Meme coins find themselves in a pretty interesting position in the crypto industry. Based on memes, pop culture references, celebrities, and other instantly recognisable concepts, they benefit from instant visibility and the hype that comes from a dedicated community.
This, however, is also the reason they tend not to be taken seriously. While a crypto name like Ethereum or Cardano might seem formal and serious, $PEPE or $TrumpCoin can easily sound more like a parody of a token than a legitimate one. But despite the naysayers, meme coins are dominating the crypto world.
A Brief History of Meme Coins
While they are having quite a moment these days, meme coins began in 2014 with Dogecoin, which remains one of the biggest cryptos in the industry to this day. It was, fittingly, created as a joke token but saw more use over the years. What really made it take off was in 2021 when Dogecoin became the focus of public figures such as Elon Musk, who tweeted about it incessantly. It was a runaway price spike that quickly shot it to the top of the crypto leaderboard.
This success wasn’t limited to just Dogecoin itself but saw a horde of meme coins follow in its footsteps. You have several dog-themed cryptos like BONK, Dogiwifhat, and much more, as well as meme coins about everything you can imagine. Meme coins named after celebrities, fictional characters, recent events, and, of course, popular memes, are a mainstay in the industry.
Along with more prominence have been more use cases and financial success. Laugh at them all you want but meme coins command investors’ attention even before they hit the market. Consider, as Sal Miah explains, the fact that so many upcoming MEXC listings are meme coins. These exchanges clearly understand just how profitable these tokens go on to perform and thus, see the value in listing them. We’ve seen meme coins raise millions even at the presale level, bringing in the type of returns that ‘serious’ tokens can only dream of and inspire loyalty across their communities.
Meme coins are also growing in terms of their use cases. Take crypto betting, which has exploded in the last five years to become a billion-dollar sector. Many online casinos accept meme coins alongside other tokens and even fiat currency. Some even go as far as only accepting a specific meme coin for their services. Online video games have also embraced meme coins as they can act as in-game currency and even as a reward system for players.
While they don’t see quite as much use as other tokens, there is a growing list of merchants who accept meme coins as payment and this expands on their use.
Why They Are So Popular
Meme coins might be on top of the crypto world now but it is worth breaking down why exactly they are so popular among consumers especially. Broadly, it can be thought about in the following ways:
● Pop Culture
At the heart of meme coins is a shared cultural connection. A person who loves South Park seeing a token called $KENNY will feel a shared connection with the token and their fellow holders. At their core, meme coins can be looked at as fan merchandise and this alone is compelling enough providing immediate luminary for some to buy them.
● Community
Besides feeling a kinship with other meme coin holders, several tokens grant access to tangible communities that others might want to tap into. An investor who buys a token based on a public figure might also connect with other fans of said person through Telegram groups, Discord servers, and much more.
● Use Cases
As we’ve highlighted, meme coins come with a number of use cases which make them appealing to consumers. Anyone looking to gamble, buy products and services, tip their favorite creator, or just play games might turn to meme coins for this reason.
● Profit
At the end of the day, many people invest in crypto to make money and meme coins have shown that they can more than deliver this. Sure, some people are passionate about the lore behind the token or want to find community but many simply want to make a profit.
Conclusion
Meme coins are a success story if the crypto sector has ever seen one. They have been mocked relentlessly by critics while continuing to rise to the top of the industry. As we’ve explained in this article, meme coins have succeeded thanks to a combination of fostering community, offering use cases, and simply being entertaining.
Despite all that has been stacked against them, we will probably continue to see them being used in all sorts of applications, showing that truly, nothing can compete with the power of memes.
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