Meme coins are an interesting type of cryptocurrency that have attracted a lot of attention during the last few years. They often draw in new investors who are looking for a coin that has huge potential to explode in price, as they look at the history of the first meme coin, DOGE.

Meme coins are usually made as a joke, and many of them have some relation to the popular dog breed Shiba Inu, in an attempt to ride off the popularity of Dogecoin. The value of meme coins lies mainly in enthusiastic investors driving social media trends, and popular internet culture. While meme coins may have real-world uses, that is not often the driving factor behind people investing in them.

We have done the research and found the most popular meme coins with potential to 10x or even 100x their value in the next bull run. Get in early before the hype, so you can profit when the price goes to the moon!

Best Meme Coins in 2024 - Detailed Analysis

Before we get into the individual analyses of each meme coin in our list, we explain the factors that help us to choose whether a meme coin will be a good investment. To jump straight to our meme coin analysis, click here.

Market capitalization

The market cap reflects the total value of a cryptocurrency. Although the price of a single meme coin might be a fraction of a cent, the fact that there are so many coins available may mean the market cap is already too high to realize further growth. We need to evaluate the market cap compared to other coins, to see if there is potential.

Community engagement

For a meme coin to explode in value, you need an active community with lots of engagement. This will encourage increased adoption, higher levels of investment, and subsequent growth in value. We researched meme coins that were very active on social media and forums.

Development activity

Although meme coins are created as a joke, with little real-world use, on occasion they become a legitimate project over time. If this is the case, we look at past activity, the future plans, roadmap, and updates to the technology behind the cryptocurrency.

Real-world use cases

Similar to the previous point, if a meme coin has a purpose to exist, then there is better growth potential. We look at whether the meme coin has any partnerships, collaborations, or integrations that demonstrate real-world use.

Memetic potential

Coins with high memetic potential can spread quickly and virally online. This is often the leading factor driving prices through the roof. If a coin has a large and actively growing community, this is a good sign that the cryptocurrency may explode in price.

Let’s take a closer look at what these meme coins have to offer!

#1. FLOKI - previously known as Floki Inu (FLOKI)

FLOKI started as a meme coin named after a Shiba Inu pup that Elon Musk adopted in September of 2021. But unlike some other meme coins we’ve seen over the years, FLOKI’s developers appear to be serious about expanding the utility of their coin. In February 2023, they launched an NFT game called Valhalla which uses FLOKI as an in-game currency. 

Some unique features of this meme coin include:

• Compatibility with both ERC-20 and BEP-20 blockchains;
• Has a 3% tax on transactions to develop the FLOKI ecosystem;
• Supports several charitable activities in impoverished countries.

The community aspect of FLOKI is also rather strong. It has over 555K followers on X and two Subreddits with more than 15,000 members in total at the time of writing. Plus, the community as a whole is rather welcoming as evidenced by the FLOKI university announced in July of 2022. This university aims to be a free online resource that provides education on cryptocurrencies and we’re looking forward to it. 

Apart from getting caught in the wider crypto crash of 2022, FLOKI has had steady growth since its launch. It is still extremely cheap at the time of writing but we have heard that it may explode in value soon, which is why we place it at #1 in our list. You can read our article here about how to buy FLOKI - a detailed guide with step-by-step instructions.

#2. Dogecoin (DOGE)

If we were to name one meme coin that has had the largest impact on internet culture, we’d probably choose Dogecoin. Created as a reference to the “doge” meme in 2013, Dogecoin quickly garnered a community and grew to a market capitalization of over $85 billion in mid-2021. 

Most folks know DOGE from its explosion in January 2021 when its price shot up by 800% in a matter of hours. This increase was instigated by Reddit users looking for the next hot thing to invest in around the same time as the GameStop short squeeze. 

Some notable features of this crypto token are:

• It doesn’t have a maximum supply limit;
• Uses the ERC-20 Ethereum blockchain;
• There are over 132.7 billion Dogecoins in circulation.

Today, Dogecoin has one of the largest communities of any meme coin with its Subreddit boasting 2.4 million members. This community is also keeping the doge meme alive which — in turn — keeps people interested in the crypto asset.

While its price has dropped significantly after the early 2021 boost, it still sits at a respectable 0.17 USD per coin. Plus, given its active community and the increasing interest right now, we can safely say that its price likely to go up in the near future. 

#3. Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Initially, we dismissed SHIB as a DOGE clone as it’s based on the same breed of dog as seen in the doge memes. It was even labeled as the potential “Dogecoin killer” by Fortune magazine back in May 2021.

