It seemed like a joke at first. Crypto was new and everyone wanted a piece of it. A remaining few wanted to mock it since they did not consider the digital currency as real money. As they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery, through the mockery, appeared a new breed of cryptocurrency called ‘Meme coins’.

What are meme coins?

Meme coins are a pretty recent addition to the market  and therefore they do not have a far back reaching history. Meme coins became popular through the constant tweets of Elon Musk in the favor of the meme coin Dogecoin.

A meme coin is a word used in the cryptocurrency world to refer to well-liked currencies that have ardent online supporters and traders and are occasionally portrayed with humorous or animated memes. Meme coins may be entertaining, but they are also extremely risky investments that may or may not have any intrinsic worth.

This group includes coins like Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and others that may be more entertaining than practical. Understanding the risks is essential when purchasing or dealing meme coins so that you can steer clear of unforeseen volatility and losses. Blockchain-based currencies and coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are examples of meme coins. Trading meme coins and other virtual currencies has the potential to produce large gains or losses very rapidly.

More than 300 currencies are listed in the Meme Coin area of the cryptocurrency website CoinMarketCap. Many, however, are not exchanged frequently and are therefore worthless. Only Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Dogelon Mars, and Baby Dogecoin have a daily transaction volume of more than $1 million in the meme currency category. All of them are typically regarded as volatile and risky trading commodities. The reason for their volatility is that meme coins enjoy a lot of social media presence.

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Most popular meme coins

Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Baby Doge Coin, and Dogelon Mars are the top four meme currencies by market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap. Shiba Predator, Doge Killer, Kishu Inu, Samoyedcoin, Shiba Floki Inu, and numerous others are other examples.

• Dogecoin

Software developers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer developed the cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin as a "joke" to mock the irrational investment in cryptocurrencies at the time. It is regarded as the first "meme coin" as well as the first "dog coin," more precisely. Despite being satirical, some people view it as a viable business opportunity. The Shiba Inu dog's visage from the "doge" meme serves as Dogecoin's logo and namesake. It was released on December 6, 2013, rapidly established its own online community, and on May 5, 2021, it had a market capitalization of over $85 billion.

•  Shiba Inu

The Shiba Inu token, also known as Ryoshi, is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was first established in August 2020. Shiba Inu is a Japanese canine breed that originated in the Chbu region. It is the same breed that is represented in Dogecoin's logo, which was first a parody cryptocurrency based on the Doge meme. Shiba Inu has been referred to as a pump-and-dump scheme and a "meme coin."

• Baby Doge Coin

If the name already didn’t give away, let me elaborate. According t o their website, “Baby Doge seeks to impress his father by showing his new improved transaction speeds and adorableness.” Baby doge currency is a hyper-deflationary token that is intended to get harder to find over time. Baby Doge adds coins to holders' wallets each time they complete a transaction, unlike some cryptocurrency teams that simply trash coins to reduce the amount in circulation.

• Dogelon Mars

Hmmm.. the name reminds us of a famous person and his love for a certain place.
Elon Musk's plan to inhabit Mars is referenced in the doge-themed token project ELON (also known as Dogelon Mars), which seeks to build on the success of Dogecoin (DOGE). 50% of all ELON liquidity was held in a Uniswap liquidity pool by the Dogelon Mars founders.

Buying and Creating

Meme coins can be purchased through a cryptocurrency market. Through their web marketplaces, centralized cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini, Binance, FTX, and Kraken let you transact directly with other users. When using a decentralized exchange like PancakeSwap, you must use a cryptocurrency wallet that enables you to keep control of your funds away from the exchange.

Anyone who possesses the required technical skills can readily create a cryptocurrency. However, creating a coin or token into a well-known meme currency is incredibly challenging and has only been accomplished a small handful of times.

The Punch Line

Meme coins have been referred to as elaborate pump-and-dump scams by some in the media and investment community. Investors should be extremely cautious when entering these markets as a result of this allegation and should be wary of meme coins.