From the image of a cute pet to the presidential IP, understand the past and present of MEME coins in one article

PART00, Introduction

Imagine that your favorite online emoticon suddenly becomes a tradable digital currency. Doesn’t it feel both absurd and interesting?

They seem to be the product of jokes, but they can occasionally climb to a market value of billions of dollars, making many people scream that they can't understand. The value of these digital assets is largely driven by jokes on the Internet, the popularity of social media and the consensus of online communities. Doesn't it sound like a big joke?

But this is MeMe currency, a unique phenomenon that was born from the Internet humor but can cause waves in the financial market. In fact, these seemingly inappropriate digital things are attracting a lot of capital and attention at an jaw-dropping speed. This article will take you into the wonderful and crazy world of MeMe coins, and gain an in-depth understanding of their ins and outs and possible futures.

PART01. Starting with "Doge": The origin of MeMe coins

MeMe coins, as the name suggests, are those cryptocurrencies that are inspired by the Internet. Their births are often full of banter and entertainment, which are essentially different from traditional cryptocurrencies that boast disruptive technologies or solve practical problems. You may see all kinds of animal avatars, popular memes, and even celebrities being printed on these digital currencies. Their existence seems to be to make a smile and see if it can cause a little turmoil in the market.

However, it is this seemingly "unjust" characteristic that has become the unique charm of MeMe coins. They do not have complex mining mechanisms and total volume restrictions like Bitcoin, nor do they try to build a huge decentralized application ecosystem like Ethereum. The value of MeMe coins often comes from community consensus and the virality of social media. A popular emoji, a tweet that resonates, or even just a joke, may make an unknown MeMe coin instantly popular, and the price will also rise. This phenomenon seems difficult to understand at first glance, but it just reflects that in the digital age, the influence of social and cultural factors on the financial market is increasing. People's curiosity about novel things, their desire for community belonging, and their dream of getting rich quickly are all reflected to some extent in the world of MeMe coins. This may also indicate that in the future financial sector, entertainment, community participation and virality will become a force that cannot be ignored, attracting a new generation of investors who may not be interested in traditional financial instruments.

If you want to talk about the founder of MeMe coins, it is definitely Dogecoin.

The cryptocurrency, created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in late 2013, was originally born just a joke. Palmer publicly mentioned Dogecoin for the first time on November 28, 2013, and he jokingly said on Twitter that "Investing in Dogecoin, I'm sure this is the next big event." And its inspiration comes from the "Doge" emoticon package that was popular on the Internet at that time - a picture with a Shiba Inu avatar printed with bright colors and funny fonts. Palmer then created the Dogecoin.com website, while Marcus completed Dogecoin development in just three hours, spending much of his time changing the client's text to Comic Sans fonts. The two founders may not have expected that this joking project would quickly become popular and gained amazing attention and users in just a few weeks.

Early Dogecoin was mainly used for "reward" on social media platforms such as Reddit and Twitter, and users can reward creators who publish interesting or valuable content with a small amount of Dogecoin. This relaxed and pleasant atmosphere attracted a loyal following and formed a vibrant community. Unexpectedly, Dogecoin’s early communities also showed charitable spirit, for example, in 2014, they raised $25,000 for the Jamaican sled team that failed to obtain enough funds to participate in the Sochi Winter Olympics and donated $30,000 to the clean water project in Kenya.

It is worth mentioning that before Dogecoin, Billy Marcus also created another cryptocurrency called Bellscoin in 2013, inspired by Nintendo's game "Animal Crossing". Dogecoin is actually forked from Bellscoin's code.

In 2021, Elon Musk mentioned DOGE on Twitter many times, pushing it to a global boom. The price once soared by more than 8,000% and its market value exceeded US$88 billion. This initial joke project gradually accumulated huge market value and influence in the following years. This fully demonstrates that if a seemingly unserious project can be cleverly combined with popular online culture and form a strong community consensus, it can also achieve unexpected success and lay the foundation for the subsequent emergence of many MeMe coins.

