23 Jun, 2025
3 minutes
Meme coins have been the most talked-about trend in the crypto world for the last few years. Internet memes that started some years ago have now developed into a multi-billion-dollar trend, with coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu trending on major global news channels. But what is meme coin, and why are both experienced and new meme coinler investing in them?
Meme coins are internet humor, pop culture, or internet sensation cryptocurrency. Unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum that may be backed by technology disruption or native utility, meme coins derive their value from internet hype and social momentum. Meme coins are founded on social media visibility, celebrity endorsements, and speculative demand, thus becoming highly volatile but possibly profitable in the short term.
This guide will cover what meme coins are, how they work, the different types that can be found, and the key risks and differences that set them apart from regular currencies.
A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that was created using an internet meme, joke, or pop culture phenomenon. The coins usually don't have any apparent utility or technology underneath like that of a high-cap cryptocurrency such as Ethereum or Solana. Their valuation based on price, thus, is derived in considerable part from grassroots buzz, viral coercion, and speculative trading.
The best example is Dogecoin (DOGE), which was initiated in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin. It features the Shiba Inu dog of the "Doge" meme and was initially designed to satirize speculation crypto markets. It still became a huge phenomenon with its growing popularity online and celebrity endorsements like those of popular public figures like Elon Musk.
Unlike stablecoins or utility tokens with some specific use within decentralized finance or blockchain environments, meme coins possess a supply that is unclear, a limited number of uses, and incredibly volatile market forces. They are typically rushed onto an already established blockchain network (for example, Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain) and released with relatively less technical innovation.
Meme coins function in precisely the same way as every other cryptocurrency: as digital tokens on a blockchain. The vast majority of meme coins start on well-established chains like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain using standard token formats like ERC-20 or BEP-20.
Token Creation: Developers create and deploy tokens through smart contracts.
Supply Mechanisms: They have capped supplies (e.g., Dogecoin had no supply cap at first but it now has one) and inflationary supplies.
Marketing and Hype: Popularity is usually fueled by influencers, Reddit forums, and meme culture.
Trading: Meme coins are tradable on centralized or decentralized exchanges.
Pump and Dump Cycles: Price increases tend to occur suddenly because of hype and then spectacular falls thereafter.
Meme coins, despite all being of joke or viral nature, differ in popularity, blockchain network, and tokenomics. The most popular among them are:
These are the oldest most popular meme coins:
Dogecoin (DOGE): The oldest and most popular meme coin. Having no supply limit and no inherent use case, it is still widely utilized and accepted for tipping and microtransactions.
Shiba Inu (SHIB): "Dogecoin Killer," this ERC-20 token started out with enormous supply and ambitious DeFi goals, such as ShibaSwap.
Following DOGE and SHIB, numerous other animal-themed meme coins emerged:
Floki Inu (FLOKI): Priced following Elon Musk's dog, it mixes memes and utility goals.
Baby Doge Coin: Spin-off project attempting to entice DOGE enthusiasts with cheaper fees.
These coins are pegged to internet sensations or viral trends:
Pepe Coin: Based on the Pepe the Frog meme, typically sustained by nothing more than social engagement.
TrumpCoin, KanyeCoin, etc.: Based on public figures, not necessarily sanctioned.
There are some meme coins that gain popularity with decentralized launch and open governance:
Dogelon Mars (ELON): Achieved traction through Reddit and Twitter communities.
Akita Inu, Kishu Inu: Additional dog-themed tokens produced as community memes with little initial support.
Made to satirize or poke fun at crypto culture:
Useless Token: A self-aware initiative that does nothing.
NothingCoin: A joke with a name that is self-explanatory.
Although they possess joke branding, a few meme coins later feature decentralized finance (DeFi) features, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or staking mechanics to keep users interested and construct ecosystems.
Purchasing meme coins is more dangerous compared to other cryptocurrencies. These are some reasons why:
Prices may pump or dump in a few hours depending on a viral tweet or social media marketing alone. Meme coins lack inherent value, making them extremely vulnerable to pump-and-dump scams.
Such meme coins do not have any real use case in DeFi, gaming, or even in any blockchain ecosystem. Their value depends to a large extent on sentiment rather than real adoption.
