What Makes Meme Coins Appealing?

As the cryptocurrency market evolves, more cryptocurrencies are gaining traction among global investors. Among them, meme coins, one of the most controversial types, have stood out from mainstream coins by incorporating Internet culture elements, attracting a growing influx of users to the Web3 world. Today’s meme coins are characterized by their expressive features, and some have even become a smash hit.

Based on CoinGecko’s data on July 24, meme coins have reached a market cap of $16.5 billion, a 2.9% increase in the past 24 hours, and the 24-hour trading volume has surpassed $1 billion.

Moreover, as of July 24, the total cryptocurrency market cap is $1.2368 trillion, with meme coins accounting for 1.33% (shown below).

Meme coins, with their connection to Internet culture, have successfully blended Internet humour and the social elements of Web3, appealing to individuals from diverse backgrounds. These coins have played a crucial role in advancing the adoption of Web3. By incorporating animal-themed emoticons, meme coins have gained popularity and enjoyed widespread recognition and appeal on social media platforms.

On social media, which boasts a large global user, more and more users are discussing and promoting meme coins, recognizing them as fascinating and promising cryptocurrencies. This strong association with social media has earned meme coins extensive popularity among users, making them the preferred option in the cryptocurrency market for most users.

This article will highlight several popular meme coins:

• DOGE

DOGE, recognized for its Japanese dog emoticon, became popular through a Reddit post in 2013 and later gained endorsement from Twitter CEO Elon Musk. Users discuss and promote DOGE in a humorous and lighthearted manner, earning DOGE growing attention and investment. Since 2013, DOGE has yielded remarkable returns of over 28,000%.

• SHIB

SHIB is a meme coin in the Shiba Inu ecosystem, commonly known as the “Doge Killer”. Launched in 2020 through a DeFi liquidity mining initiative, SHIB derives its name from the Japanese dog breed “Shiba Inu” and has garnered attention with its dog head logo. In contrast to DOGE, SHIB provides practical features like metaverse and NFTs. The price of SHIB surged in 2021, attracting numerous investors.

• PEPE

PEPE has gone through a remarkable transformation this year, evolving from a joke to a well-developed project that represents the thrill and unpredictability of meme coins in the cryptocurrency market. Named after the famous Pepe the Frog cartoon character in Internet culture, PEPE has skyrocketed by 7,000% within three weeks since its launch in April 2023.

• BONE

BONE serves as the governance token for the ShibaSwap ecosystem, with a total supply of 250 million. BONE holders can propose and vote on changes to the ShibaSwap protocol while staking BONE to earn passive income.

• BABYDOGE

BABYDOGE is a community-driven cryptocurrency project launched in June 2021. As a derivative of Dogecoin (DOGE), it aims to support animal rescue organizations.

• FLOKI

FLOKI’s narrative centres around Elon Musk adopting a Shiba Inu and naming it Floki. This dog breed has become famous thanks to DOGE. The FLOKI ecosystem, driven by the community, promotes the extensive adoption of FLOKI through four key offerings: Valhalla (an NFT metaverse game), Floki University (a crypto education platform), DeFi, and the FlokiPlaces NFT & Merchandise Marketplace.

• MONA

MONA, a cryptocurrency mainly used in Japan, has a fixed total supply of 105.12 million coins. It derives its name from the renowned ASCII art character “Mona” and is a community-driven cryptocurrency backed by various initiatives. Some Japanese stores accept MONA as a payment option, both online and offline.

As cryptocurrencies rooted in Internet culture, meme coins have prospered and gained growing recognition worldwide with their distinctiveness and entertainment value. It is fair to say that they boast long-term prospects for continuous growth and will receive more support from cryptocurrency users.

*This article does not constitute investment advice.