If you’ve ever scrolled through X (formerly Twitter), you’ve probably seen it: images of cartoon frogs, flashy numbers, and wild claims in the caption like “I turned $147 into $932,098 with meme coins this year.”
It makes you wonder if you’re missing out on some secret internet money club. Welcome to the meme coin culture.
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies created to follow trends, employ humour, and build a sense of community to attract users.
According to Estonia-based blockchain consultancy BDC, more than 40,000 meme coins are created online per day, inspired by online memes or trending events. Meme coins have existed since 2013, but started gaining traction in 2021 and 2022.
This post will cover how meme coins work, the reasons behind their sensation as crypto’s crazy bubble, how to trade, and cautions to take, as advised by successful meme traders.
What are Meme coins?
Alt: memecoin trading dashboard
Meme coins are digital currencies whose names and ideas come from funny internet content, trends, and jokes.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are built on strong technology and real-world uses, meme coins usually don’t have a specific purpose. Their value often comes from how much people talk about them, share memes, or support them online.
“In memecoin trading, you could lose everything or retire your generations to come on a single memecoin,” says Israel Fadare, a meme trader. “I think most sports betting sites have a cap on their payouts, but not in memecoin trading.”
- They often begin as jokes.
- Their prices are usually very low, which makes them appealing to beginner investors.
- A memecoin’s success depends more on its fanbase than on actual usefulness.
- Internet memes and trends play a huge role in how memecoins grow.
- They can swing wildly in value and come with a lot of risk.
How it started
The first one was Dogecoin (DOGE), created in 2013 by two software developers, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer.
They originally designed it as a fun way to poke fun at the growing world of cryptocurrencies. But to their surprise, Dogecoin caught on and became wildly popular, especially after tech billionaire Elon Musk started talking about it.
After Dogecoin’s success, many other joke-inspired coins entered the scene. Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe Coin (PEPE), and Floki Inu are examples.
These coins usually have silly or playful themes, but what really makes them grow is their online fan base. Meme coins are powered by internet culture and rely heavily on loyal, enthusiastic communities that spread the word and keep the excitement alive.
Difference between meme coins and mainstream crypto
Here’s how meme coins vary from standard crypto tokens:
| Feature | Meme Coins | Mainstream Cryptocurrencies |
| Purpose | Often created for fun, jokes, or internet trends | Designed for real-world utility like payments, smart contracts |
| Examples | Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Jail Cat, Goatseus Maximus | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, XRP. |
| Use Case | Limited or no serious utility | Strong utility in finance, apps, and decentralised ecosystem |
| Volatility | Highly volatile and speculative | Still volatile but relatively more stable than meme coins |
| Market Sentiment Impact | Price driven by trends, memes, and FOMO | Influenced more by adoption, news, regulations, and utility |
| Regulatory View | Seen as risky or speculative investments | Increasingly recognised and monitored by regulators |
Why Meme coins are gaining traction
Factors like low entry costs for retail investors, fear of missing out on the next big thing (FOMO), and speculative trading are revving up the popularity of this joke-inspired crypto.
Meme coins have become especially popular among young people and social media users, particularly Gen Z.
According to Mac Onouha a meme coin trader in Lagos, “It’s more like gambling.” What draws them in is the fun, lighthearted nature of these coins, their low cost, and the excitement of being part of something trending online.
They’re easy to joke about, post, and share, which helps them spread fast. People also enjoy the sense of belonging that comes with supporting a coin linked to their favourite memes or online personalities. Some investors jump in, hoping to make quick profits if the coin goes viral.
However, this popularity has its risks. Meme coins are often targets for scams, quick-sell schemes (pump-and-dump), and other shady tactics. That’s why beginners need to understand the hype and approach with caution.
Onouha, who participate in a large meme community on X under the web3 name enthusiastalpha, explained that, “You don’t necessarily have to buy all the coins, else you’ll lose a lot of money. In this ‘game’, once you see a profit signal, you sell off.”
