Most people are familiar with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. While they witnessed significant investments, it was the meme coins that caught everyone’s fancy.
So, what are meme coins, and which are the most popular ones to look out for? Keep reading to know all this and more.
What is a Meme Coin?
As their name suggests, meme coins are the ones inspired by a social media meme or a joke primarily targeted at well-known mainstream cryptocurrencies.
Unlike other cryptos that are created with a specific technology and purpose, meme coins have no real utility or a solid use case. They ride more on celebrity or community involvement and social media hype. Their value zooms up in a short period due to the news, promotions, and sudden buzz. This has often led to massive and lucrative gains for their investors in the short run.
Which Are The Top 5 Meme Coins?
Today, almost 250 meme coins exist in the market. Here is a roundup of the 5 most popular ones that deserve your attention:
Dogecoin (DOGE)
This is the original meme coin launched in 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Themed around the ‘Doge’ meme, it features a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot.
DOGE Advantage
In July 2021, following Elon Musk’s support, Dogecoin’s valuation rose by 800% (Check the DOGE to INR prices here). DOGE’s popularity is a result of several factors such as:
- It works on the Litecoin blockchain, which can process almost 30 transactions per second, making it faster than Bitcoin.
- Dogecoin uses Scrypt technology. This translates to lower hash rates and less computational energy.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
SHIB is the second-largest meme coin and the fourteenth-largest cryptocurrency in the world. It was created by ‘Ryoshi’ an unidentified founder in August 2020 and was poised to be the ‘DOGE killer’.
SHIB Advantage
SHIB has recorded almost 800% growth in the recent past. This rise to prominence and its more than 1 million investors are a result of some inherent SHIB advantages like:
- SHIB is quite cost-effective and rewards investors with huge profits.
- It transacts on its ShibaSwap decentralized exchange reducing its reliance on intermediaries.
- The meme coin has Elon Musk as its supporter.
MonaCoin (MONA)
The first Japanese cryptocurrency was created to decentralize the global gaming supply and application market. It is also approved by Japanese authorities and widely used for making payments and tipping. It is based on the Litecoin blockchain.
MONA Advantage
- MONA uses the Lyra2Rev2 algorithm that uses less power.
- It is one of the first coins to use SegWit and has a faster transaction processing time, much more than Bitcoin.
Hoge Finance (HOGE)
This community-based DeFi (Decentralized finance) token was launched in February 2021. It started with a 1 trillion token supply, half of which was burned during the launch.
HOGE Advantage:
- HOGE began as a non-profit partnership with Twitter for philanthropic purposes, raising thousands for animal rescue.
- It is the only crypto that can be used to buy real products such as land assets, IP, and cars.
SafeMoon (SAFEMOON)
Created in March 2021, SafeMoon crypto runs on the Binance Smart Chain. It works on reflection, burn, and liquidity provider acquisition functions.
SAFEMOON Advantages:
- It is used for funding charity education projects.
- SAFEMOON has a better liquidity pool and hence higher price stability.
- Its burn strategy has the potential to help investors gain in the long run.
Like any other crypto, meme coins are also highly volatile. Their future lies in their ability to offer some utility to their investors. They need stronger community support for their relevance in the long run. You can keep a check on meme coins on credible platforms such as Coinswitch. On this platform, you can also find out the conversion rates of other coins such as USDT to INR.