But, SHIB has carved a somewhat unique identity for itself since then — away from the shadow of DOGE. It also gained legitimacy in the eyes of the wider crypto investor community when the founder of Ethereum donated 50 trillion SHIB to the Indian COVID relief fund which was worth over $1 billion at the time. 

Shiba Inu coin is:

• a Top 10 coin, having previously reached a market cap of over $41 billion;
• in the list of top 15 most traded crypto coins;
• hosted on the ERC-20 Ethereum blockchain.

A unique selling point of the Shiba Inu coin was that it’ll be completely driven by its community and that seems to be true today as well. The largest active Subreddit for SHIB is r/SHIBArmy which has nearly half a million members. 

That said, the current market cap of SHIB is a little over $19 billion, which is a lot considering where it started. Its price has been rising for the last few months. But from what we see, there is still plenty of room for explosive growth. 

#4. Love Hate Inu (LHINU)

Love Hate Inu is one of the newest meme coins on our list. It is also one of the most unique new tokens because its creation is not just for a meme or a joke. Instead, LHINU is a voting token that owners can stake on polls. 

These polls can range from serious political discourse like topics on Donald Trump to casual polls about memes and other internet humor. The results of these polls are also recorded on the blockchain to ensure that the votes are never manipulated in any way. 

Some interesting facts we found about this coin include:

• Its presale reached $1.5 million in less than 48 hours of going live;
• Went viral without any input from crypto celebs like Elon Musk;
• Next presale is expected to start soon.

As for community, LHINU is a bit lacking right now. It does have a twitter account with over 35,000 followers, but little to no presence on forums like Reddit. Where this meme coin truly shines is in numbers. As we mentioned above, its last presale was more successful than we originally anticipated and the next one is rumored to be starting soon with a noticeable price increase. 

#5. Tamadoge (TAMA)

Tamadoge meme coin aims to take a slice of the ever-growing gaming market by tying itself to an NFT game. This game involves minting new NFTs called “doges” and then breeding, training, and battling them against the NFTs of other players. 

One of the biggest draws of this coin for us is its play-to-earn technology. Basically, the better you are at the Tamadoge game, the more you will earn from it. 

Some notable unique features of this coin are:

• It's tied to an NFT game;
• You can earn more by playing more;
• Reached a market cap peak of $23 million in February 2023.

Community-wise, Tamadoge is in a steady growth phase with more than 62,000 followers on its Twitter account and a subreddit with almost 2,000 members. But, we can see this growth ramping up as the game becomes more popular. 

We can also say the same for its performance potential. It’s currently sitting at 0.011 USD per TAMA and can rise any time if the game goes even slightly viral. 

#6. Akita Inu (AKITA)

Akita Inu is another dog-based meme coin as it borrows its name from the Japanese Akita dog breed. Despite its meme origins, its developers are aiming to make AKITA an actually functional cryptocurrency token. 

To further legitimize its market value, this coin also has a limited total supply of 100 trillion. This ensures that the coin will never suffer from the inflation issues plaguing the likes of fiat currency. 

Here are some cool facts we found about this meme coin:

• There is a chance that it will get listed on Binance soon;
• It will be accompanied by a stablecoin in the future called gAKITA;
• 7.82% of this coin’s supply is currently in burned addresses.

One aspect where AKITA is ahead of most other meme coins is the active community. We found three different Subreddits with over 45,000 members in total. These Subs are also quite active with community members creating discussions and memes around the AKITA token. 

As for the price of this token, the graph is fairly flat at $0.0000003 per coin. There is a chance that this price will go up in the future. But, instead of investing and HODLing, we recommend trading it in high volumes and aiming to make profits from small market movements. 

#7. Dogelon Mars (ELON)

As far as meme potential goes, Dogelon Mars ranks high for us. It is a mix of Doge, Elon, and his ambition to reach Mars one day — allowing it to attract folks from multiple communities. Despite its admittedly goofy origin, ELON coin is more popular than we expected. 

The value of this meme coin lies in its volume. At the time of writing, there are 549.7T ELON coins circulating the market. 

Some notable facts about this meme coin include:

• It has a current market cap of over $197.6 million;
• $12 million worth of ELON is traded daily;
• The Dogelon Mars’ mascot has a multipart comic series about going to Mars.

As we expected, Dogelon Mars is also quite popular with over 445,000 Twitter followers and a Subreddit with nearly 50,000 members. This community is what’s keeping this meme coin afloat and paving its way to more mainstream success. 

There is also speculation that Dogelon Mar’s price will go up if Elon Musk announces solid progress in his Mars mission. There is no way of confirming this until the time comes. But it does seem likely to us since this coin has both Elon and Mars in its name. 