As they are typically speculative in nature and gain popularity very quickly, meme coins get the attention of regulators who are concerned about fraud as well as manipulation of the market.
The majority of meme coins are created by unidentified developers without a track record. This will bring about the possibility of rug pulls (projects where developers dump all the money and exit).
Some meme coins can be traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) only and have insufficient liquidity. This will make entry or exit of a position difficult, especially if there is a dump or price surge.
Meme coins become unpopular very quickly. A 10x pump coin today may be worthless in a few weeks' time.
Always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) before investing in meme coins-and never risk more than you can afford to lose.
If we're talking about the difference between meme coin and crypto we have to understand that these assets are from the one industry but with different purposes. While meme currency are indeed cryptocurrencies, they differ from well-established crypto assets in several important ways:
Crypto (e.g., Ethereum, Solana): Built to provide utility, execute smart contracts, facilitate DeFi or sustain NFT ecosystems.
Meme Coins: Built for entertainment, hype, or socialization purposes.
Crypto: Operates with well-defined supply models (e.g., Bitcoin's fixed 21 million) and economic incentives for miners or validators.
Meme Coins: Operates with monstrous or even infinite supply, without any sustainable economic model.
Crypto: Backed by committed development teams and foundations with long-term road maps.
Meme Coins: Typically developed by anonymous devs, with or without any road map.
Crypto: Maintained from a long-term investment point of view, driven by historical adoption and institutional demand.
Meme Coins: Speculative and short-term community hype, with primary focus being social media marketing and "going viral."
Crypto: Tech communities focused on adoption, utility, and upgrades.
Meme Coins: Meme-heavy communities focused on social media promotion and "going viral."
With that in mind, boundaries are sometimes pushed. A few of the meme coins turn into genuine projects-such as SHIB creating ShibaSwap and dipping its toes into DeFi-but these are not the norm.
The term meme coin crypto is a blend of decentralized finance and internet culture. A meme coin is a cryptocurrency based on a meme, joke, or a cultural phenomenon rather than any solid technological foundation or real use case. The coins can begin as a joke or a parody and eventually become speculative assets that are traded by thousands, or even millions, of users.
The origins of meme currency trace back to 2013 when computer code programmers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer created Dogecoin (DOGE). Riding the wave of the day's "Doge" meme, featuring a Shiba Inu dog and comic sans text overlays, Dogecoin was created as a joke about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency fever. In spite of everyone's expectations, the coin gained momentum-thanks to its playful essence, loyal fan base, and follow-on celebrity endorsement from the likes of Elon Musk.
Dogecoin's meme fame led the way for meme-based cryptocurrencies galore, which spawned a new asset class that is a class of digital token based on humor, activist community, and financial speculation. Meme coins are no longer laughing stock-tradable tokens whose market capitalizations run into billions.
The meme currency has propagated far and wide outside of crypto niche culture. Meme coins now permeate mainstream popular culture, influencing everything from celebrity Twitter and trending news website headlines to Wall Street. It's that intersection into culture that is one of the aspects that characterizes meme coins.
For instance, when Elon Musk tweeted "Doge barking at the moon," the price of Dogecoin went up through the roof. Pop stars, influencers, and even hosts of late-night TV talk shows all were discussing such coins, and that generated viral waves to drive prices upwards and make meme coins crypto mainstream.
Coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and PepeCoin (PEPE) have turned online memes into billion-dollar communities. Meme coins are, in a way, digital reflections of the internet zeitgeist-able to draw mass attention and translate it into money activity within a matter of hours.
Meme coins are now symbols of internet defiance, do-it-yourself investing, and web-given humor. Their popularity demonstrates how cultural capital might impact economic outcomes even in traditionally finance markets hitherto controlled by serious institutional players.
Use of "moeda meme" illustrates the global popularity of meme coins, which now has transcended linguistic and geographical confines. Even though meme coins began with the English-speaking online forums, they caught on in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa soon after.
Ease of access: Meme coins are simple to exchange and comparatively less costly to buy on standard exchanges.
