Memes, once considered little more than online visual jokes that happened to go viral, have penetrated the financial realm in recent years. First there were meme stocks that shot up like rockets as internet-based grassroots movements gained media attention; then meme coins took a similar route to stardom with their own social media buzz and, much like meme stocks, their own astounding price parabolas.
Thus, lesser-known meme cryptocurrency tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Ina (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) secured their places among more established digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in the 2020s. Now, in early 2025, meme coins have an opportunity to make further strides – not only in terms of price gains, but also in mainstream acceptance, credibility and utility.
Binance CEO Richard Teng recently commented on memecoin’s role in the crypto ecosystem, “Memecoins, if nothing else, highlight the robustness of the existing on-chain token creation and trading infrastructure. It is a truly revolutionary development that today, permissionless, globally tradeable assets can be created and traded in multi-million dollar volumes within hours and at minimal costs. Given the current focus on memecoins, it is expected that the ability to create new tokens at virtually no cost will lead to a significant oversupply of various memecoins in the market. Ultimately, attention and resources are likely to consolidate around a select few memecoins that demonstrate longevity and resilience.”
Teng continued, “At Binance, we are focused on the bigger picture, recognizing the potential for some memecoins to evolve into significant players within the ecosystem while understanding the speculative nature of the trend and highlighting to our users of the risks associated with them. While many memecoins may not last, they reflect the innovative and dynamic nature of the crypto space and resonate with a young, internet-savvy demographic. This makes them worth understanding as part of the broader evolution of blockchain technology.”
Dogecoin: The Top Dog of Meme Coins
Dogecoin could be considered the undisputed heavyweight champion among meme coins. At time of writing, Dogecoin was ranked number eight in market cap out of all cryptocurrencies.
In its earliest stages, Dogecoin cracking the top ten cryptos list was unimaginable. Co-founded in 2013 by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, Dogecoin immediately stood out with its Shiba Inu mascot, low price, unlimited supply (which separates it from Bitcoin), and appeal to less experienced cryptocurrency market participants.
With its focus on fun, satire, community, and accessibility, Dogecoin set the standard for meme tokens to come. Moreover, like other meme coins, Dogecoin gained traction on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit before the mainstream press caught wind of it.
Only a handful of enthusiasts took Dogecoin seriously at first, but that changed when the DOGE price catapulted from less than a penny to more than $0.25 during the meme wave of 2020 and 2021. Dogecoin took a similar ride in 2024, zooming from $0.08 to $0.32.
Without a doubt, Dogecoin was largely responsible for the broader meme token growth story of 2024. Astoundingly – and with DOGE’s help as the token grabbed headlines throughout the year – the meme coin market expanded 500% from roughly $20 billion in January to over $120 billion by December.
So, what’s in store for DOGE in 2025? There are no guarantees, but based on 401 Binance users’ ratings as of February 4, 106 users (26.43%) were bullish (i.e., optimistic) and another 200 users (49.88%) were very bullish about Dogecoin’s future prospects.
Some experts envision Dogecoin reaching the elusive $1 price milestone this year; their motto is “DOGE to a dollar.” Now that the cat (or in this case, the dog) is out of the bag and the mainstreaming of Dogecoin is well underway, it seems that the sky’s the limit for this once underestimated meme crypto.
Other Dogs in the Race
While Dogecoin is the original dog-themed meme token, there are other canine coins to watch in 2025. Particularly noteworthy is Shiba Inu, which bears a thematic resemblance to Dogecoin but has its own community on social media.
As of February 4, SHIB ranked 18th among all cryptocurrencies by market cap – not too shabby for a meme coin that followed in Dogecoin’s footsteps. This put Shiba Inu above most other meme tokens at that time, including Pepe at number 26 and the Official Trump (TRUMP) coin at number 30.
The “SHIB Army” group of Shiba Inu enthusiasts could help spread the word and push the token’s price to new heights in 2025. Much as it is with Dogecoin, the sentiment among Binance’s users is overwhelmingly bullish/very bullish for SHIB; if the buyers can eliminate any of the zeros from Shiba Inu’s February 4 price of $0.000016, some meme coin investors could get the last laugh this year.
Then there’s Bone Shibaswap (BONE), and up-and-comer with a pivotal role in decentralized finance (DeFi). As part of the Shiba Inu ecosystem, BONE gained prominence in 2024 owing, in large part, to the token’s role within the Shibarium blockchain.
Much of the conversation surrounding Bone Shibaswap concerns its potential listing on the Binance exchange. Cryptocurrency analyst Del Crxpto predicted that BONE would hit a new all-time high price, calling it a “no brainer play” to buy Bone Shibaswap under the assumption that it will get listed on Binance (though there’s currently no confirmation that this will actually happen).
Community Involvement Is the Key
Other, non-dog-related meme coins with moon-shot potential in 2025 include frog-themed Pepe and the presidentially promoted meme token known as Official Trump. Each has its own ethos, its own price targets, and perhaps most importantly, its own community of die-hards.
And with their focus on community building, therein lies the key that could unlock newfound wealth for bold investors who can tolerate the inevitable volatility of meme coins. After a blockbuster 2024 in which more conventional coins had to make room for unabashedly inclusive upstarts, meme coins appear poised to follow through with another year of growth and, more or less, acceptance in the wide world of decentralized finance.
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