Meme Coins : The Crypto Was Inspired and Made Out Of A Joke

Although most people are familiar with Bitcoin, it is not the only cryptocurrency available. Since the introduction of Bitcoin in the latter part of 2012, the concept of a digital currency has grown in popularity among investors as more and more people get interested in cryptocurrencies. As one might assume, this phenomenon has prompted huge organizations and even individuals to develop and launch a variety of cryptocurrencies onto the market. The idea is to use this as a mechanism for individuals to exchange money via the internet. Certain cryptocurrencies, however, were motivated not by this logic, but by social media jokes or puns. These are known as meme coins.

Meme coins, as the name implies, are cryptocurrencies inspired by memes, which are popular ideas or concepts transmitted across the internet, typically in the form of multimedia (e.g., photos, videos, GIFs, etc.). On the internet, for example, there is the Doge meme, a 2013 meme consisting of a picture of a Shiba Inu that is frequently used to convey various sorts of jokes.

Meme-based currencies such as Dogecoin have grown in popularity over the years, spawning a slew of imitators such as Shiba Inu, Dogelon Mars, Samoyedcoin, and Doge Dash, among others. While the coins’ beginnings may have been a joke, their existence on the financial market is not. Dogecoin may be of interest to you because it is presently ranked 13th with a market valuation of 21 billion dollars. You might also purchase Shiba Inu Australia as an alternative to Dogecoin. The market capitalization of this meme coin is pretty huge, at 16 billion dollars.

In 2021, the meme coin industry grew at an exponential rate, particularly for dog-themed meme coins. They are particularly volatile when compared to big cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). This is most likely due to the fact that meme coins are largely community-driven tokens. Social media and online community emotions frequently have an impact on their costs. This frequently results in a lot of buzz, but also FOMO and financial danger. While it is true that some traders made wealthy via the use of meme coins, many others lost money due to market instability.

How Do Meme Coins Differ from Traditional Cryptocurrencies?

Mainstream cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, were designed with particular technologies to facilitate trading and transactions in the cryptocurrency market, whereas meme coins were not designed with a specific application or intrinsic value in mind. “Meme coins are fundamentally devoid of value.” They are more of a community-driven phenomena, a means of expression for millennials and Generation Z. It has all the trappings of irresponsible gambling, if you will. Investing in meme coins comes with its own set of risks and benefits. The recent boom and collapse of the Squid Games token attests to this,” says Sharat Chandra, a blockchain and emerging technology evangelist.

It’s vital to remember that, while meme coins are still cryptocurrencies, they’re not the same as traditional ones. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and other popular cryptocurrencies were developed to promote an alternative payment method via the internet. Meanwhile, the goal of meme coins is to earn quick money (and some of them actually will, until the value drops and everyone loses interest). They are created to be exchanged and utilized on the market, and they have no real-world utility.

Some may argue that meme coins were just released as a joke. Take, for example, the Shiba Inu coin. An unknown user invented this coin only to mock Dogecoin, and it already ranks 13th after only two years.

Most meme coins are significantly less valued than cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. So, while Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have the potential to enhance their total value, there is no certainty that this will occur. Investing in meme coins can be rewarding, but experts feel they are very volatile because to the inability to foresee price swings.

Volatile Nature

Volatility is always an issue in cryptocurrencies, and these meme coins are much more unpredictable than standard crypto assets. Meme coins are heavily influenced by the community. Their success and celebrity are largely due to the social media support and excitement generated by influencers. For example, billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, frequently tweets about several cryptocurrencies, which appears to have influenced their pricing.

“Although the Shiba Inu token ecosystem, which is founded on Ethereum, enables creators through NFT (non-fungible token) art incubators, a Shibaswap, a decentralized exchange, is also in the works.” It’s too soon to remark on the utility and potential of these meme currencies. Musk’s whims and preferences drive the Dogecoin craze. Shiba Army supporters refer to Shiba Inu as the “Dogecoin Killer.” “The price war between these two dog-themed coins is nothing more than a spectacle for retail investors who are only playing for fun,” adds Chandra.

Top Meme Coins by Market Capitalization

Some meme currencies have been a success, while others have been a disaster.
Here are some of the top meme currencies on the market, based on current CoinMarketCap prices:

1. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is well-known among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It is the top meme coin in the market, having been created in 2014.

Dogecoin’s success has been mainly due to its popularity. Everyone, from ordinary people to celebrities, is aware of Dogecoin, even if they do not invest in it. That alone makes it a significant participant in the cryptocurrency business.

2. Shiba Inu (Shiba Inu) (SHIB)

Shiba Inu has had quite the adventure thus far. It was founded in April 2021, and its growth has been remarkable.
In many respects, SHIB is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Dogecoin by establishing a community through social media. So far, the technique has shown to be effective. In 2021, the coin’s market cap surpassed that of Dogecoin for a brief period of time. Not bad for a coin that’s just been around for a year.

3. Mars, Dogelon (ELON)

Another dog-themed meme currency is Dogelon Mars. It was inspired by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ardent supporter of cryptocurrency.

Musk has mentioned sending Dogecoin “to the moon” on multiple occasions, and his business, SpaceX, is hard at work on space flight. As a result, some people decided to gather everything together. Dogelon Mars is a combination of Dogecoin, Elon Musk, and Mars.

4. Inu Floki (FLOKI)
Floki Inu is a meme coin with a dog motif. It was established in June 2021 and is named after Floki, a Shiba Inu puppy purchased by Elon Musk. FLOKI’s price has increased by nearly 1,800% since its inception. It has a lot of potential for 2022, and we believe it’s on its way to the moon!

The Risks of Investing in Meme Coins

Meme coins may have experienced exponential growth in 2021, but trading and investing in meme coins, like other cryptocurrencies, entails significant financial risk.

To begin with, the tokenomics of meme currencies might be troubling. As an example, consider Bitcoin. It has a blockchain, a well-written whitepaper, a mature ecosystem, and a deflationary character. In recent years, we have also seen increased institutional acceptance of bitcoin. Most meme currencies, in comparison to BTC, are inflationary, having no limit supply. Their ecosystem, use cases, and basics are frequently established by the community’s collective humor. Only a handful of meme coins were made using significant cryptocurrency technologies. DOGE’s technology, for example, was adapted from Litecoin (LTC), and SHIB was based on the Ethereum network.

Another possible concern is that meme coins are more speculative than bigger market capitalization cryptocurrencies. This volatility frequently results in unanticipated pump and dump. Meme coins often have a brief lifetime. Their values might skyrocket due to celebrity shilling or FOMO, or they can plummet abruptly when the community decides to move on to the next meme currency.

As the meme coin market expands, be cautious that there may be initiatives taking advantage of the enthusiasm to defraud traders. Squid Game (SQUID), a meme currency inspired on the famous Netflix program of the same name, for example, increased by more than 86,000 percent in a week. However, the development team abruptly rug-pulled, causing the price to collapse by 99 percent. Worse, holders were not permitted to sell their SQUID tokens. As a result, you should always use caution while dealing or investing in meme currencies.

Is it safe to say that meme coins are here to stay? No one knows since they might become mainstream or perish suddenly if another spectacle takes everyone’s attention.