Meme coins have taken over the cryptocurrency world and have become, these days, a considerable subcategory of digital assets. Built upon humor, pop culture references, and community-driven energy, these coins often are not burdened by the technical utility likely present in traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. But that’s what makes them appealing: accessibility and virality.
In this article, we’ll explore what meme coins are and highlight the various types that have emerged in this growing space:
1. Animal-Themed Meme Coins
2. Pepe-Related Meme Coins
3. Politics-Themed Meme Coins
4. Celebrity-Themed Meme Coins
5. Wall Street Bets-Inspired Meme Coins
What Are Meme Coins?
Meme coins derive from crypto versions of internet memes, events of large-scale importance, or themes of popular culture. While most classic cryptocurrencies attempt to solve some sort of complicated financial problem, meme coins take a much lighter, more community-oriented approach.
Their value largely depends on the power of the community behind it and how well it is marketed. Most often, their popularity is just a result of viral marketing stunts, memes, and celebrity endorsements. Such joke coins as DOGECOIN, based on the Shiba Inu breed, have grown to become leading underrated cryptocurrencies with multi-billion dollar market capitalizations.
Key characteristics of meme coins include:
- Community-driven: meme coins have at their base very active supportive communities.
- Low entry barriers: They are pretty inexpensive and highly accessible to the common investor.
- Lack of intrinsic value: Most of them have zero potential use cases or utilities.
- High volatility: Their prices are driven by publicity and fads.
Types of Meme Coins
Meme coins are as diverse as the memes they are based on. Below, we break down some popular categories and examples:
1. Animal-Themed Meme Coins
Dog-themed meme coins are dominating the space, with the Shiba Inu dog seeming to be the favorite of the fans. That keeps them really successful due to the high prevalence among people and huge communities in support.
- Dogecoin (DOGE): Back in 2013 but has since become an actual cultural phenomenon, with a market value of more than $18 billion.
- Shiba Inu (SHIB): Sometimes referred to as the “Dogecoin Killer,” SHIB is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that continues to expand its ecosystem with projects such as Shibarium.
- FLOKI (FLOKI): At first named after Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu dog, FLOKI developed into a Web3 project carrying DeFi and NFT aspects.
Though not as dominant as dog-themed coins, cat-themed meme coins have their own dedicated following.
- Popcat (POPCAT): Inspired by the viral “Oatmeal the Cat” meme, this coin boasts a market cap of over $800 million.
- Mog Coin (MOG): Representing self-confidence and growth, MOG has gained traction with its Joycat branding.
Beyond dogs and cats, other animals have inspired their own meme coins.
- Moo Deng (MOODENG): Featuring a pygmy hippo from a viral meme, this coin has a market cap of over $119 million.
- Peng (PENG): Combining penguins with Pepe-inspired memes, PENG caters to a niche audience.
These coins showcase the creative potential of meme coin branding. We have covered this niche in our Animal Meme Coin article.
2. Pepe-Related Meme Coins
Pepe the Frog, a comic character turned internet meme, has inspired a wide range of meme coins.
- PEPE: Launched in 2023, this Ethereum-based token has become a top player with a market cap exceeding $5 billion.
- Apu Apustaja (APU): A younger, humbler version of Pepe, APU has gained popularity through creative marketing campaigns.
Pepe-related coins leverage the enduring popularity of this meme, drawing millions of investors.
3. Politics-Themed Meme Coins
Political figures and events have also found their way into the meme coin space. These coins often parody well-known politicians.
- MAGA (TRUMP): A coin inspired by Donald Trump’s campaign slogan to support veteran causes and human trafficking awareness.
- Jeo Boden (BODEN): A satirical version of Joe Biden, this represents the epitome of public opinion on the President of the United States.
While smaller in scale, these coins tap into politically active and meme-loving communities.
4. Celebrity-Themed Meme Coins
Some popularization of these meme coins happens either directly or indirectly with celebrities involved.
- Mother Iggy (MOTHER): This token-mightily promoted and created by the rapper Iggy Azalea-has seen surges leveraging fan engagement.
- DAVIDO: Backed by Nigerian musician Davido, this coin initially gained traction but has since declined.
Celebrity meme coins rely on the power of the celebrity to generate hype and engagement.
5. Wall Street Bets-Inspired Meme Coins
Drawn from the notorious 2021 GameStop short squeeze, these meme coins make fun of the world of stock trading and hedge funds.
- GME: Based on the ticker for GameStop’s stock, GME completely defines the anti-establishment attitude that is the foundation of Wall Street Bets.
- Roaring Kitty (KITTY): Named in honor of the web-username of Keith Gill, this coin is full of nostalgic memes born in the GameStop saga.
These coins echo the community-driven ethos of their stock market counterparts.
Final Thoughts
Meme coins are complex mixtures of humor, culture, and finance put together. Though they do not have any utility for conventional cryptocurrency, their very low barrier of entry and their way of spreading via viral marketing allowed many new entrants to jump into crypto. Still, they are highly volatile and speculative in nature.
From dog-themed tokens to political parodies, the types of meme coins have everything inside them. The category is going to keep on amazing and be quite unpredictable in the future, with new themes and trends popping up.
Reference:
What Are Meme Coins and Types of Meme Coins (CoinGeckko)