Outside Source
TL;DR
- The meme coin market has seen explosive growth, with its valuation briefly surpassing $60 billion.
- Shiba Inu and Dogwifhat are among the leaders in the pack despite a broader market correction.
- However, the volatility and risks are highlighted by incidents such as Slerf’s developer accidentally burning $10 million of presale funds, showcasing the inherent dangers in meme coin investments.
Meme Coins Steal the Show
The meme coin sector has been in the spotlight recently, with its market capitalization briefly surpassing the $60 billion mark and numerous tokens witnessing triple-digit gains.
According to some industry participants, the cohort has huge potential for additional advancement during this bull cycle, while some of the top-trending assets can deliver substantial profits in a short period of time.
In the following lines, we will take a look at the memes that have captured the most attention and the ones that have turned into sensations, so let’s dive in.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
The self-proclaimed Dogecoin-killer is undoubtedly among the trendiest meme coins, with over 1.3 million investors.
Shiba Inu experienced a significant bull run in the past few weeks, with its price rallying by 160% on a monthly scale. Its market cap briefly exceeded the $25 billion level, threatening to flip the leading meme coin – Dogecoin (DOGE). SHIB’s impressive ascent benefited investors; at one point, over 63% of the holders were sitting on paper profits.
However, the asset’s valuation nosedived on a weekly basis, coinciding with the broader correction in the crypto industry.
Still, Shiba Inu remains in the spotlight. As CryptoPotato recently reported, interest in the meme coin (in terms of Google searches) jumped to a two-year high. In addition, the global media company – Forbes – outlined the ten cryptocurrencies people should put on their watch list for March, with SHIB being one of those.
Dogwifhat (WIF)
One can not talk about meme coins without mentioning those built on the Solana blockchain, as they have been the subject of heated discussions and witnessed substantial gains. An example is dogwifhat (WIF), which is up more than 400% on a 30-day scale.
Launched at the end of last year, the token became a sensation, receiving official support from leading crypto exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, Bybit, and more. Its price recently exploded to an ATH of almost $3.50 while its market capitalization neared a whopping $3.5 billion.
Additionally, WIF caught the eye of prominent industry participants, such as BitMEX’s co-founder Arthur Hayes. He first posted a photo of himself wearing a hat (remarking with the asset’s name and logo) and later forecasted that the token’s value could skyrocket to $10.
Despite its rapid success, WIF has been severely affected by the ongoing market correction. Its price currently stands at approximately $2.24 (per CoinGecko’s data), 18% down for the day.
Book of Meme (BOME)
Another Solana-based meme that has made the headlines lately is BOME. Its price peaked on March 16, whereas the market cap touched the $1.5 billion mark. BOME also received support from some cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bitrue and Binance, which allowed trading services with it.
Similar to WIF, the token’s value has nosedived in the past two days, being 23% down in the last 24 hours. It is also no longer among the top 100 crypto assets, currently being the 148th biggest one.
Slerf (SLERF)
The last Solana meme coin we will touch upon is the sloth-themed SLERF. It saw the light of day earlier this week and is among the few well in the green amid the current market decline.
As CryptoPotato reported, its price reached $1.30, possibly fueled by huge excitement generated around the token and support coming from HTX.
However, it’s not all sunshine and roses for SLERF. Yesterday (March 18), it was involved in suspicious activity, with the developer behind it accidentally burning $10 million worth of funds raised from investors during the presale.
The team explained that the incident was the result of a “simple mindless misclick” while they were burning the LP tokens. Fixing the situation, though, may be impossible, they added.
Floki Inu (FLOKI)
This meme coin saw the light of day in the summer of 2021 and hit an all-time high several months later. Throughout the lengthy bear market in 2022 and 2023, FLOKI struggled to rise to its former glory, but the trends changed at the start of this year.
The asset’s price is up 400% monthly, while the market cap was just inches away from tapping $3 billion. One reason behind its rise in the first weeks of March is the Floki DAO’s decision to burn more than 190 billion tokens.
FLOKI is also somewhat connected to Elon Musk, which could explain the considerable interest in it over the years. After all, the world’s wealthiest man has a dog named Floki.
Calculate the Risks
Investing in meme coins seems like an excellent opportunity for people to make substantial profits, but the infamous volatility of the asset class could also lead to devastating losses.
Those willing to jump on the bandwagon should be highly cautious and check our video to avoid some common mistakes:
This article first appeared at CryptoPotato
