A complete guide to meme coins
The Crypto market is tremendously growing, attracting investors from all over the globe. And the rise of meme coins is putting cryptocurrencies deeper into the mainstream consciousness than ever before. Investors are now investing in meme coins because of their increasing demand and potential to give high returns.
Dogecoin, one of the earliest meme coins which started as an elaborate joke, gained immense popularity following the tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and getting extensive media coverage. In this article, we delve deep into the rise of meme coins, their history, and everything you need to know about these coins.
What are meme coins
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies, initially started as a joke and often have no use case. Memes are funny illustrations, videos, texts created as part of the entertainment on social media. So, the first original meme coin, e. i Dogecoin, was created by Billy Markus and Jackson in 2013 as a joke to make fun of the wild speculations in cryptocurrencies at the time.
The most prominent figure to promote meme coins is Elon Musk, proclaiming himself as the DogeFather. After Elon’s tweet about Dogecoin, it went viral and led investors to start buying the meme coin. Ever since Dogecoin, many other meme coins have been launched in the crypto market. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap of meme coins as of 20 August 2021 is more than $46 billion.
History of meme Coins
The development of meme coins can be divided into three phases as follows:
- The first meme coin, e.i Dogecoin was launched in 2013
- The initial coin offering took place in the years 2017 and 2018.
- The latest meme coin is mania, released in 2021.
Cryptocurrency VS Memecoins
Memecoins are created to earn instant profits, and they do not solve real-world problems. Mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum can solve real-world problems with digital currency in a decentralized way. If we talk about utility, these mainstream cryptocurrencies are far better than meme coins.
Influencers and business people hype meme coins by promoting them online, and huge promotions fuel the prices of these coins. Since the meme coins do not have any real-time utility, traders invest in them for a short time to make instant profits. The instability of these meme coins prevents the investors from holding them for a long time compared to the mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. However, with the increasing popularity of meme coins, we can witness rapid growth and the coins going mainstream in the coming few years.
Top meme coins
- Dogecoin- Launched in 2013 as an elaborate joke by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. It rose to popularity after Elon Musk’s tweet in 2019.
- Shiba INU-Launched in 2020, Shiba INU advanced from the attention given by Dogecoin.
- Safe moon- Launched in 2021, Safemoon has an unlimited supply, and it aims to improve the dogecoin token model.
How meme coin goes to mainstream
The crypto world witnessed a regeneration of meme coins in the first half of 2021. The rise of the meme coin began when Melvin Capital opened short-selling positions on Gamestop Inc. The members of the subreddit r/wallstreetBets started investing in GME (Gamestop corporation) to bet on the wall street giant.
It led to a massive rise in stock prices, and the short-sellers witnessed huge losses. Soon after, subreddit r/SatoshiStreetBets decided to draw out Doge for replicating the rise in GME stock prices.
Following Elon Musk’s tweets, Doge raised enough popularity and interest of the investors to enter into the mainstream of cryptocurrency. In May 2021, Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder, stated his consideration for accepting Doge for Tesla vehicles.
Potential downfall of meme coins
It is important to understand that meme coins are based on the hype from influencers and business people. Investing in meme coins for the short term can be beneficial to make profits. However, they have not become mainstream.
The Thai securities and exchange commission banned the trading of meme tokens or other digital tokens based on memes or fans.
Future of Meme coins
Although meme tokens started off as jokes, later, they attracted the attention of investors and mainstream media from all over the world. Moreover, the financial experts are focusing on meme coin development. Elon Musk, who is considered as the DogeFather, is also promoting the coin on varial social media platforms.
It is clear that the prices of these meme coins are fueled by hype and online promotions. Therefore, the future of the meme coins largely depends on the community invested in them and the growth through creating hype among the investors.
Should you invest in meme coins?
Investing in meme coins can make you money in the short run, but this type of investment is highly risky and is similar to gambling than true investing. However, buying and selling meme coins precisely at the right time can get you huge returns.
Conclusion
The meme coins may be in the spotlight right now. Dogecoin and other popular meme coins are witnessing huge growth because of investors. Unfortunately, these coins are on shaky grounds due to their prices fueled by meta-humor and hype among the community. Meme coins may have the potential for life-changing profits, but you will need to be extremely careful while investing in them. So, if you are planning to invest in meme coins, you can do your research and go through the list of the most popular coins here.
