Meme Coin Mania: A Love and Hate Relationship

Blue Chip Cryptos vs Altcoins: 

The term “blue chip” began with stocks, specifying nationally or internationally known brands with a large market capitalization, meaning they were “safer” and more likely to experience growth. It was later translated into being the “best of the best,” whether this relates to the quality of the company you work for or the university you attend (e.g., Ivy League). In crypto, Bitcoin and Ethereum are considered blue chips because of their endurance, general safety, and position of dominance (being the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap). 

Generally speaking, every alternative to Bitcoin (the first and oldest cryptocurrency) is considered an altcoin (alternative cryptocurrency). In the altcoin space, a phenomenon has arisen: the “meme coin.” Meme coins are traditionally cryptocurrencies with no practical use cases– not seen as a reliable store of value, like Bitcoin, or constitute smart contracts that can be used in the web3 space, like Ethereum. They usually display logos based on a dog or other cute animals (think Hello Kitty); because of their large market caps and their proven ability to create wealth, for those that have invested since their inception, they have become a phenomenon that is now here to stay.

Top Meme Coins based on CoinMarketCap

1. Dogecoin: The original meme coin was created as a joke in December 2013. It’s often called “The Bitcoin of the meme coin space.”

2. Shiba Inu: A meme coin that took off when created in August 2020, and individuals who invested as little as $2.00 could make millions when the meme coin hit its all-time high in 2021. Although it initially had no use cases, it has built a layer two on top of the Ethereum blockchain and now has its ecosystem, including its native tokens and a clothing line.

3. Bonk: A meme coin built on the Solana blockchain, which has increased in popularity since its inception in 2023.

4. Corgi AI: A meme coin used for fraud prevention in web3 e-commerce software.

5. Pepe: A deflationary meme coin based on an online frog meme.

Elon Musk, X

Dogecoin price has fluctuated based on its billionaire supporters’ tweets and advocacy; he has repeatedly stated that it is his favorite crypto and has referred to it as “The People’s Crypto.” After buying X, Elon Musk even temporarily changed the tech giant’s logo to Dogecoin.

Elon Doge, a Crypto Superhero?

Elon Doge is a cryptocurrency whose logo is made in the likeness of Elon Musk. It aims to be a cryptocurrency payment for intergalactic space travel. It attempts to ride the waves of Elon Musk’s goal to colonize Mars and also has a fantastic comic book that chronicles the superhero’s adventures. Although not as mainstream as other cryptocurrencies, it is listed on Gemini exchange and has a much lower market cap than its competitors, possibly leaving much more room for growth and creating general wealth, assuming Elon Musk colonizes Mars in our lifetimes. 

Disclosure: It should be noted that one of the contributors to this article holds a minor quantity of this item for collection purposes.

Higher Risk, Even Higher Reward

Many individuals have invested in meme coins early to be the next “meme coin millionaires” but have been disappointed to lose all their fortunes in a rug pull. A rug pull is when individuals on the internet make a fake project, and once they have enough individuals invested in the project, they take the earnings and shut down the project. When predicting the next big meme coins, one should be aware of various factors: first, listing on Coin Market Cap or Coin Geico means a higher likelihood that a meme coin is legitimate and has promise. Second, listing on prominent US-based exchanges like Robinhood, Gemini, and Coinbase also implies legitimacy because both the former and latter have stringent standards on the kind of cryptocurrencies they allow on their platform. 

On January 18th, 2024, on the X platform, @DelCrxpto defined the Crypto Bull Run straightforwardly: “The Bull Run is when there is a pattern of consistent increase of new [crypto] wallets created day after day.” He explained what Shiba Inu’s level 2 blockchain aims to solve: congestion (large amounts of transactions we see on a blockchain that decrease the speed of transactions while increasing transaction prices as we see on the Ethereum blockchain). Although other blockchains like Solana and XRP are cheaper and faster, if they had as many users as Ethereum, then they would also face similar problems. Along with fixing congestion, he also described the issue of being “user friendly” as it would help the space be more accessible to the average person who does not have a deep understanding of the crypto space. Imagine transacting in crypto with the same ease as transferring funds between bank accounts. Although “just a meme coin,” the “SHIB name service” project also helps users interact with each other by giving crypto wallets actual names instead of just using a random series of numbers.

According to @DelCrxpto, we are still in a crypto bear market, and once the bull market begins, Shibarium, the name of Shiba Inu coin’s layer 2 blockchain, will make it possible for the average person to use crypto for everyday transactions. According to the website, “The key features of SHIB Name Service include Simplified Transactions, Multichain Compatibility, User-Customized Identities, Metaverse Integration and Early Access Opportunities. The SHIB Name boasts multichain compatibility, allowing users to transact seamlessly across various blockchain networks.”

This should not serve as financial advice. 

Authors:

Mike S. Reyes is the founder and CEO of Pernimed. His experience includes corporate training, and teaching in China; and tech sales and political canvassing/lobbying in the United States. In addition to being a TedX series speaker, he has been invited as a guest to speak on Fox News, CNN podcasts and ABC news; and has been featured in articles in the New York Post, Al Jazeera and NY1. A member of various private clubs, his interests include political activism, following all New England sports teams and playing amateur rugby.

Alexandra Black has spent over ten years in the finance industry working with institutional investors on a wide variety of investment strategies. She has held fundraising and investor relations positions in venture capital, private equity, private debt, real estate, hedge funds and traditional capital markets strategies. She graduated from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University with a B.S./B.A. in Business Management with concentrations in finance and marketing.