The Evolution of MEME Coin: From Internet Joke to Billions in Market Capitalization

From Pets to President: Exploring the Past and Present of MEME Coin

Imagine if your favorite internet meme suddenly became a tradable digital coin, doesn't it feel both absurd and interesting?

They seem to be products of jokes, yet they can occasionally soar to a market value of billions of dollars, leaving many people bewildered. The value of these digital assets is largely driven by jokes on the internet, the popularity on social media, and the consensus of online communities. Doesn't it sound a bit like a grand joke?

But this is MEME coin, a peculiar phenomenon born from internet humor that can stir waves in the financial market. In fact, these seemingly unserious digital items are attracting a massive amount of funds and attention at an astonishing speed. This article will take you into the wonderful and crazy world of MEME coin, exploring its origins and the potential future it may lead to.

Origin of "Doge": The Birth of MEME Coin

MEME coin, as the name suggests, refers to those cryptocurrencies inspired by internet memes. Their emergence is often filled with satire and entertainment, fundamentally different from traditional cryptocurrencies that boast disruptive technology or solve real-world problems. You might see various animal avatars, popular memes, or even celebrities printed on these digital currencies; their existence seems to be just for a laugh and to see if they can stir up a little excitement in the market.

However, it is this seemingly "unserious" characteristic that has become the unique charm of MEME coins. They do not have the complex mining mechanisms and total supply limits like Bitcoin, nor do they attempt to build a large decentralized application ecosystem like Ethereum. The value of MEME coins often comes from community consensus and the viral spread of social media. A popular meme, a resonant tweet, or even just a joke can make an obscure MEME coin instantly popular, with its price rising accordingly. This phenomenon may seem difficult to understand at first glance, but it reflects the increasing influence of social and cultural factors on financial markets in the digital age. People's curiosity about novelty, their desire for community belonging, and their dreams of quick wealth are all manifested to some extent in the world of MEME coins. This may also indicate that in the future financial realm, entertainment, community engagement, and viral spread will become a force that cannot be ignored, attracting a new generation of investors who may not be interested in traditional financial instruments.

Speaking of the pioneer of MEME coins, it must be Dogecoin.

This cryptocurrency, created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer at the end of 2013, was originally intended as a joke. Palmer first publicly mentioned Dogecoin on November 28, 2013, joking on Twitter, "Invest in Dogecoin, I’m sure this is the next big thing." Its inspiration came from the "Doge" meme that was sweeping the internet at the time—an image of a Shiba Inu's face accompanied by colorful text in a humorous font. Palmer then created the Dogecoin.com website, while Markus completed the development of Dogecoin in just three hours, most of which was spent changing the client text to Comic Sans font. The two founders probably never expected that this joke project would quickly become popular and gain incredible attention and users in just a few weeks.

In its early days, Dogecoin was primarily used for "tipping" on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter, where users could reward creators who posted interesting or valuable content with small amounts of Dogecoin. This light-hearted atmosphere attracted a loyal following, forming a vibrant community. Surprisingly, the early Dogecoin community also exhibited a spirit of charity; for instance, in 2014, they raised $25,000 for the Jamaican bobsled team, which did not have enough funding to participate in the Sochi Winter Olympics, and donated $30,000 to a clean water project in Kenya.

It is worth mentioning that before Dogecoin, Billy Markus had created another cryptocurrency called Bellscoin in 2013, which was inspired by Nintendo's game "Animal Crossing." Dogecoin is actually a fork of Bellscoin's code.

In 2021, Elon Musk mentioned DOGE multiple times on Twitter, pushing it into a global craze, with prices soaring over 8000% at one point and a market cap surpassing 88 billion dollars. This initial joke project unexpectedly accumulated huge market value and influence in the following years. This fully demonstrates that a project that seems unserious can achieve unexpected success if it cleverly combines with popular online culture and forms a strong community consensus, laying the foundation for the emergence of numerous MEME coins that followed.

From cute pet images to presidential IP, understand the past and present of MEME coin in one article

From Pets to President: The Wild Evolution of MEME Coin

After the unexpected success of Dogecoin, a variety of MEME coins have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, as if the cryptocurrency world has experienced a "Cambrian explosion of life," with digital currencies themed around cute animals, characters, current events, or popular memes emerging one after another. Among the most eye-catching is Shiba Inu Coin, often referred to as the "Dogecoin killer," which was launched in August 2020. Shiba Inu Coin is also themed around Shiba Inu and attempts to replicate the success of Dogecoin, establishing its own large community known as the "SHIB Army." Bonk Coin on a certain chain is another rapidly rising MEME coin, launched at the end of 2022, and is the first dog-themed MEME coin in that ecosystem. Another highly discussed MEME coin is Pepe Coin, which reignited people's enthusiasm for MEME coins in 2023, inspired by the famous "Pepe the Frog" meme. Additionally, there are newcomers like dogwifhat, which features a Shiba Inu wearing a pink knitted hat.

