#MemecoinSentiment What are meme coins – Beyond the joke
In short, meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by memes, jokes, or internet trends, created more for community fun and speculation than for any serious technological utility. Unlike “serious” cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which have a clear purpose, meme coins usually do not come with major technological innovations or real-world utility.
The defining characteristics of meme coins include:
Origin from a joke or viral trend
The first meme coin, Dogecoin, was created in 2013 as a parody of the crypto craze at the time, featuring a Shiba Inu dog from a popular meme.
Lack of practical utility
The overwhelming majority of meme coins do not offer notable technical functionalities. They do not solve scalability issues, do not power complex DeFi platforms, and are not widely adopted payment coins. Their use is almost exclusively limited to speculative trading – buying low hoping to sell high.