Memecoins Shiba Inu, DOGE, PEPE Important In The Ecosystem Despite Lack Of Practical Use Cases ⋆ ZyCrypto

To
the
chagrin
of
realists
in
the
cryptocurrency
ecosystem,
meme
coins
have
shot
to
the
limelight,
worming
their
way
into
the
top
ten
largest
digital
assets
and
gaining
infamy.

Dogecoin
(DOGE)
birthed
the
meme
coin
craze.
Still,
the
embers
were
stoked
by
Elon
Musk
on
X
(formerly
Twitter),
as
the
billionaire
openly
declared
support
for
the
cryptocurrency.
Riding
on
the
buzz,
several
meme
coins,
including
Shiba
Inu
(SHIB)
and
PEPE,
popped
up
in
the
space,
gaining
instant
community
support
along
the
way.

Buoyed
by
herd
mentality
and
viral
marketing
techniques,
these
meme
coins
have
seen
their
valuations
shoot
through
the
roof,
dwarfing
the
gains
made
by
Bitcoin
(BTC),
Ethereum
(ETH),
and
Solana
(SOL).
While
skeptics
have
been
predicting
a
decline
in
memecoin
interest
since
2021,
they
have
shown
little
to
no
signs
of
slowing
down
halfway
into
2024.

Since
the
start
of
the
year,
meme
coins
have
netted
investors
the
most
return
in
the
digital
asset
space
in
comparison
to
other
categories.
On
average,
investors
in
meme
coins
have
seen
their
portfolios
climb
by
300%
in
2024,
while
artificial
intelligence
(AI)
tokens
and
DeFi
generated
around
150%
and
50%,
respectively.

A
slew
of
positives

Despite
their
glaring
lack
of
use
cases,
some
pundits
continue
to
advocate
for
meme
coins,
claiming
that
their
presence
in
the
cryptoverse
is
a
net
positive.
One
analyst
opines
that
tradfi,
marred
by
a
rigid
approach,
can
learn
from
memecoins’
agile
nature
to
evolve
and
keep
pace
with
rapid
digitization.

Other
analysts
are
making
a
case
for
meme
coins
as
the
perfect
avenue
for
newbies
to
enter
the
cryptoverse.
They
serve
as
a
learning
curve
before
pivoting
to
projects
with
real-world
use
cases.
Some
hedge
funds
have
since
turned
to
meme
coins
to
hedge
against
inflation,
citing
their
upward
momentum
and
global
accessibility.

There
is
an
additional
argument
that
memecoins
are
potential
testing
grounds
for
new
concepts
in
the
cryptoverse,
including
tokenomics
and
community-based
projects.
Their
low
barrier
to
entry
and
daily
trading
volumes
contribute
to
the
ecosystem’s
liquidity,
while
others
have
found
success
in
fundraising
and
environmental
protection
efforts.

Without
a
doubt,
memecoins
have
actively
contributed
to
cross-chain
compatibility
in
the
ecosystem,
leaving
lasting
cultural
impacts
throughout
their
nascent
lifetime.