PART02. **From cute pets to president: The wild evolutionary history

of MeMe coins**

After Dogecoin's unexpected success, various MeMe coins emerged like mushrooms after a rain, as if the cryptocurrency world experienced a "Cambrian life explosion", and various digital currencies with cute animals, characters, current events or popular memes emerged one after another. The most notable of these are Shiba Inu (SHIB), which is often called the "Dogcoin Killer" and was launched in August 2020. Shiba Inu Coin is also based on Shiba Inu as the theme, trying to replicate Dogecoin's success and established its own huge community "SHIB Legion". Bonk Coin (BONK) on the Solana Chain is another rapidly rising MeMe coin, launched in late 2022 and is the first dog-themed MeMe coin in the Solana ecosystem. Another highly-watched MeMe coin is Pepe (PEPE), which reignited people's enthusiasm for MeMe coin in 2023, inspired by the famous "Pepe Frog" emoji pack. In addition, there are rookies like dogwifhat (WIF), whose logo is a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat.

In addition to these "old" powerhouses, new players are constantly emerging in the world of MeMe coins, and their sources of inspiration are also more diverse. For example, various zoo coins such as cat-themed MeMe coins "Popcat" and "MEW". Politicians have also entered the MeMe currency field. The $TRUMP coin, officially announced by Donald Trump, has soared to $14.5 billion, but has plummeted after he took office. Melania Trump also launched his own MeMe coin, $Melania, and by February 2025, the value of the coin had dropped by 90%. Other MeMe coins related to politicians, such as $BODEN, $LIBRA, $CAR, politicians’ participation in issuing MeMe coins has introduced a new dimension. The currency created and promoted by politicians blurs the boundaries between political movements, Internet culture and financial speculation, creating "unique risks" and opportunities. In addition, there are MeMe coins inspired by artificial intelligence, such as Dawgz AI. In October 2021, only 124 MeMe coins were circulated on the market, and by February 2025, millions of MeMe coins had emerged on platforms such as Pump.fun alone.

PART03. How does Digital Happy Coin work?

Although MeMe coins may seem like a joke, they still rely on this solid foundation of blockchain technology. Simply put, blockchain is like a shared digital ledger, recording every transaction securely and transparently. Most MeMe coins run as tokens on existing blockchains, such as Ethereum (following the ERC-20 standard) and Solana (following the SPL token standard). This makes them more rapidly developed and able to leverage the infrastructure of existing blockchains.

While some MeMe coins may claim to have certain unique technical characteristics, their value and popularity are mainly driven by social and cultural factors rather than technological innovation or practical applications. Unlike crypto projects that are committed to developing new technologies or solving practical problems, MeMe coins are more like a social phenomenon, with value derived from community consensus and market sentiment. Therefore, when evaluating MeMe coins, technical analysis often seems less important, while focusing on the community power and network popularity behind it is even more critical.

" Token Economics" is also the key to understanding how MeMe coins work. It mainly includes the supply of tokens (usually large or even no upper limit, such as Dogecoin mines 10,000 SGDs per minute and there is no total limit), distribution methods (such as airdrops to community members for free, like Bonk coins, or through pre-sales, etc.), and any unique mechanism , such as token destruction (increasing scarcity by reducing circulation, such as PePecoin and Shiba Inu coins adopt this strategy). For MeMe coins like Dogecoin, mining is still the way to generate new coins (it uses the proof-of-work mechanism of the Scrypt algorithm, which consumes less energy compared to Bitcoin’s SHA-256 algorithm). A wide variety of token economic models show different ways to manage inflation and perceived value.

It is worth noting that the threshold for creating MeMe coins is very low, and many tools and platforms, such as Pump.fun and Moonshot on Solana, make it easy for anyone to issue their own MeMe coins by entering a name, code name, and image. This extremely low threshold explains the huge number of MeMe coins on the market. While this easy-to-create feature promotes innovation and allows for rapid experimentation of new ideas, it also makes the market vulnerable to a large number of low-quality tokens and potential scams, as there is usually little review process.

PART04, MeMe 's growth and explosion: Solana

The rise of Meme coins is thanks to social media hype, community-driven support and their appeal as low-bar investments for new crypto enthusiasts. Meme coin project platforms such as Solana or Ethereum have played a key role in this growth, providing the technical infrastructure needed to create and trade these tokens at scale.

