Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and PEPE
The British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins came up with the word “meme,” using it for the first time in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. As per his definition, memes are cultural ideas that reach many people and leave a lasting impact on society. Suppose I tell a joke to spark camaraderie, and you share it with your friends and family to lighten the atmosphere. In that case, we create a domino effect until it strikes a chord at the collective level, as it simplifies complex issues into digestible content. Internet memes emerged in the 21st century, bringing renewed interest in the concept and spreading to a broad audience via email, social media, and websites.
Dogecoin is the first meme coin and the first ever dog coin. It started as a joke based on the famous Doge meme that features a Shiba Inu dog, accompanied by a multicolored interior monologue in Comic Sans font. The purpose behind the meme coin was to mock the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies, serving as a comic parody of Bitcoin, so it was never intended as an investment that stores and appreciates value. Though it officially went live in 2013, Dogecoin became a hit with the public in 2021 owing to Elon Musk, who ended up supporting the meme coin at the request of Tesla employees.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about Shiba Inu and Pepe. Inspired by Dogecoin, Shiba Inu was created in 2020 by anonymous developer Ryoshi to see if decentralization genuinely works when a coin has no team, funding, or direct leadership. It was introduced as the Dogecoin Killer. But what about PEPE? It’s a frog-themed meme coin launched in 2013 with no roadmap that pays tribute to the well-known Pepe the Frog, who sometimes looks sweet and innocent, while other times he looks like a grinning jerk. PEPE is the most “memeable” coin out there.
A Key Characteristic of Meme Coins Is Their Enthusiastic and Active Online Communities
Meme coins are community-driven assets, and since they don’t have any fundamental economic or business use case, their value is driven by hype and market sentiment, and FOMO (fear of missing out) gets people to buy more. Even if they’re satirical, the volatile nature of meme coins can make traders unhappy. With countless cryptocurrencies trying to get our limited attention on social media (Discord, Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, etc.), meme coins manage to cut through the noise, capitalizing on the cultural currency to create a strong and loyal following.
Meme coins thrive on community support, social media influence, and celebrity endorsements. The question now is: Why do people love them so much? Well, meme coins introduce a touch of humor that makes any complex topic more understandable and memorable – they’re hilarious because they provide a different perspective. Humor can change an investor’s perspective from serious to lightheaded, which may help stop feeling anxious about investing in cryptocurrencies that could include risk-taking.
In sum, meme coins aren’t just financial assets but powerful tools for creating a shared understanding and appreciation of Internet culture; some never make it past the maker’s social media post, while others go viral and get thousands of likes and reposts. Given their enormous supply, meme coins tend to be priced very low, so even casual investors can initiate a trade. Now, you can go online and exchange Dogecoin for flight tickets or pay for your hotel room, and the more use cases we can come up with, the better it’ll be.
Concluding Thoughts
Meme coins have become a force to be reckoned with within the cryptocurrency space, with more than 200 such tokens having been created since Dogecoin’s launch, each offering something different. Originally a joke, Dogecoin is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the market, its adoption going above and beyond the contextual and humorous images and videos on the Internet. You’ll be happy to know the meme coin mania is back, and it could fuel the next bull run, so if you were looking for opportunities to diversify your investments, meme coins will make up for the losses.
Tesla and AMC, not to mention online platforms like Twitch, accept meme coins, so they’re viable means of exchange going beyond mere entertainment. In the decentralized world of Web3, these coins have their rightful place. Speaking of which, Shiba Inu is developing its own metaverse, which could be released by the end of the year, but details about the launch are scarce. The metaverse will feature plots of land that’ll be minted by users who can generate passive income and collect in-game assets. It’s an exciting development that suggests a transition from being solely meme-based to having practical applications within the cryptocurrency landscape.
What do you think about meme coins?