Reasons for the success of memecoins:
Memecoins are cryptocurrencies that are based on popular internet memes, but often they are simply images of animals or pets that can be real or drawn. In recent months, they have become a major trend, even alongside the artificial intelligence sector, leading the current altcoin bull market.
1- Memes are one of the favorite and most effective ways for new generations to communicate, express themselves, and make humor. Therefore, it should not be surprising that cryptocurrencies that take popular memes as design and inspiration are successful.
2- Building a large community is one of the keys to the success of any cryptocurrency project, and memes, being a current and preferred form of communication among the new generations, facilitate access and community creation for young people who are entering the crypto world for the first time.
3- The tokenomics of meme coins themselves often favor very low prices (tenths or thousandths of cents in many cases, even less sometimes), due to the very high quantity of tokens in circulation, which also encourages the adoption of new people, as those entering the crypto market for the first time are attracted by these low prices and like the idea of buying millions of tokens for a few dollars, hoping that if it reaches a dollar in the future, they will become millionaires. Beyond the aspects that this entails, where clearly emotion prevails over rational analysis, the fact is that it is a strategy that seems to work perfectly.
A little bit of History and the evolution of meme coins
Dogecoin (DOGE): the pioneer
Dogecoin was created in 2013. The initial idea behind this crypto was to take the popular internet meme "Doge," which features the image of a Shiba Inu dog alongside multicolored text in Comic Sans representing the dog's internal thoughts or dialogues, and turn it into a cryptocurrency.
Markus and Palmer saw the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at that time and decided to create Dogecoin as a way to experiment with blockchain technology in a fun and accessible way. Additionally, they wanted to do something that wasn't as serious as Bitcoin, but rather something that reflected the relaxed and friendly nature of the online community.
In 2020, Elon Musk announced his preference for this cryptocurrency, and speculation that it could be used as a means of payment on Twitter or for other purposes gave it a new boost and made it even more popular than it already was.
Shiba Inu (SHIBI): the second most successful meme coin so far
The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency (SHIB) emerged in August 2020 as an initiative inspired by the success of Dogecoin and the phenomenon surrounding meme tokens in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Shiba Inu was created by an anonymous developer known online as "Ryoshi," who supposedly decided to capitalize on the popularity of meme tokens and create a digital currency centered around the famous Shiba Inu dog breed, similar to Dogecoin.
The Shiba Inu project was launched on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token, initially based on the Ethereum blockchain and leveraging its infrastructure to function. Shiba Inu was marketed as a low-cost alternative to Dogecoin, with a massive initial offering and a very large maximum supply. But unlike Dogecoin or other less popular meme coins that already existed, which had no specific utility, this crypto began to build an ecosystem based on the SHIB token called the "Shibaverse," including decentralized exchange platforms (DEXs), initiatives related to the tokenization of non-fungible assets (NFTs) linked to the Shiba Inu brand.
These NFTs can include digital art, collectibles, and other unique digital assets. There have also been proposed gaming projects in the ShibaVerse, aiming to integrate elements of the Shiba Inu brand into online gaming experiences and blockchain.
This marked a turning point, as it also had a very similar success to Dogecoin, where memecoins were no longer an isolated success, but began to consolidate as a sector. Additionally, meme coins were no longer cryptocurrencies without any specific utility but were building a complex ecosystem based on them.
2023 and the new boom of memecoins
In 2023, a new boom began in this sector, where memecoins like PEPE started to gain popularity rapidly. Another one, FLOKI, following in the footsteps of SHIB, also began to create a metaverse and gaming ecosystem around it, demonstrating once again that meme coins did not necessarily have to be simple humorous and funny cryptos, but could also be the basis of a more complex ecosystem that includes games or decentralized exchange platforms.
Other blockchain networks also began to release popular meme coins, such as Bonk on the Solana network or Coq Inu on the Avalanche network. Today, at the beginning of 2024, meme coins are one of the most popular sectors of the crypto ecosystem, where humor, community, and now even the ecosystems that are created around them, are part of this world that has gone from being a joke or a funny experiment to being something much more complex and profound.
Memecoins and science
Due to the constant evolution of this sector, where apparently the new generations are attracted, as they are the generation of memes, and where the very low prices of the tokens make them attractive to new investors, as they are attracted by the idea of buying millions of tokens for a few dollars, and now that it is also sought to complement the meme with a utility or ecosystem to give it specific utility, meme coins will continue to emerge in various sectors.
In this way, a meme coin based on science could also emerge, whose utility could be to finance scientific projects, raise funds, or serve as currency for certain scientific metaverses. Because meme coins attract new users, specifically young people, and they may see science as something fun and exciting, and easy to invest in. Memecoins could be used not only as mere entertainment but as a bridge between scientific advancement and youth seeking innovative and playful experiences, while investing in important sectors.