While Ethereum is the birthplace of many early meme coins such as Shiba Inu, the high gas fees and congestion of the network often present major challenges for developers and investors. As a high-performance blockchain, Solana has become a game changer for the meme coin project. The most eye-catching advantage of Solana is its lightning-fast trading speed, up to 65,000 transactions per second, and transaction fees are extremely low, usually less than a cent. This efficiency has attracted a wave of developers and investors, resulting in a surge in Solana-based meme coin activity. Solana is therefore dominating the meme currency market, making it the first choice for new and old crypto projects aimed at taking advantage of this growth trend.

You can liken Solana to a cheap airline in the crypto world – fast and low-cost, perfect for those quick, impulsive decisions. This makes Solana very suitable for the high trading volume and high risk trading characteristics of Meme coins. In addition, it is partly thanks to the token launch platform Pump.fun, which has led to the deployment of more than 8 million tokens since its launch in early 2024.

But in February, the LIBRA token scandal triggered by Argentina President Javier Milei affected other core protocols on the fast, cost-effective blockchain, causing other Solana meme leaders to drop sharply in recent months, with their token price also falling from a peak of 298 to $123.

Despite this, some traders believe that the end of MeMe is coming, Pump.fun's trading and token publishing platform still maintains more than 150,000 daily active addresses.

In addition to Solana, BSC is also actively embracing MeMe. Recently, under the resonance of the influence of Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX injected US$2 billion into Binance and Zhao Changpeng, coupled with the integration of Binance's main website into the Alpha sector, BSC's Meme ecosystem has exploded.

PART05. **Community is the king: Social media and MeMe coin

fanaticism**

In the world of MeMe coins, the power of online communities is also very powerful. Active communities on platforms such as Twitter (now known as X), Reddit (Dogecoin has over 1.6 million subscribers), Discord and Telegram are crucial to the success of MeMe coins. Shiba Inu has more than 3.9 million followers on Twitter, Pepe has more than 766,000, Bonk has quickly accumulated more than 500,000 followers, while Floki Inu has more than 475,000. It is these vibrant communities that promote the popularity and value of MeMe coins by constantly creating and sharing emoticons and viral content related to MeMe coins.

The value of MeMe coins depends largely on the collective beliefs and enthusiasm of its online community. Social media platforms are a hotbed of hype, with viral emoticons and synergistic efforts able to quickly raise prices. This community-driven valuation contrasts sharply with traditional financial assets, whose value is often associated with fundamentals and actual utility. In addition, the sentiment of "fear of missing out" (FOMO) is also an important factor driving people to invest in MeMe coins .

When the price of a MeMe coin rises rapidly, many people will worry about missing opportunities and blindly follow the trend to buy, even if they do not have an in-depth understanding of the project itself. Internet celebrities and opinion leaders on social media have also often become the booster of the MeMe coin craze. A tweet, a video, or even just an emoji may trigger a lot of attention and purchases in a short period of time, thus significantly affecting the price trend of MeMe coins.

"Diamond Hands" is a popular term in the MeMe coin community, referring to investors who insist on holding assets even when prices fall. This spirit of "never give up" creates a strong social pressure in the community, encouraging members to maintain their beliefs and not sell them easily.

However, this dependence on social sentiment also makes MeMe coins extremely susceptible to sudden changes in public opinion. In essence, the community becomes the "currency" that determines the value of these digital assets.

PART06. **Celebrity effect: When celebrities and presidents tweet

"endorsement"**

The price of MeMe coins is often driven by the viral spread of social media, while celebrity endorsements are the catalyst. Research shows that high-profile celebrities can quickly attract a lot of attention through X posts, especially among the fan group, many of whom are cryptocurrency newbies, and are prone to buying related currencies due to FOMO, resulting in a significant price increase in the short term.

• Elon Musk: As a tech superstar, Musk's X post has a profound impact on MeMe coins. In February 2021, he changed the introduction of X to "DogeCoin CEO", and Dogecoin price soared by more than 1,000% that week, from US$0.007 to US$0.087. However, he also faces investor class action lawsuits for promoting Dogecoin, questioning its conflict of interest.

• Snoop Dogg: Rapper Snoop Dogg's association with MeMe coins includes supporting Dogecoin and launching related projects such as Thug Life coins in 2023, attracting nearly $50,000 in investment. His X posts often spark heated discussions in the community and drove prices to rise in the short term.

