Most people are familiar with Bitcoin, but it's not the only cryptocurrency out there. Meme-based currencies like Dogecoin have garnered a huge following over the years, resulting in a slew of imitators including Dogecoin derivatives Shiba Innu, DeLeon Mars, Samoyed coin, and Doge Dash, among others with Meme Token.
Although often created as jokes, these coins can go mainstream. Dogecoin, for example, saw a huge increase in value in May 2021 before stabilizing and is currently ranked 11th in market cap. according to Coin Market Cap . Still, their individual value is never very high – Dogecoin is currently worth around $0.15 per coin.
So should meme coins be taken seriously? Here's what you need to know before investing.
What is a meme coin?
Meme coins with the highest market cap (Source: Coin Market Cap)
In short, meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by memes and internet jokes. Dogecoin, for example, was inspired by the Doge meme created from a viral photo of a Shiba Inu. These cryptocurrencies are often not to be taken seriously, but can still gain momentum as members of the community buy into the latest to join in the joke.
Once it becomes popular and appreciates in value, small investors sometimes jump on board and keep growing the coin. Prominent online figures and celebrities are also boosting the popularity of certain meme coins. Elon Musk is probably the most famous person for this, and there's even a fork of Dogecoin called Fluke Innu based on Musk's actual dog .
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Some meme coins are only created as a snub. In December 2021, Mungo coin was created after a congressman came up with the name during a digital currency hearing.
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Meme coins have been around for a few years, but some trace the origins of the current boom to the meme stock war in late 2020, when Reddit community WallStreetBets greatly inflated the value of GameStop stock. After that, another group of Redditors joked about boosting Dogecoin's value in a similar way, and the trend caught on.
Another Reddit community called SatoshiStreetBets launched a similar stock war against mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2021. Internet celebrities like Musk also jumped on the meme coin train, and the resulting popularity drove more people to create similar cryptocurrencies.
Some meme coins are more than just jokes. For example, the makers of the Floki Inu Meme coin have teamed up with the . teamed up with Million Gardens Movement , a charity co-founded by Musk's brother Kimbal.
Common characteristics of meme coins
Meme coins often have a very high or unlimited supply. Unlike bitcoin, which has been programmed to have a finite number of units to mine, meme coins will often have billions of units in circulation. Meme coins also typically don't have a mechanism to " burn " coins or permanently phase them out, so the numbers just keep growing with Hokk finance Meme Coins.
For this reason, their value per unit is usually very low. One dollar could net you about six dogecoins at the time of this writing, and other memecoins like SafeMoon are worth even less - currently $0.0000014. This low price contributes to how popular meme coins can be, as anyone can buy large amounts of them quickly.
It's now possible for almost anyone to make meme coins, too, thanks to software that does most of the work for you. The minimal fuss provides the meme-like quality of these coins as they can be quickly spun to any trending topic.