In addition to these "established" powerhouses, the world of MEME coins is continuously seeing new participants emerge, with inspirations becoming more diverse. For example, there are cat-themed MEME coins like "Popcat" and various zoo coins like "MEW". Political figures are also venturing into the MEME coin space, with the $TRUMP coin officially announced by Donald Trump, whose market value once soared to 14.5 billion dollars, but plummeted after he took office. Melania Trump also launched her own MEME coin $Melania, which had seen a 90% drop in value by February 2025. Other MEME coins related to political figures, such as $BODEN, $LIBRA, and $CAR, introduce a new dimension as political figures engage in issuing MEME coins. The coins created and promoted by political figures blur the lines between political movements, internet culture, and financial speculation, creating "unique risks" and opportunities. Additionally, there are MEME coins inspired by artificial intelligence, such as Dawgz AI. In October 2021, only 124 MEME coins were circulating in the market, but by February 2025, millions of MEME coins had emerged on certain platforms.

From cute pet images to presidential IP, a comprehensive understanding of MEME coin's past and present

How Does Digital Happy Coin Work?

Although MEME coins may seem like a joke, they still rely on the solid foundation of blockchain technology. Simply put, blockchain is like a shared digital ledger that securely and transparently records every transaction. Most MEME coins operate as tokens on existing blockchains, such as Ethereum and certain high-performance public chains. This allows for faster development and the ability to leverage the infrastructure of existing blockchains.

Although some MEME coins may claim to possess certain unique technological features, their value and popularity are primarily driven by social and cultural factors rather than technological innovation or practical application. Unlike crypto projects that focus on developing new technologies or solving real-world problems, MEME coins are more like a social phenomenon, with their value arising from community consensus and market sentiment. Therefore, when evaluating MEME coins, technical analysis often appears less important, while attention to the underlying community power and network enthusiasm is more critical.

"Token economics" is also key to understanding how MEME coins operate. It mainly includes the supply of tokens (, which is usually very large or even unlimited. For example, Dogecoin mines 10,000 new coins every minute with no total cap ), the distribution methods (, such as airdrops to distribute for free to community members, like Bonk coin, or through presales, etc. ), as well as any unique mechanisms, such as token burn (, which increases scarcity by reducing circulation, a strategy employed by PePe coin and Shiba Inu coin ). For MEME coins like Dogecoin, mining remains the way to produce new coins (, as it uses the Scrypt algorithm for proof of work, which consumes less energy compared to Bitcoin's SHA-256 algorithm ). The various token economic models demonstrate different ways to manage inflation and perceived value.

It is worth noting that the threshold for creating MEME coins is very low, with many tools and platforms that allow anyone to easily issue their own MEME coin by simply entering a name, symbol, and image. This extremely low threshold explains the large number of MEME coins in the market. While this ease of creation fosters innovation and allows for quick experimentation with new ideas, it also makes the market susceptible to a large number of low-quality tokens and potential scams, as there is often almost no review process.

From cute pet images to presidential IP, understand the past and present of MEME coin in one article

The Growth and Explosion of MEME

The rise of Meme coins is attributed to social media hype, community-driven support, and their appeal as a low-barrier investment for new crypto enthusiasts. Certain high-performance public chain platforms, such as those for Meme coin projects, have played a key role in this growth by providing the technological infrastructure needed for large-scale creation and trading of these tokens.

Although Ethereum is the birthplace of many early MEME coins such as Shiba Inu Coin, the high gas fees and congestion of the network often pose significant challenges for developers and investors. Certain high-performance public chains, as high-performance blockchains, have become game changers for MEME coin projects. Their most striking advantage lies in lightning-fast transaction speeds of up to 65,000 transactions per second, with transaction fees extremely low, usually less than a cent. This efficiency has attracted a wave of developers and investors, leading to a surge in MEME coin activities based on that chain. As a result, this public chain is dominating the MEME coin market, making it the preferred choice for new and old crypto projects aiming to capitalize on this growth trend.

You can compare this public chain to a low-cost airline in the crypto world------fast speed, low cost, very suitable for those quick, impulsive decisions. This makes the chain very suitable for the high trading volume and high-risk trading characteristics of MEME coins. In addition, a certain degree of credit goes to a token launch platform, which has facilitated the deployment of over 8 million tokens since its launch in early 2024.

However, in February of this year, a scandal involving a certain country's president regarding the LIBRA token affected other core protocols on the fast and cost-effective blockchain, leading to a sharp decline in the status of other meme leaders on the chain in recent months, with their token prices dropping from a peak of 298 to 123 dollars.

Nevertheless, some traders believe that the end of MeMe has come, but a certain trading and token issuance platform still maintains over 150,000 daily active addresses.

In addition to this chain, some exchanges are also actively embracing MEME. Recently, a sovereign fund invested in a certain exchange.

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GateUser-954f2c4fvip
· 19h ago
Steadfast HODL💎
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MetaverseLandlordvip
· 21h ago
DOGE is about to start gaining momentum again.
View OriginalReply0
DancingCandlesvip
· 21h ago
Whoever enters a position is a fool x
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ImpermanentPhilosophervip
· 22h ago
Just waiting to be played for suckers?
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