The Surge of Meme Coins You May Have Overlooked

Opinions on meme coins vary within the community. Tesla CEO Elon Musk sees practical uses for them, while former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes eyes them for quick profits. Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, advocates for investing in tangible projects over memes.

Despite mixed views, investing in a meme coin can occasionally turn out to be lucrative. This was evident early in 2024 when some of the leading meme coins saw their values increase dramatically.

Dogwifhat (WIF)

Rooted in the Shiba Inu breed, Dogwifhat’s allure lies in its simplicity. While another dog-themed token BONK features a baseball bat, WIF distinguishes itself by incorporating a knitted pink hat into the well-loved meme, succinctly captured in its name—”dog with a hat.”

Dogwifhat's Banner on X (formerly Twitter). Source: twitter.com

In contrast to other meme coins that often fabricate a sense of utility, WIF opts for transparency, engaging directly with its audience sans any embellishment. The project’s website plainly states, “WIF is literally just a dog wif a hat.”

Launched in November 2023 on the Solana blockchain, WIF has benefited from the ecosystem's burgeoning popularity. With Solana's value nearly doubling thanks to numerous project airdrops, WIF's timely debut contributed to its success.

Between January and March 2024, WIF's valuation soared tenfold, reaching a market cap of $2.4 billion. Currently, it's trading between $2.3 and $2.5, securing a spot as the fourth top-performing meme coin.

WIF Price Dynamics. Source: dropstab.com

Endorsements by notable influencers, including Arthur Hayes, have fortified a vibrant community around WIF. This collective effort culminated on March 13 with the successful fundraising of $650,000 for promoting WIF at Sphere, a prominent music venue in Las Vegas.

Myro (MYRO)

In the Solana ecosystem, there was a distinct gap for a dog-themed meme coin that could differentiate itself from the popular Shiba Inu variants. This gap was filled by the dog of Solana's co-founder Raj Gokal, affectionately named Myro.

Launched on November 9, 2023, MYRO, much like WIF, has seen its value increase tenfold since the start of the year, reaching a price point of $0.23. This surge has pushed its market capitalization to $225 million, positioning MYRO as the 13th largest meme coin in the market.

MYRO Price Dynamics. Source: dropstab.com

MYRO's mission, as stated on its website, is to make cryptocurrency transactions accessible and straightforward for all users. It aims to be an educational resource, guiding users through the intricacies of decentralized exchanges, token trading, and more.

You can find MYRO on decentralized exchanges like Raydium, Jupiter, and Orca, as well as several centralized exchanges.

Floki Inu (FLOKI)

Floki Inu represents another entry in the Shiba Inu-themed meme coin category, but with a unique twist: FLOKI is styled as a Viking warrior dog. Despite its fearsome horned helmet, the character maintains a charming and friendly demeanor.

FLOKI: The Bravest Among Vikings. Source: floki.com

FLOKI was inspired in 2021 by Elon Musk's tweet about naming his dog Floki. While it began merely as a meme coin, over time, FLOKI has developed a comprehensive ecosystem of its own.

The Floki ecosystem includes:

• Valhalla, a GameFi project where FLOKI acts as the in-game currency for purchasing assets.
• TokenFi, a platform for tokenizing real-world assets.
• FlokiFi, offering a range of DeFi products, including FlokiFi Locker, which secures NFTs and tokens in liquidity pools.

As of March 2024, FLOKI's value has quintupled from the start of the year, with its peak price reaching eight times its value in January. The growth can be attributed to strategic token burns of 190 billion FLOKI and the overall bullish trend in the cryptocurrency market, elevating FLOKI's market capitalization to $2 billion and making it the fifth-largest meme coin.

FLOKI Price Dynamics. Source: dropstab.com

The trajectory of meme coins often suggests a brief period of explosive growth followed by a steep decline to insignificance. Should FLOKI face such a downturn, it's hoped that it will do so in a manner fitting of a Viking, meeting a noble end worthy of entry into Valhalla.

Gui Inu (GUI)

Gui Inu claims the title of the premier meme coin within the Aptos ecosystem, maintaining the visual theme of Shiba Inu dogs that pervades many similar tokens. However, unlike others that add various accessories to their canine motifs, Gui Inu's creators have given their pet a twist by modeling it after Venom.

Gui Inu: The Top Meme Coin Within the Aptos Ecosystem. Source: coinmuhendisi.com

Launched on December 23, 2023, GUI was introduced not to draw in new users, as the project's blog suggests, but community sentiment suggests an alternative motive. The underlying reason appears to be a strategic move to reclaim interest amidst the growing popularity of Aptos's rivals, Sei and Sui. 

At the end of October, Aptos and Sui were neck-and-neck with a total value locked (TVL) of around $75 million. However, within just three weeks, Sui's TVL had more than doubled that of Aptos, reaching $190 million compared to Aptos's $90 million. This context paints the launch of GUI as an attempt to spark renewed engagement with Aptos.

Aptos TVL vs. Sui TVL. Source: defillama.com

Since the start of March 2024, GUI's valuation has soared sevenfold, elevating its market cap to $28 million. This positions it as the 40th largest meme coin and places it in the 875th spot among all tokens.

Kimbo (KIMBO)

The beginning of 2024 saw the Avalanche Foundation signal its intention to dive into the world of meme coins. By mid-March, it had unveiled a list of five tokens chosen by the community for potential investment, with KIMBO among the selected. 

KIMBO taps into the affection for Yorkshire Terriers, featuring one such dog in Avalanche's signature red on its logo.

Kimbo: The Best Friend of the Avalanche Community. Source: twitter.com

Kimbo's ecosystem is broad, encompassing the Kimbros NFT collection, the Kimbo College staking platform, and a variety of other initiatives. Its most ambitious project to date is Kimbonet, an EVM-compatible network designed for the creation of decentralized apps, currently in the testing phase as of March 2024.

The year has seen KIMBO's price fluctuate dramatically, marking a 940% difference between its lowest and highest points. For instance, an investment in KIMBO on January 22, followed by a sale on March 17, could have resulted in a 9.4-fold increase in value.

KIMBO Price Dynamics. Source: dropstab.com

The Avalanche community is buzzing with anticipation for further increases in KIMBO's value, driven by a renewed wave of interest in Avalanche. Check out our article for an in-depth exploration of this trend, including the three top Avalanche tokens poised for growth.

Final Thoughts

Meme coins have the potential for quick, high returns, but they represent a speculative and potentially unprofitable long-term investment. Their low market capitalization makes them susceptible to volatility, and a lack of liquidity can hinder selling at preferred prices.

While social media platforms may highlight numerous success stories, countless negative experiences go unnoticed.

This guy traded 11 #memecoins in 3 days, losing money on each one, for a total loss of 754 $SOL($147K).

If the rising wave of meme coins tempts you, leading to FOMO and the urge for an impulsive buy, it might be wise to pause and consider. Sometimes, the best action is no action at all.