The post What Are Meme Coins and Tokens? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In brief Meme coins and tokens are based on Internet memes, current events, online communities and influencers. Following the launch of Dogecoin in 2013, they have proliferated, with popular tokens including Shiba Inu (SHIB) and the Solana-based Dogwifhat (WIF). The launch of Solana meme token factory Pump.fun in 2024 enabled people to spin up a meme coin in seconds. Memes have always been part of crypto culture—so it was perhaps inevitable that they would be financialized using the same technology that birthed cryptocurrencies. Initially, meme coins like Dogecoin were created as a joke, poking fun at cryptocurrencies—but, in true decentralized fashion, they’ve evolved beyond their creators’ original intentions. With their highly volatile prices shaped by influencers and rapidly moving news cycles, meme coins have become a growing sector of the crypto economy—but while some think of them as a way to realize eye-watering profits, others call investing in meme coins irresponsible at best. Whoever’s right, meme coins and tokens are showing no signs of going anywhere. Here’s the lowdown. What are meme coins and tokens? Simply put, meme coins and tokens are cryptocurrencies based on internet memes. A meme was originally defined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book “The Selfish Gene” as “a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation.” The term was later co-opted to describe internet memes, concepts or jokes that rapidly spread across the internet (although Dawkins later argued that internet memes are—ironically—an evolution of his own term, being altered deliberately by human creativity rather than random change). Meme coins tap into this online economy of ideas, with each coin or token typically adopting the name and iconography of an internet meme. Typically, a meme coin has no inherent value, and often no utility. The original meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE), is based on…

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Filed under: News - @ November 21, 2024 11:24 pm