Relatability: Internet memes are community language. Whether it is a doge, frog, or cat photo, everyone on both sides is laughing at the joke.
Low Barriers to Entry: As opposed to speculative investment in Bitcoin to Ethereum, where one coin can be valued in thousands of dollars, most meme coins allow people to buy millions of tokens for just a few dollars.
Speculative Opportunity: As access to traditional financial infrastructure is lower in certain nations, meme coins represent a perceived chance at quick profits-if one is highly risk-tolerant.
Meme coin crypto culture is thriving from Indian Telegram chat rooms to Brazilian "moeda meme" groups, showing how decentralized optimism and humor can be shipped worldwide.
One of the sources of confusion is the difference between meme coins, meme.coins (such as on social media or on DEX tickers), and meme tokens. Here is the difference:
These are organically created cryptocurrencies with their own blockchain or properly branded ERC-20/BEP-20 tokens with high market volume. Examples: DOGE, SHIB, PEPE.
It is unofficially employed to refer to sets of meme coins listed on cryptocurrency sites, exchanges, or aggregators' websites. It is not an asset but a collection-typically written as "meme.coins" to refer to a collection of top joke-based cryptocurrencies.
These are newer or smaller meme assets that are built on older blockchains like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain. Most of the meme tokens never gain big followings or listings on big exchanges, but some of them will inevitably go viral. They sometimes need users to swap them out using a DEX (like Uniswap or PancakeSwap).
Meme coins are the broad category.
Meme.coins is a style name or category label.
Meme coins are a sub-group, generally smaller or newer within the meme coin group.
Bitcoin itself is not a meme coin but has been heavily meme-ified throughout history to spawn an entity known as "Bitcoin meme crypto." It's a term used to describe how the community of Bitcoin uses memes to promote the currency, spread ideological sentiments (e.g., "HODL" or "Bitcoin fixes this"), and rile up public sentiment.
Bitcoin meme culture encompasses:
Twitter avatars with laser eyes
"HAVE FUN BEING POOR" as a catchphrase
"Digital gold" as meme-based brand
Price milestone memes such as "When $100K?"
Although Bitcoin is not a meme coin, its internet-born community and meme-dense engagement paradigm offered the foundation for creating meme coins. Without the internet-borne community and meme-dominant engagement model of Bitcoin, perhaps there would be no Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or the existing meme coin crypto market.
In a sense, Bitcoin meme crypto is a combination of serious decentralized finance and playful net culture-a philosophy meme coins have taken to an extreme.
The short answer is: yes and no. It is difficult not to mock meme coins, but they are real economic and social phenomena that cannot be ignored.
Why Take Them Seriously
Market Impact: Some meme coins carry market capitalizations of billions of dollars, influencing liquidity, trader sentiment, and exchange volumes.
Social Significance: Meme coins are evidence-of-concept that internet mythology holds the ability to influence real investment streams.
Gateway for New Users: Some users enter crypto through meme coins and then go on to more serious engagement with DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain technology.
Innovation Incubator: Projects like Shiba Inu have developed into mature ecosystems with DEXs, NFTs, and staking systems, disproving the idea that memes can't mature.
Why Caution Is Still Advised:
High Risk: Most meme coins have no underlying value or roadmaps, and prices are extremely volatile.
Scams and Rug Pulls: With the low entry barrier to create, anyone can issue a meme token-most of which are solely for speculation or scams.
Volatility: Meme coins can lose 90%+ worth in a matter of days if they fall out of favor.
So, do you have to take meme coins seriously? Yes-as a cultural, speculative, and occasional innovative force. But that doesn't mean you must invest blindly. Approach them as high-risk, high-reward assets and always do your research.
A meme coin crypto rarely possesses a technical use in addition to being a tradable cryptocurrency. Its price depends largely on community interest and internet-fueled hype. A few new meme coins are attempting to develop use cases like staking or gaming, but they're largely speculative.
It is at your risk tolerance. Meme coins are risky, high-return short-term investments but risky assets. They are suitable for speculative meme coinler who can bear losses.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is the most popular. Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe Coin, and Floki Inu are a few of the other popular ones. All of them became popular due to memes and viral social media hype.
