The Meme Coin Market: Everything You Need to Know
Lately, there have been several news articles discussing the meme coin market, most of them in relation to the election. But for those newer to the cryptocurrency world, you may be wondering what exactly the meme coin market is.
Don’t fret, we are here to help. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the meme coin market, including whether or not you should consider investing.
What is the Meme Coin Market?
The meme coin market is a word used to describe the buying and selling of Meme coins. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies that are based on a character or image, with the most famous meme coin being Dogecoin, which is based on a meme of a Shiba Inu dog.
The meme coin market spans several exchanges and includes numerous cryptocurrencies—several of which are suspected to be scams. But more on this later.
Related: What is a Meme coin?
Why are Meme Coins so Popular?
So, if meme coins are so risky, why are they so popular? Honestly, there is no one reason that meme coins have such a big following. Rather, there are a combination of reasons that work together to build and maintain the popularity of certain meme coins.
First and foremost, meme coins are designed to go viral. They often have catchy, humorous images that people love to share, and they say that they stick in the mind. Though not every individual who shares the meme ends up buying the crypto, it helps awareness of the meme coin spread—rapidly.
Additionally, meme coins, due to their humorous aspect, often encourage people to buy who normally wouldn’t. This is because people purchase the meme coin in order to feel like they are in on the “joke” or that they can talk about the joke with an air of confidence. Even if several people only invest the equivalent of $1, the fact that so many people are willing to spend $1 means these meme coins often end up with large, seemingly random market capacities.
Another aspect of meme coins’ popularity is the rising levels of FOMO or “Fear of missing out.” Thanks to this trend, individuals who don’t even believe in a meme coin will often buy in just because they are afraid that they will miss getting involved in the next big thing.
All of these aspects, combined with the backing of large internet communities, leads to popularity which seems to spread like wildfire.
Related: The 2021 Dogecoin Saga: Such Future? Wow.
How Big is the Meme Coin Market?
The meme coin market is estimated to be about $65.77 billion, though the number changes frequently due to the advent of new meme coins. That being said, a large market cap isn’t always a good thing, which we will discuss in the section below.
Are Meme Coins Good Investments?
Unfortunately, the vast majority of meme coins are bad investments. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule, but we generally do not recommend investing in any meme coin.
This is because, in general, there isn’t much behind meme coins beyond a store of value. And because this store of value fluctuates based on internet hype, it is impossible to predict what direction a meme coin may trend in and when.
Additionally, meme coins can go under at any second if the community behind them finds something else to promote. This makes meme coins even more volatile than regular cryptocurrencies and makes it unlikely they will bounce back after crashing.
We also have to mention that many popular meme coins have been exposed as scams. Because meme coins become so popular so quickly and people tend to rely on emotions when investing in them, they don’t often look at the science or paperwork behind them.
Thus, we do not recommend investing in meme coins. Even if your friends think it is a good idea.
Related: Altcoin Spotlight: Dogwifhat (WIF)
The Top Meme Coins
The most popular meme coins are often changing, because the life of these cryptocurrencies tend to be quite short-lived. But as of the writing of this article, here are the top meme coins by market capacity.
· Dogecoin
· Shiba Inu
· Dogwifhat
· Popcat (SOL)
· Bonk
· Floki
· Brett (Based)
All of these meme coins appeared in the top 75 on October 30th, 2024.
The Effect of the US Election on Meme Coins
Meme coins tend to have price charts that look like mountains, and this is due to the way they are marketed and sold. However, due to the election, there is even more worry than normal surrounding the future of meme coins.
Most of this worry stems from the possibility of Trump becoming president. Trump has made it clear during his campaigns, that if he is elected, he will grant more rights to crypto companies, especially venture-capital cryptocurrency companies.
As a result, it is suspected that several investors, currently part of the meme coin price floor, would jump ship to invest in more venture-capital-based blockchains at the first sign of more positive regulation.
While we don’t necessarily think things are that cut and dry in the cryptocurrency world, we do think more regulation and acceptance in the cryptocurrency world will damage meme coins. But not because people are investing in venture-capital projects more, but because stricter regulations will scare some projects out of the meme coin space. Remember, while there are many reputable meme coin projects, many of them are scams or have no science behind them. Hopefully, these regulations will eliminate these projects.
As such, we aren’t too worried about the future of meme coins after the coming election, after all, we are sure dogecoin will be fine. But if you have a vested interest in the future of a particular meme coin, know that the outcome of the US election may play a part in what comes next—though it won’t happen immediately, so you have plenty of time to make the decision to sell or hold.
