In the world of cryptocurrency, meme coins have become a unique phenomenon, attracting the attention of millions of investors thanks to their humor, strong community, and potential for explosive price increases. The two most prominent names among them are Pepe Coin (PEPE) and Dogecoin (DOGE). This article will analyze an overview of these two coins, from their origins, characteristics, to future development potential.
1. Pepe Coin (PEPE): The King Frog of Meme Coin
Origins and significance
Pepe Coin was launched on April 16, 2023, inspired by the image of Pepe the Frog, a famous internet meme created by artist Matt Furie in the early 2000s. Pepe the Frog was originally a humorous comic character but later became an internet culture icon, appearing in countless humorous and sometimes controversial images.
Pepe Coin is built on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token, aiming to leverage the appeal of meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The special feature of PEPE is its transparency regarding the lack of real utility (no utility) and its no-tax policy, appealing to a community that enjoys simplicity and fun.
Outstanding features
• Deflationary mechanism: PEPE uses a token burning mechanism, where a small portion of tokens is permanently removed from circulation after each transaction. This helps reduce the total supply (maximum supply of 420.69 trillion tokens) and could increase value over time.
• Redistribution System: 1% of each transaction is pooled into a fund and redistributed to token holders hourly, encouraging long-term holding.
• Vibrant community: PEPE has quickly built a large community, with over 65,000 holders just weeks after its launch. The surge in April-May 2023 pushed PEPE's market capitalization to 1.6 billion USD at its peak.
• No controlling team: 93.1% of tokens are sent to the liquidity pool on Uniswap, with LP tokens burned and the deployment contract sent to a null address, ensuring decentralization.
Market performance
As of May 11, 2025, the price of PEPE is hovering around 0.000013 USD, with a market cap of approximately 5.41 billion USD, ranking third among meme coins, behind only Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. PEPE has increased by 41.5% in the last 24 hours and 110% in the past month, thanks to support from major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Robinhood, along with strong accumulation from whales. A notable example is a wallet that purchased 500 billion PEPE tokens for 4.36 million USD in a single transaction.
Potential and risks
• Potential:
• PEPE could reach 0.000017 USD in the short term and 0.000025-0.000030 USD by the end of 2025 if the cryptocurrency market continues to grow, especially with catalysts like quantitative easing (QE) or interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve (FED).
• Support from influential figures (like Elon Musk, though not publicly) and a strong community on social media like X could drive PEPE's price higher.
• New projects like Pepe Unchained (a layer-2 blockchain for meme coins) show potential for expanding the ecosystem related to PEPE.
• Risks:
• PEPE lacks real utility, making its price heavily dependent on market sentiment and speculation.
• The market cap of PEPE (5.41 billion USD) is still much smaller than Dogecoin (31 billion USD), making it difficult to 'overtake' Dogecoin in this cycle.
• The anonymity of the founding team (though revealed to be Zachary Testa) may raise concerns about transparency.
2. Dogecoin (DOGE): The Meme Coin Legend
Origins and significance
Dogecoin was launched on December 8, 2013, created by two software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a joke, inspired by the famous Shiba Inu meme. Initially, Dogecoin was designed to be a fun, accessible cryptocurrency, in contrast to the seriousness of Bitcoin.
However, thanks to support from the community and famous figures like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, Dogecoin has far exceeded its original purpose, becoming the largest meme coin in the world with a market cap of 31 billion USD as of 2025.
Outstanding features
• Inflationary mechanism: Unlike PEPE, Dogecoin has no maximum supply limit. Currently, there are over 141.62 billion DOGE in circulation, with 10,000 DOGE mined every minute through a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism using the Scrypt algorithm. This creates a surplus effect, which can diminish its value over time.
• Real-world application: Dogecoin is used as a tipping system on Reddit and Twitter (now X) to reward quality content. It is also gradually being accepted as a payment method by some businesses, especially after the launch of GigaWallet to improve transaction speed.
• Strong community: Dogecoin has a loyal community, driven by events like Elon Musk's tweets and political events (like Musk's appointment to the Office of Government Efficiency - DOGE during Trump).
• Relative stability: With a history of over 10 years, Dogecoin has much greater durability and recognition than many other meme coins.
Market performance
As of May 11, 2025, the price of Dogecoin is around 0.195 USD, up 14% in 24 hours and 36% in the past month, thanks to Bitcoin's rally surpassing the 100,000 USD mark. Dogecoin rose 400% from August to November 2024, but remains below its historical peak of 0.7376 USD in May 2021. Technical indicators like RSI (63) and MACD indicate that the upward trend is still present.
Potential and risks
• Potential:
• Dogecoin could reach 0.21465 USD in the short term and even 3.95-23.26 USD in a strong growth scenario, according to analysis from traders like Ali Martinez.
• Support from Elon Musk, especially with his new role in the US government, and updates like libdogecoin 0.1.2 (supporting QR codes, message signing) help increase its usability.
• As the number 1 meme coin by market cap, Dogecoin benefits from relative stability and investor confidence.
• Risks:
• Unlimited supply could hinder long-term price growth.
• Dogecoin is heavily reliant on market sentiment and support from celebrities, making its price easily volatile.
• Competition from new meme coins like PEPE and Shiba Inu could diminish appeal.