The cryptocurrency market is always full of interesting twists and turns. It is both wildly entertaining at times and boundlessly frustrating at other times. However, one of the most interesting twists has been the meteoric rise of memecoins.

At the start of the current bull run, meme coins brought an unprecedented level of excitement back to the market. The current meme coin craze, which began in 2023, reinvigorated a market that had been relatively stagnant. It paved the way for what would become one of the most vibrant and lucrative sectors in the crypto space.

In 2023, even before broader market excitement had fully returned, meme coins like Pepe (PEPE) and others originating from the NFT side of web3 started to capture the imagination of investors and traders. The meme coin craze was not just a fleeting trend. It signaled a shift in the market dynamics where these digital assets began to be taken seriously. By 2024, meme coins had firmly established themselves as a major sector within the cryptocurrency market. Memecoins now stand alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects as the two hottest sectors of the market in 2024. The impressive performance of these coins in such a short span of time has proven that meme coins are far more than just a joke.

Future Potential of Memecoins

But what can we really expect from meme coins in the future? If recent history is any indication, the potential is staggering. In 2024 alone, many meme coins have achieved massive gains, with some experiencing 50x increases in value. This extraordinary growth has prompted both seasoned investors and newcomers to pay closer attention to the potential of meme coins. To understand the future prospects of meme coins, it is important to look back at how earlier meme coins performed in the previous market cycle.

Dogecoin (DOGE), the original meme coin, serves as a prime example of the transformative power of this asset class. Initially created as a joke in 2013, Dogecoin’s popularity soared during the height of the GameStop (NYSE: GME) and WallStreetBets craze in early 2021. This period saw retail investors rallying together to drive up the prices of certain stocks and cryptocurrencies, and Dogecoin became a symbol of this movement. Its rise was fueled by a combination of social media buzz, celebrity endorsements, and a growing community of enthusiastic supporters.

Interestingly, the GameStop trading phenomenon that propelled Dogecoin into the limelight has resurfaced in recent times. Roaring Kitty, one of the key figures behind the surge, has re-emerged, reigniting the same kind of trading fervor that previously boosted Dogecoin. This renewed interest underscores the cyclical nature of market trends and highlights how meme coins can capture the public’s imagination and translate it into substantial financial gains.

Past Performance of Major Memes

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose from being coins that people didn’t talk about too much to being top 10 coins by market cap. SHIB was essentially worthless at the start of 2021, but eventually rose to a market cap of almost $40 Billion dollars. Even I, a seasoned crypto analyst, can hardly believe that as I’m typing this out.

Dogecoin had about a $1 Billion dollar marketcap to start off 2021 and peaked at over $84 Billion dollars. Those numbers are staggering, but they show the potential of memecoins and retail money. To put things into perspective a bit, memecoins weren’t even one of the biggest or most popular sectors of the crypto market in the last cycle. All the attention was on DeFi and smart contract platforms. When the bull market starts nearing its peak these memecoins could hit unprecedented highs.

The evolution from Dogecoin to the current wave of meme coins demonstrates the sector’s resilience and adaptability. While Dogecoin laid the groundwork, subsequent meme coins have built on its legacy, incorporating elements from the broader web3 ecosystem, such as NFTs and decentralized finance (DeFi). This integration has expanded the utility and appeal of meme coins, attracting a diverse range of investors.

These larger memecoins are available on most major crypto exchanges. However, much of the gains from memecoin happen in the early days after first launch, before they ever hit a major exchange. In order to purchase these early memecoins you must first learn how to use DeFi and hot wallets. Investing in early memecoins can be extremely risky, and most will go to zero. However, some eventually rise to the level of PEPE, SHIB, and DOGE.

You may not even need to go through that effort in order to find a winning trade on memecoins. Perhaps one of those memes I just mentioned may have the potential to be the first memecoin to break $100 billion in market cap. I’ve seen crazier things happen in this market…

Editor’s Note: Crypto is making ordinary investors rich, and it also serves as an inflation hedge. But you need to make your move now before the next leg-up in the crypto bull market of 2024. Every day you wait is literally costing you thousands in profits.

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