If you think cryptocurrency has taken its fair share of flak over the last decade, spare a thought for memecoins – which often send tradfi critics into a hateful frenzy. It’s OK though, their blind rage simply fuels the jokes and banter that represent the subsector’s lifeblood.
At this stage of play, pretty much everyone’s heard of memecoins. But not everybody could give you a definition. So what differentiates these crypto assets , and why do they enrage and enrapture in equal measure? Let’s dive into this weird and wacky world straightaway.
What Are Memecoins?
Memecoins are digital assets inspired by internet memes, jokes, or popular culture references. Unlike more serious cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, memecoins often start as lighthearted projects or even parodies of the crypto world itself. Ironically though, they can be extremely valuable and are now traded with much the same fervor as BTC and ETH.
The first and most famous memecoin, Dogecoin, was created in 2013 as a joke based on the popular Doge meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog. An open-source peer-to-peer digital currency, Dogecoin (DOGE) started as a humorous project but quickly gained a devoted following and significant value, paving the way for thousands of memecoins to follow. The endorsement of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, didn’t hurt either.
Memecoins have several unique characteristics that contribute to their popularity: they inject a sense of playfulness into the often serious world of finance and technology, causing a Loki effect. Moreover, each memecoin tends to have its own community with a distinct culture, in-jokes, and shared goals.
Because many memecoins are low-cap coins, they are also more accessible and psychologically appealing to industry newcomers, who believe (sometimes rightly, often wrongly) that they can flip them quickly for huge profits. It is certainly true that some memecoins have seen explosive price increases, meaning investors who timed the market just right made handsome returns.
Today’s Memecoin Landscape
As of 2024, there are thousands of memecoins in circulation, representing a significant portion of the overall cryptocurrency market. Dogecoin leads the wolf pack with an impressive market capitalization of $14.9 billion, making up a substantial percentage of the overall meme market cap of $41.5 billion.
Among those looking to gain ground on DOGE are Shiba Inu (SHIB), the so-called Dogecoin killer – and based on the same breed of dog that inspired DOGE – which first gained popularity in 2021. There’s also Pepe (PEPE), which is based (no pun intended) on the Pepe the Frog meme, and Dogwifhat (WIF) which gained traction in late 2023.
As the memecoin space matures, we’re also starting to see projects which bring fresh utility and structure to this often speculation-driven market. One example is WOMIO (World of Memes), which has the distinction of being the first all-encompassing meme ecosystem. Which is to say that as well as being a meme currency, it’s also a meme-centric platform that integrates creation, staking, debate, investment, and promotion across multiple blockchains.
In short, WOMIO aims to transform the memecoin landscape by becoming a central hub for all things memecoin. Users can leverage WOMIO’s technology to launch their own memecoin projects on their preferred blockchain while WOMIO token-holders can stake their tokens to earn rewards from memecoins newly-minted on the platform.
Projects like WOMIO represent a new phase in the memecoin market’s evolution, wherein the humor is retained but abetted by meaningful utility for users.
What’s Next for Memecoins?
While memecoins started as a joke, few can deny that they’ve become a major part of the crypto ecosystem. Volatile, amusing and frivolous, this ‘anything goes’ asset class represents a fascinating intersection of internet culture, community-building, and finance.
While they’re unlikely to ever challenge the dominant cryptos like Bitcoin, memecoins offer a unique entry point into the world of digital assets and are even being added to the portfolios of major investors and hedge funds. Of course, when it comes to investing, DYOR remains the key message!
