From Dogecoin to Shiba Predator, here’s our round-up of the best ones to keep an eye out for.
Billionaires, including Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, have waxed eloquent about meme coins. These are digital tokens that started as jokes but have since taken off in value. Some even credit meme coins for helping cryptocurrencies, in general, reach a larger audience. For instance, the Head of Communications at Vita Inu (a dog-themed cryptocurrency), Tyler Miller, questioned, “Without meme coins publicizing and popularizing cryptocurrency, do you think that so many people would now know about cryptocurrency?”
While that can be debated, one thing is for certain: meme coins are here to stay. So, which ones should you keep an eye on?
Note: The market capitalizations of the following meme coins are based on CoinMarketCap data as of May 13, 2022.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Valued at over US$12 billion, Dogecoin is the original meme coin and the most popular one in circulation. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s not-so-secret love, Dogecoin, was created in 2013 as a joke based on the popular “Doge” meme that featured a Shiba Inu dog. It began as a parody of Bitcoin but soon caught on as a genuine cryptocurrency. Dogecoin has a large and active community with many high-profile backers, including Musk. On why the billionaire chose to support this supposedly “joke” crypto, he expounded in an interview, “It felt like the people’s crypto.”
As of April 2022, it was the 13th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. And, after Elon Musk offered to acquire Twitter, its value jumped by 10 percent. The language in its whitepaper is evidence that the meme coin does not take itself too seriously. Though its future is volatile, as is the case with most cryptocurrencies, greater adoption and diversification could work in its favor in the coming years.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu is a relatively new cryptocurrency that was created in August 2020. With a market cap of over US$7.5 million, it’s the second most valuable meme coin available today. Its whitepaper notes that the cryptocurrency came about as “an experiment in decentralized spontaneous community building”, as per founder Ryoshi. However, it is not affiliated with Dogecoin in any way. In fact, it was designed to be an alternative to Dogecoin, so much so that it dubbed itself the “Dogecoin killer”.
Shiba Inu is a decentralized token on Ethereum and is run by the community. It also boasts its own decentralized exchange (DEX), ShibaSwap, and has two other cryptocurrencies to choose from, namely LEASH and BONE. And if that wasn’t enough, Shiba Inu also has its own incubator to support blockchain startups.
Dogelon Mars (ELON)
Launched very recently in 2021, Dogelon Mars is an amalgam of its inspirations: Dogecoin and Elon Musk. It has a market cap of over US$300 million. Besides being a token, its themed comics are also available for sale as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Dogelon Mars is on a mission to make cryptocurrencies a level-playing field free of scammers. And to do so, it is undertaking numerous initiatives, such as donating tokens and burning the liquidity provider tokens it received from Uniswap. The latter is to reassure the community that the developers won’t commit a rug pull.
Though altruistic, crypto aficionados are unsure as to what the ultimate goal of this token is, given that it has no real utility. Its only saving graces, at the moment, seem to be its use of “Elon” in a clickbait-y fashion and its donation to Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin.
MonaCoin (MONA)
Launched in 2013, MonaCoin is valued at over US$46 million and is based on a Japanese cat-like character, Mona. As per its creators, MonaCoin is the first Japanese cryptocurrency. Using the token, you can mine, tip in play-to-earn games and purchase goods in Japanese stores online and offline. The most reassuring aspect of this token is that it has been approved by Japan’s regulatory authorities for daily use. While we can’t talk about its worldwide adoption or usage; for citizens of Japan, this could be a good meme coin to invest in. It boasts fast transactions and the ability to transact it at an ATM in Japan.
Shiba Predator (QOM)
“Shiba Flipped Doge…Now We Flip Shiba,” reads the Shiba Predator website, with its icon featuring an eagle clutching a dead Shiba. Valued at over US$35 million, it’s clear that this token was designed to surpass Shiba Inu. Its goal is to urge people to convert all their SHIB to QOM. Very little is known about this token—including the source of its animosity towards Shiba Inu—given that it was launched only in April 2022. Some believe that its popularity is credited to adopting the word “Shiba” from the well-known Shiba Inu token as a part of its name.
With the growing demand for meme coins—and the actual Shiba Inu dogs—one might safely assume that these tokens are where they are at. However, recent events show that meme coins have been witnessing a decline, losing many investors. As of May 12, 2022, Dogecoin had lost 25 percent while Shiba Inu had gone down by 30 percent. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, meme or not, the only thing you can rely on is your own research! So, go on and keep a track of these aforementioned meme coins to see if they’re worth investing in.
Also read:
- How to Minimize Risks When Investing in Crypto
- 5 Profitable Crypto to Mine in 2022
- How Investors Handle a Crypto Crash
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