#8. SafeMoon Inu (SMI)

SafeMoon Inu is the meme coin for the Diamond Hand individuals who don’t sell at the first sign of a profit. Named after the meme of “going to the moon,” SMI is built around the concept of holding on to your investment. 

The key mechanic behind SafeMoon Inu is that it takes a 2% cut of every transaction. That 2% is then distributed amongst investors who are holding on to their SMI coins. This is one of the most interesting and oddly effective reward systems we’ve seen, especially for a meme coin. It incentivizes HODLing which reduces rapid price reductions due to mass selloffs. 

A few key features of this coin include:

• Current market cap of over $2.0 million;
• 1 Trillion SMI coins in circulation;
• It’s integrated with a top-down looter shooter NFT game;

As far as we know, the SMI community shares many members with the GME and Dogecoin HODL groups. That said, the presence of this SMI community on social media is relatively thin with only 800 members in its official discord. 

In terms of market performance, SMI currently sits at $0.0000020 per coin. However, we do believe that its price can go up again if a situation like the GME short squeeze or the Dogecoin hype happens again. 

#9. Dogs of Elon (DOE)

Dogs for Elon is the final meme coin on our list and fittingly so. It’s like a self-parody of all the dog-themed tokens that try to associate with Elon Musk in an effort to gain success similar to Dogecoin. While its origin is amusing, its meme potential is not the reason why we included DOE on this list. 

Instead, Dogs for Elon takes a spot here because of its unrealized potential. With only 192.1 million DOE circulating on the market, its market cap is just over $31,000 which leaves a lot of room for growth. 

A few distinct features of this coin are:

• Its all-time high price is the same as Dogecoin at $0.74;
• It’s integrated with a collection of 10,000 unique NFTs;
• Two play-to-earn games with DOE currency on the roadmap.

As we expected from its trading volume, the community for this crypto token is rather small. But, this also gives Dogs Of Elon a lot of room for growth that other already-exhausted meme coins don’t have. 

How to buy meme coins?

Now that you have decided on a meme coin to buy, where and how do you invest in them? Some meme coins can be hard to find, as they may not be listed on centralized crypto exchanges. Particularly if you are investing in a new meme coin, it may not be readily available yet.

Through our research, we have found a crypto exchange that supports almost all of the coins in the list above. MEXC (read review) has a massive range of 1,520+ coins, including dozens of meme coins. If you sign up with our link, you also receive $30 USDT and 10% off all trading fees! You can also follow our guide with screenshots and step-by-step instructions, to help you buy meme coins.

If the meme coin you want to purchase is not available on MEXC, you can visit the official website of the meme coin, and they will explain how you can buy the coin. For example, it may be a pre-sale where you can invest on the website.

Benefits of investing in meme coins

If you’re still unsure, here are a few key benefits of investing in meme coins that you should know about:

Potentially large profits

The whole point of memes is to be shared around on the internet, creating virality. By association, this gives meme coins the potential to blow up overnight and lead to massive profits. There is also no better example of this than the #2 coin on our list, Dogecoin. At one point, it went from $0.07 to $0.74 in a matter of days because of Elon Musk’s involvement.

Meme coins can be useful

Meme coins are typically low price and high volume. This makes them a perfect currency for NFT/crypto-based games and other web3 experiences. Their low price also allows you to spend them without any worries. 

Community aspect

Most meme coins, especially the popular ones, have a strong community aspect to them. This community consists of groups on social media platforms that share memes and have a good time together. Taking a part in these groups can give you the opportunity to make some new friends. 

Risks of investing in meme coins 

Before you invest in meme coins, you need to consider the risks involved:

Highly speculative, and prices are very volatile

As we mentioned, meme coins can blow up overnight. However, the opposite is true as well, where a meme coin will tank seemingly out of nowhere. This makes meme coins a high-risk high-reward investment where you can either 10x your money or lose it all. 

Yes, there are ways to minimize this risk, but the overall chance of losing your investment is still higher than more well-known crypto assets.

Many meme coins are rug pulls

The meme coin space is filled to the brim with rug pulls, or 'pump & dump' tokens. These altcoins are created for the sole purpose of scamming people. So, make sure to do your research before trusting a new funny coin with your hard-earned money. 

Also, don’t let the fear of missing out control your wallet. If you feel that a coin is a rug pull, don’t invest in it, even if everyone else is doing it. 

Conclusion 

While all of the meme coins we mentioned in this article are worth your consideration, we’d like to especially shout out FLOKI, DOGE, and SHIB. Just remember that these are still meme coins, and you should consider any risks and do more research before investing in them. Stay safe and happy trading!