• Gene Simmons: KISS lead singer Simmons calls himself the "God of Dogecoin". In February 2021, X post claimed to have purchased a large amount of Dogecoin, and the price immediately rose by 55%, hitting an all-time high of $0.084. He also invested in other crypto assets such as Cardano's ADA.

The participation of politicians has also introduced a new dimension to MeMe coins, blurring the boundaries between political movements, Internet culture and financial speculation. Their X posts tend to leverage existing public recognition and supporter base to quickly attract attention, but also pose high risks.

• Donald Trump: On January 17, 2025, Trump announced $TRUMP coins on X and Truth Social, logo as the image of raising a fist after the attempted assassination in July 2024. The price on the first day soared from US$6.50 to US$7.427, with a market value of US$27 billion at one point. However, after taking office, the price collapsed and fell to US$1.174 on March 17, 2025, with a market value of approximately US$2.35 billion. Ethical experts criticized its conflict of interest, calling it a "presidential conflict of interest."

• Javier Milei: On February 14, 2025, Milei promoted $LIBRA in X post, claiming to support Argentine entrepreneurs. The price rose from $0.216 to $5.54, with a market value of $4.56 billion at one point, but Mile deleted the tweet several hours later, causing a 94% plunge, and investors lost more than $250 million. It fell to $0.08 on March 17, 2025, with a market value of only $21.62 million. This incident was called "Cryptogate", triggering legal investigations and calls for impeachment.

• Melania Trump: The $Melania coin was launched on January 20, 2025, and the first day's price rose from $7 to $13, but fell to $0.68 on March 17, 2025, with a market value of only $369 million. Its volatility is similar to $TRUMP, showing the high risk of political MeMe coins.

This shows that celebrity X posts can quickly ignite the market, but the impact is usually short-lived, with price fluctuations like roller coasters. The possible conflict of interest and lack of transparency behind celebrity endorsements have also caused concerns. Research shows that some celebrities may make profits through the "pull up shipment" operation, that is, selling at the price high, leaving retail investors to "take over", and investors should be cautious.

In March 2025, Arkham Intelligence's KOL tag provided a new tool for transparency, tracking the internet celebrity wallet activity of X fans with over 100,000 fans, covering 950 addresses, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Trump. However, whether the risks can be effectively reduced still needs time to verify. In the future, regulation and community supervision may become the key to balancing the celebrity effect.

The following is a comparison of the price changes of some MeMe coins before and after celebrity endorsement (as of March 17, 2025):

PART07, **Crazy Roller Coaster: Price fluctuations and speculative

attraction of MeMe coins**

The world's crazy obsession with MEME coins has puzzled many financial experts, struggling to find a logical explanation: Why are so many investors supporting deliberately created assets that embody Internet jokes and weird trends that are often useless? In fact, one of the biggest advantages of meme coins is its low barrier to entry . Unlike established giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum, these tokens are often very low-cost unit prices. This affordable price makes it an ideal portal for beginners to enter the cryptocurrency world and allows for large purchases. This in turn has a domino effect: high trading volume pushes up prices and further increases demand.

Another key factor is their speculative appeal . Essentially, meme coins are highly sensitive to market sentiment and are known for achieving huge short-term returns. Some meme coins initially only cost a few cents, or even a few cents, but with the blessing of various popularity, celebrities or front cars, the price soared 10 times, 100 times, or even 1000 times. However, this extreme fluctuation is bidirectional. This cycle of prosperity and collapse is exactly why it is so tempting to be a savvy trader seeking quick profits. MEME coins that soar during bull markets often struggle under bear market conditions. However, for those who can spot signs of an upcoming bull market and act as early as possible, these tokens may represent a significant opportunity.

The core of their success lies in the power of the community. Ultimately, the idea of ​​virality has driven their rise. The success of meme coins depends on the extent to which the underlying memes or trends resonate with people. Since then, word of mouth among loyal fans on social media can snowball its popularity. Some MeMe coins also attract the attention of some influential figures, expanding their influence, which also increases their appeal.

