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You don’t have to be in crypto for too long to know that when Bitcoin gains traction everything gains traction. That includes memecoins.

Love them or hate them, memecoins are crypto market staples. They can also be fun when understood correctly and not taken too seriously. Let’s explore what they are and see what all the fuss is about.

What is a Memecoin?

Memecoins are essentially cryptocurrencies that are created as a joke or based on popular internet memes. By design, they have no intrinsic value or utility beyond their entertainment factor or meaning within a specific group of people.

The History of DOGE: The First Memecoin

There would be no such thing as a memecoin without the emergence of Dogecoin in 2013. At the time, cryptocurrencies were still a nascent asset class and the term “altcoin” was used to refer to anything that was not Bitcoin.

Software engineers Billy Markus and Jason Palmer took note of the lack of practical use cases for most of the altcoins of the time and decided to create their own as a satire. They decided to launch a cryptocurrency that had no explicit purpose and featured the image of a Shiba Inu dog from the popular “doge” meme as its logo.

Doge’s popularity quickly grew beyond cryptocurrency circles and became a hit on Reddit and other social media platforms. Since then, its holders have become a large community and the memecoins’ success has been replicated by many other assets.

Why Do People Love Memecoins?

What makes memecoins popular, and to some extent maybe valuable, is the community that is formed around them. Just like actual memes, memecoins become stronger the more people are “in on the joke.”

Owning a memecoin is not so much about expecting a return on an investment. It’s more about identifying with a particular group of people or statement that is represented by the memecoin. In some cases this even results in the gathering of token-gated communities where holders of a particular memecoin organize into exclusive discussions and other forms of online participation.

Another reason people love memecoins is because they have a low barrier to entry. Since they're mostly seen as a form of entertainment, memecoins communities are usually friendly, accessible, and attract people who don’t take their market fluctuations seriously.

What Has People So Excited About Memecoins Again?

Either way, memecoins are back. This is partly due to memecoins piggy-backing on the macro trend in crypto markets, and partly due to some novelty in the form of adoption for memecoins themselves.

In the past, memecoin manias were capped by a lack of scalable infrastructure. When the underlying chain for a specific memecoin suffered from high transaction fees, holders were less likely to engage with it as they were already spending more on more “serious” pursuits. Now, memecoins are more likely to use scalable web3 infrastructure that prevents their communities from incurring high fees.

They’re also more accessible than ever. Just like Topper is your gateway into buying more serious assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it can also be your gateway into the fun of memecoins. Many of your beloved memecoins are available on the platform, including:

• DOGE
• SHIBA
• PEPE
• WIF
• FLOKI
• COQ
• WEN
• MYRO
• TURBO

Try Topper today.

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