A Newbie’s Guide to Memecoins: What They Are and Why They’re Popular

Whether you’re a seasoned investor or a wide-eyed novice, memecoins have undoubtedly come across your radar. These playful digital tokens have skyrocketed in popularity over the last ten years, creating viral internet movements and, in some cases, generating tremendous wealth for early adopters. 

But what exactly are memecoins, and why are they such a unique part of the digital asset ecosystem? In this beginner’s guide, we’ll run through their history, take a stab at explaining their appeal and growth, and speculate on where the memecoin market’s headed next.

What Are Memecoins?

Memecoins are cryptocurrencies that bloom, often organically, from jokes or internet memes. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which were designed to address serious issues like the ability of the Federal Reserve to print money out of thin air, memecoins often don’t serve any inherent purpose beyond being a cultural reference or inside joke. 

Although that aspect has been cause for criticism, the simplicity of memecoins is a big part of their appeal. Memecoins thrive on internet culture and often spread like wildfire thanks to the viral nature of the memes themselves.

The first and most iconic memecoin, Dogecoin, was launched in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin. Its creators, software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, were inspired by the popular Doge meme featuring a Shiba Inu dog with humorous captions in broken English. What began as an amusing project soon turned into a cryptocurrency with a market cap in the billions. 

Today, Dogecoin boasts a market cap of $14.9 billion. Fair to say some members of the community have laughed their way to the bank.

Why Invest in Memecoins?

At first glance, memecoins seem too ridiculous to take seriously – but that’s precisely what makes them so enticing to many investors. 

Several factors contribute to their appeal, not least the fact that they make investing fun. With their absurd names, non-PC jokes, and bustling communities rallying around the lingua franca of internet memes, they offer a break from the more serious and often overwhelming world of traditional cryptos.

It might be surprising to some, but by investing in a memecoin people often feel like they’ve become part of something bigger – a global, internet-driven phenomenon. It’s a bit like voting in an election or passing through the turnstiles of a stadium as the noise of the crowd grows louder.

Of course, some people just come for the gains – or the promise of them. Stories of memecoins multiplying in value (50x, 100x, 500x) in a matter of days or weeks drive speculative FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), with those able to catch the wave early able to pocket major returns. The gold-rush mentality around obscure tokens is particularly strong in the world of web3.

Memecoins Never Die

As of 2024, there are now thousands of memecoins in circulation and many of them share a common theme – often just the fact that they’re based on household pets. Dog-themed coins in particular dominate the memecoin landscape, and they’re invariably issued in extremely high supply and characterized by their extreme volatility. 

With the overall memecoin market valued at over $41.5 billion, it’s getting harder and harder to dismiss the asset class out of hand. The top-performing memecoins are no longer mere fringe players, they’re staples on the balance sheets of many heavy-hitter investors.

Although the vast majority of memecoins continue to have no real functionality other than their use in speculative trading, we have seen the emergence of several utility-driven coins in recent years. Increasingly, memecoins are designed to serve specific roles within decentralized ecosystems, providing staking rewards, governance rights, or even utility in play-to-earn (PE2) games.

One standout project in this new wave is WOMIO ($WOMIO), which stands for World of Memes. Billed as the first and only memecoin ecosystem that seamlessly integrates meme creation, staking, discussion, investment, and promotion across multiple chains, WOMIO has set up its one-stop shop to capture investors’ and builders’ growing interest in meme culture.

Through WOMIO users can quickly deploy their own memecoin projects on their preferred network, in return for rewards that derive from the 1.25% fee imposed on newly-created tokens on the platform. This feature enables $WOMIO token-holders to stake their coins to earn incentives from every new meme minted. It’s quite literally investing in (and profiting from) the continued health of the overall memecoin market. 

By erecting a one-stop shop for meme token creation, promotion, and staking, WOMIO hopes to transform memecoins from fleeting trends into more sustainable, utility-driven assets.

Evolving Beyond the Meme

From early examples like Dogecoin to the hundreds of new tokens launched every year, memecoins offer investors a chance to participate in a fun, community-driven movement with the potential for huge rewards. The introduction of utility to memecoin projects, meanwhile, suggests developers’ commitment to promoting longevity over boom-and-bust tokenomics. 

Whether you’re here for the jokes, the community, or the potential profits, memecoins have proven they are more than just a fad – they’re here to stay.