The most prominent feature of MeMe coins is its extreme price volatile. Some analysts pointed out that the volatility of MeMe coins is 50 times that of Bitcoin. Its prices are often driven by speculation and market sentiment rather than basic value, making it a high-risk, high-return asset class. For example, Dogecoin’s price surged nearly 300% in 72 hours in 2013, but then quickly plummeted by 80%. The $TRUMP coin also fell sharply after reaching its peak of US$75. The trends of "giant whales" holding a large number of MeMe coins can often affect the price. In addition, market manipulation further aggravates this risk, including "pump-and-dump" and "rug pull" in the MeMe currency field. Similar events have occurred in SQUID and BALD coins, which make investors be extremely cautious and conduct thorough due diligence.

The history of MeMe coins includes both success stories of early investors making huge gains and cautionary tales of investors who bought at highs and suffered significant losses. Fast and often unpredictable price fluctuations create a high-risk, high-reward environment where wealth can be quickly accumulated or lost in a short period of time. Platforms like Pump.fun lower the entry barrier, resulting in a constant emergence of a large number of new MeMe coins, which not only increases the chances of finding the next hot coin, but also increases the risk of investing in short-term trends or scams.

PART08. **Risk and Opportunity coexist: The "danger" and

"opportunity" of investing in MeMe**

The high volatility of MeMe coins can bring opportunities for short-term high returns, but there are also significant risks.

• The Temptation of Getting Rich overnight: The success stories of early investors such as earning millions of dollars, fueling the attractiveness of MeMe coins. Severe price fluctuations create opportunities for savvy traders to buy low and sell high, but the risks are extremely high.

• Runaway risk: MeMe coins are easily affected by pulling up sell-offs and runaway scams. Runaway means that developers give up projects and runaways and runaways and runaways are exhausted. The New York State Legislature introduced a bill in 2025 to impose criminal penalties on fraud. Red flags include anonymous developers, lack of practicality, over-hype, unrealistic commitment, low liquidity and sudden price surges. Tools such as RugCheck and SolScan help verify liquidity locking.

• Expert tips: Only invest in funds that can bear losses, research teams, white papers, roadmaps and communities, check token allocation and liquidity lockdown, be wary of hype, use on-chain analysis tools to track transactions, do a good job in position management, and set stop loss restrictions.

In the stimulating but hidden crisis field of MeMe coins, in addition to mastering some "dog-beating" skills, investors also need to prioritize risk management and thorough research rather than chasing fast returns. Here are some tips and experiences that can help you identify potential risks and avoid becoming a "leek":

• Beware of excessively high returns commitments: Any project that promises to obtain "100 times" or "1000 times" returns in a short period of time is very likely to be a fraud. Real projects won't make such unrealistic guarantees.

• Anonymous teams and blurry project details: Teams and projects that lack transparency are often red flags. A trusted project should have open and verifiable team members and provide a clear project white paper and development roadmap.

• Start with a small investment: If you decide to invest in MeMe coins, try it out with a small amount of money first and do not invest more than you can afford.

• Check if liquidity is locked: Make sure the project's liquidity pool is locked in a reputable custody service, or locked through a smart contract for a period of time to prevent the developer from suddenly withdrawing funds ("Rug").

• Review of token holders distribution: Avoid investing in projects where tokens are highly concentrated in a few wallets, which increases the risk of market manipulation.

• Focus on the security of smart contracts: If you have the technical ability, you can review smart contract codes or look for projects audited by reputable third-party agencies.

• Beware of the "pull up shipment" model: observe the K-line chart. If there is a sudden surge and then a rapid decline, it is likely to be a "pull up shipment" scam.

• Don’t be overwhelmed by FOMO emotions: When the price of a MeMe coin rises rapidly, don’t blindly follow the trend and buy because you are afraid of missing out. Be sure to think independently and make judgments.

• Focus on the authenticity and activity of the community: Analyze the participation of community platforms such as Discord, Telegram and Twitter of the project. If the number of members is large but the interaction is small, or is filled with a large number of newly registered accounts and bots, this could mean that the community is being shamed to flourish.

PART08. How to discover the next popular MeMe coin?

If you also want to join this Meme coin carnival, if you want to find the next popular MeMe coin, you need to consider multiple factors in a comprehensive way. The following is a detailed analysis:

• Timing: This is the first factor to keep in mind. Look for tokens that have begun to ferment in the community but have not yet gained widespread attention. You can judge the discussion popularity of X and Reddit in preparation for an upcoming bull market, so that market sentiment will be beneficial.

