Meme coins may have silly names, but some people have made significant returns on their investments. Driven by social media and buzz, several meme coins are trending and appear to be rising in popularity and value.
Meme coins are highly speculative investments. Unlike traditional cryptocurrency, most meme coins do not have a finite number which can produce scarcity and drive value. While Bitcoin and the like aredecentralized digital currencies that you can buy, sell, and exchange directly without an intermediary, the value of meme coins is driven primarily by popularity. While some businesses have started to accept crypto to pay for goods and services, only a handful of organizations will accept meme coins as currency. So, you need to know what you're getting into if you are thinking about investing in meme coins.
Still, serious dollars are flowing into meme coins these days. Several of them now have market caps exceeding a billion dollars.
On the Rise
VanEck, a $90 billion asset management firm, launched a meme coin index which saw a 280% growth rate across the 6 largest meme coins (DOGE, SHIB PEPE, WIF, FLOKI, BONK).
A study conducted byBinance, the leading crypto exchange globally, shows that meme coins are up 586% year to date in 2024. That's more than 10 times the rate of Bitcoin over the same period. Memes are also widely discussed on social media. Mentions have grown by more than 53% since January 2024 outpacing AI coin mentions by 20%.
Here's a list of established players and rising stars that appear on the rise this year.
Established Players:
- Dogecoin (DOGE): Created in 2013, DOGE is generally considered the first meme coin to hit the market. It maintains a strong presence with a loyal community and is often cited by industry influencers.
- Shiba Inu (SHIB): Billed as the"Dogecoin killer, "the Shiba Inu ecosystem is rooted in the Ethereum network and has built a strong following with projects like ShibaSwap keeping it relevant.
Rising Stars:
- Dogwifhat (WIF): This Solana-based meme coin rocketed up the charts last year.Dogwifhatbenefits from strong community support and a listing on major exchanges.
- Bonk (BONK): Bonk was the first meme coin on Solana, bursting onto the scene in 2023. Bonk runs a bit differently with 15% of the total supply to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The DAO makes decisions, such as burning more than 278 billion tokens to reduce circulation.
- Pepe (PEPE): Running on Ethereum, PEPE was inspired by the Pepe the Frog meme. It made millionaires out of early holders.
Others:
- Keep an eye on newer coins like Turbo, CorgiAI, and even the MAGA coin (TRUMP). Keep in mind, however, that newer meme coins are even more volatile than the established ones or the rising stars.
The meme coin world moves fast. Investors should stay on top of emerging trends and keep a close eye on their investments to make informed decisions.
The publisher does not represent or warrant that information in this content is accurate or complete as this article was provided by an outside contributor. This content is intended for informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. As with all investments, there is risk, and the past performance of a particular asset class does not guarantee any future performance. The views, thoughts and opinions in this contributor content belong solely to the content provider.
Lee Enterprises newsroom and editorial were not involved in the creation of this content.
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