Common terms meme traders use
- Trenches: Trading low market cap memecoins while engaging in community chats.
- Dev: The creator of a coin.
- Snipe: Buying a coin immediately after launch to secure a large percentage.
- MC: Market cap.
- Paying for the DEX: Paying for enhanced token info on dexscreener.com.
- Shave: Selling a small portion of your position.
- Bid/Bidding: Buying a coin.
- Clipping In/Out: Buying or selling a coin in chunks.
- MEV Bot: A bot that front-runs transactions.
- Jeet: Selling a coin, often all at once.
- KOL: Key opinion leader.
Types of Popular Meme Coins
Top-performing meme coins. CoinGecko
At the time of writing, the Meme market cap is $76.6 billion.
According to CoinGecko, a platform that provides coin listings and research findings, the top-performing tokens include Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Pepe, Official Trump, Bonk, Fartcoin, and Floki.
Dogwifhat, Pudgy Penguins, and Popcat (SOL) also lead the race. However, according to the tracker platform, tokens like Wale and Moo Deng were the most recently visited by traders globally.
Risks and Rewards of Investing in Meme Coins
There’s a good and an ugly side to investing in meme coins.
As Fadare explains, “Even a kid with a smartphone could download a Solana wallet, Dexscreener, and a trading bot on Telegram, and they’re good to go. There are no age restrictions or requirements of documents like BVN or NIN to create any account related to memecoin trading.”
High volatility
You might see your money double in a day and then lose half the next day. Meme coins have no solid business or product behind them, so their prices change based on hype and emotions rather than actual value.
Rug pulls and scams
Some meme coins are created just to trick people. The developers pump the price, get people to invest, then suddenly disappear with all the money.
This is called a rug pull.
Many meme coin projects don’t reveal who’s behind them, and some launch with smart contracts that let the developers lock users out or steal funds.
Lack of long-term viability
Most meme coins don’t have real-world use or a long-term plan.
Once the hype dies down, interest fades, and the price crashes. Whales (big investors) often dump their coins, causing prices to collapse, leaving small investors stuck with worthless tokens.
Still, smart meme traders seem to know how to navgate this downside. As Onouha puts it, “For your first profit, it’s advisable to sell off everything before entering another. Also, not all coins will do well and vice versa. Some coins might not do well now, but in coming years they will give you Lambo because they have a strong community and a vision.”
Potential for quick gains
Meme coins often blow up in price when they go viral on social media or when a famous person tweets about them.
You could make a lot of money quickly, sometimes overnight, just by buying early and selling at the right time.
To put things in perspective, here are the pros and cons of meme coins:
| Pros | Cons |
| Quick profits from many small trades | Low potential for long-term investment |
| There is enough variety of tokens to invest in | High risk and volatility |
| It is community-oriented, so you’re not “alone” | Exposed to scams and overhyping |
| Cheaper to buy meme coins | Low liquidity in less popular memes |
| An easy way to access and learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency | No utility. Simply a convertible currency or trading instrument. |
How to Start Trading Meme Coins: A Beginner’s Guide
It begins with choosing a reliable exchange platform. It’s an edge if you’re already familiar with how crypto works.
Step 1: Choose Where You Want to Trade
You can either choose Centralised Exchange (CEX) like Binance, KuCoin, OKX or Bybit.
They are beginner-friendly and allow you to buy crypto using bank cards. However, some meme coins are not listed early and will require ID verification (KYC).
Alternatively, there are Decentralised Exchanges (DEX) such as Uniswap (Ethereum-based) and PancakeSwap (BNB Chain)
On these exchanges, you have early access to trending meme coins and total control over your funds.
Step 2: Create a Crypto Wallet
You need a wallet to store your coins. You can use Sparrow or MetaMask as a beginner.
Visit metamask(dot)io, download the browser extension or mobile app, and create a wallet.