• Track the launch of new coins: Track the launch of new coins on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), just like gold rush. And follow the announcements of launchpads and join some effective cryptocurrency communities to obtain early information.

• KOL tool monitoring: GMGN KOL/VC monitoring, DeBot AI signal, chain.fm KOL channel. By establishing a KOL influence matrix, focus on KOLs that meet "high fan stickiness + narrative ability + real-time verification", and comprehensively consider Meme popularity.

• Data tool combination : GMGN, chain.fm, DeBot, ave.ai, lock in abnormal projects through the 5-minute popularity list → search for contract addresses on Twitter (focus on monitoring narrative integrity, KOL interaction density) → Comprehensive analysis of developers' holding ratio and social media activity.

• Address monitoring and follow-up: GMGN, chain.fm, DeBot, ave.ai, tracking the market-verified "diamond hand" address. For those who are optimistic about the target, they will reduce their positions in a gradient manner until the market value breaks through a key milestone; for those who are short-term game targets, they will adopt the dual insurance mechanism of "double the capital + gradient reduction".

• Exchange Listing and Market Accessibility: Even the most promising meme coins will not thrive if they are difficult to list. Make sure that the tokens you are following can be traded on major exchanges like Binance or OKX.

• Scarcity and Fair Token Economics: Fair issuance is one of the best ways to pave the way to organic growth and prevent insider sell-offs. Look for meme tokens that have no unlocking period or VC suspended and have sufficient circulation supply.

• Cultural and emotional relevance: Not all meme coins have the same powerful concept driven. Meme coins with viral potential can capture the spirit of the times and stimulate the audience's emotions and desires. Not only do they seem possible to succeed, but they feel inevitable.

• Celebrity Endorsement: For better or worse, the support of influential characters has a huge impact on the success of meme coins. If there are celebrities talking about it—most likely, it will be hot.

• Innovation and Practicality: While this is not as important to meme coins as other cryptocurrencies, it is still a reliable indicator of its lifespan. If you want to discover meme coins that may soon become popular, check out those meme coins that focus more on collaboration and integration to build lasting value.

PART09. Looking forward to the future of MeMe

There are currently completely different views on the future of MeMe coins. Some supporters believe that MeMe coins may develop practical uses beyond speculation in the future, such as becoming a governance token for a specific community or a tool used to reward users. Critics believe that MeMe coins are essentially lacking intrinsic value and are very vulnerable to market manipulation behaviors such as "pulling up shipments", and will eventually die.

Due to the lack of basic value and high volatility, the long-term investment prospects of most MeMe coins are usually low. However, currencies like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have built significant market capitalization and loyal communities, indicating that they may be long-term. Their role in promoting community engagement and attracting new users into the cryptocurrency space may also help them persist. In addition, Shiba Inu and its DeFi ecosystem are trying to integrate more practicality. Dogecoin has been accepted by some companies as a payment method.

While most MeMe coins may not be the option for long-term investment, some established players with strong communities and potential utility may maintain their position within the wider cryptocurrency ecosystem. With the continuous development of the MeMe currency field, new trends such as artificial intelligence-driven and political themes continue to emerge, reflecting the dynamics of Internet culture and its intersection with finance. The emerging new MeMe coins show that people are constantly interested in this type of asset and are willing to try new themes and technologies.

In the future, MeMe coins may be further integrated with emerging technologies or fields such as NFT and the Metaverse to create new application scenarios and possibilities. For example, a MeMe coin can serve as a pass to a specific meta-universe community, or to purchase digital artworks associated with that meme. However, at the same time, regulators’ attention to the MeMe currency market may increase, and more regulatory measures may be introduced in the future to protect investors from fraud and market manipulation. In the long run, it remains an unknown whether a market driven primarily by hype and social sentiment can continue to exist.

The crypto journey of MeMe coins, from internet jokes to important market participants, is full of charming colors. They not only bring about the temptation to get rich quickly, but also hide huge risks. The power of the community, the influence of social media, and the ever-changing market environment together shape the world of MeMe coins. Although the future is full of uncertainty, MeMe Coin may find its own place in the broader financial world with its unique cultural genes and strong social foundation, and continue to write its legendary story full of "confusion" and "intelligence".