What is a memecoin?
A memecoin is a token or crypto based on social trends rather than any particular use case or value.
According to decrypt.co
Meme coins and tokens are based on Internet memes, current events, online communities and influencers. Since Elon Musk started championing Dogecoin, they have proliferated, with two of the most popular including Shibu Inu coin, and Safemoon.
While meme coins and tokens have no inherent value, like any popular culture they are valued according to how popular they can become.
The top ranking meme coin by marketcap Dogecoin (DOGE) rose to popularity from being to one the earliest examples if not the very first example when Elon Musk started tweeting about it and the value skyrocketed with speculation that Musk being a fan of crypto might give it a use case and increase it's price. Nothing ever came form this but it didn't stop the price from hitting an all time high of 73c in the last bull run.
After spending years with a value of 0.0001c to 0.001 this was an extrordinary rise which made a lot of people a lot of money. This also kicked off a trend of higher memecoin prices as a lot of people wanted to buy the next big thing and make some money to varied results.
Top ten meme coins by marketcap.
All numbers taken from coingecko.com and correct as of 23/7/2023
All crypto investment carries risks. Always do your own research and be aware that meme coins are not a secure way to make money. Chances are that any or all of them won't be liquid in the next few years. Or not, who knows in this game.
1. Dogecoin. (DOGE)
Dogecoin is originally a fork of the litecoin codebase and was created as a joke currency back in 2014. Over time it has grown a large online community as a fun currency and tipping coin.
Famously shilled by Elon musk over the past couple of years the coin and it's famous Shibu Inu is part of popular crypto culture. Currently #9 in overall crypto marketcap dogecoin is the most recognizable meme coin and also the most valuable.
2. Shiba Inu. (SHIB)
The second largest meme coin on the market Shiba is again a fun currency spawned from the original Doge idea.
Shibu has it's own decentralized exchange, Shibaswap and multiple altcoins such as (BONE) and (LEASH). They have a growing eco-system that includes staking, nft's and exchanges.
3. Pepe. (PEPE)
Pepe is the third largest token by marketcap and one of the newest to the list. Based on the popular pepe the frog meme that has been around for the years.
PEPE’s official Twitter account describes the token as the “most memeable memecoin in existence,” adding that the “dogs have had their day,” a reference to an earlier generation of memecoins including the once-popular Dogecoin.
Ref: Decrypto.
After a swift rise, the token dropped back just as fast. With nothing to back up the token price it will be interesting to see where the tokens goes next.
4. Floki. (FLOKI)
The birth of the Floki Inu coin can be traced back to June 2021, when Elon Musk tweeted that he would be naming his pet Shiba Inu “Floki.” Initially, the project started as a dog-themed meme coin, much like Dogecoin, and was known as Floki Inu. However, as the project grew from a meme-coin into something more substantial, the team rebranded to “Floki”.
Ref: Floki
With an all time high of just $0.00033 and still the fourth biggest meme coin they start to lose relevancy fast. Floki still has a marketcap of a quarter billion which is impressive in itself.
Operating across both Ethereum and BNB the token has a 3% swap tax that goes back to the treasury for further development of the project so who knows where they might go in the future.
5. Baby doge coin. (BABYDOGE)
Number five by marketcap, Baby doge is the last of the bigger marketcap tokens at $197M and is sitting at #170 on the total crypto rankings.
BabyDogeSwap runs on Binance Smart Chain, a blockchain with fees that are much lower than Ethereum. Decentralized Swap directly from your wallet, period. Different from centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, BabyDogeSwap doesn’t hold your funds when you trade.
[Ref: Babydoge docs.(https://docs.babydogeswap.com/babydoge-docs/)
Outside of the top five coins the next five get even more obscure.
Lower market caps, smaller communities and bigger risks.
6. Dogelon mars. (ELON)
All-Time High $0.00000259 with a marketcap of $85M.
7. Doge killer. (LEASH)
All-Time High $4,528.43 with a marketcap of $47M
8. Dejitaru Tsuka. (TSUKA)
All-Time High $0.157170 with a marketcap of $32M
9. Milady meme coin. (LADYS)
All-Time High $0.000000172607 with a marketcap of $25M
10. Kishu Inu. (KISHU)
All-Time High $0.000000017547 with a marketcap of $21M
Whether any of these are worth looking at or not is up to you but they are an interesting experiment for the crypto community and whether value can be built on to what started as a joke.