NOTE:
- Save your seed phrase (12 words) offline and never share it.
- You’ll use this wallet for DEX trades and storing meme coins.
Step 3: Fund Your Wallet with Crypto
You need crypto to buy meme coins (usually ETH or BNB, depending on the blockchain).
- Go to a CEX (e.g., Binance).
- Create an account and verify your identity.
- Use your debit card or bank transfer to buy ETH for Ethereum-based coins or BNB for BNB Chain coins.
- Withdraw the ETH or BNB to your MetaMask wallet.
To do this:
- Copy your MetaMask wallet address (starts with 0x…)
- Paste it in the withdrawal section of the CEX
- Send your ETH or BNB there
Step 4: Pick the Meme Coin You Want to Trade
Research meme coins before buying. You can check X (Twitter) or the CoinGecko platform to see the activity of meme tokens.
Basically, you want to pay attention to token supply, holders and liquidity (how easy it is to sell it later).
Step 5: Swap ETH or BNB for a Meme Coin
If using Uniswap or PancakeSwap, go to uniswap(dot)org or pancakeswap(dot)finance and click “Launch App”
- Connect your MetaMask wallet.
- Select ETH or BNB as your token to spend
- Paste the contract address of the meme coin (you get this from CoinGecko or Twitter)
- Set slippage to 3-10% (because meme coins are volatile)
- Click “Swap” > Approve > Confirm on MetaMask
Always double-check the contract address. Many scammers make fake versions.
Step 6: Monitor Your Trade
You can monitor your holdings in the MetaMask platform if you import the token using the contract address.
But there are other platforms like DEXTools which track charts and trends or DEXScreener(dot)com that offers insight on newer coins and live price data.
Step 7: Sell and Take Profits
To sell, you will head back to Uniswap or PancakeSwap, select your meme coin and swap it back to ETH or BNB
From there, send it back to your Binance or KuCoin. You can withdraw to your bank account if needed
The goal is never to invest more than you can afford to lose. Also, avoid clicking random links on Telegram or Twitter. You also want to prevent honeypots (coins that don’t let you sell).
Luckily, you can use platforms like TokenSniffer to check if a token is a scam or RugDoc.io for project safety checks.
Creating a Meme Coin
Making a meme coin is surprisingly easy, even if you don’t know how to code or build blockchains. Some websites can do most of the work for you, and the process only takes a few minutes.
You only need a cryptocurrency wallet and some crypto to cover the blockchain and service fees, which are usually cheap.
Here’s how to get started:
- Find a website that lets you create meme coins (many people use Solana Token Creator).
- Connect your wallet.
- Make sure you have enough of the cryptocurrency the site uses to pay for fees.
- Pick a name for your coin.
- Choose a symbol (often limited to a set number of characters).
- Decide how many decimals you want (meme coins typically use nine).
- Enter the total supply of tokens you want to create.
- Upload a logo for your coin (usually in PNG format).
- Write a short description of your token and include links to your social media or website.
- Select the “meme” tag.
- Hit “Create Token,” accept the transaction, and wait for your meme coin to be created.
Will Meme Coins Continue to “Go to the Moon”
The future of mem coins is still uncertain, but some tokens are standing the test of time. Also, people are beginning to take this type of crypto more seriously.
Even the Central African Republic (CAR) recently launched its meme coin, $CAR, to boost its global presence.
It’s still unclear whether meme coins will last. Most don’t have real value, and their prices often depend on short-term trends.
Some will likely fade away, but others might hang around as quirky reminders of when a joke could make you some cash.
Before buying a meme coin, think clearly about your goal. These coins usually aren’t ideal if you’re trying to build long-term wealth, protect your money from inflation, or invest safely over time.
They’re mainly used by traders hoping to make small profits from quick buys and sells, not for serious financial planning.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are not financial advice. Techpoint Africa is not responsible for any financial decision made based on this article.
