Memes, web jokes and standard tradition references have change into an integral a part of on-line communities. Due to this, cryptocurrencies inevitably gave start to a new wave of belongings referred to as “memecoins.” Whereas some argue that these cash are simply a fad, others may also consider in their potential to convey monetary acquire to their traders.
One in every of the hottest memecoins that was just lately launched is a frog-themed token referred to as PEPE. The token has gained traction amid the bear market and garnered a lot of assist from numerous members of the neighborhood regardless of its official web site saying “The coin is totally ineffective and for leisure functions solely.”
In line with its creators, PEPE is on a mission to “make memecoins nice once more,” a play on former United States President Donald Trump’s political slogan, “Make America nice once more.” The venture additionally expressed its intent to surpass dog-inspired memecoins that “have already got had their day” and have Pepe, which they argue to be the most recognizable meme in the world, take its place as the “king of memes.”
Because it makes its approach to the high, PEPE has to surpass the present king that sits on high of the charts for memecoins —Dogecoin (DOGE). In a Cointelegraph Twitter ballot again on April 25, DOGE nonetheless remained on high when Crypto Twitter was requested what they assume could have the largest market capitalization in 2025. Nevertheless, PEPE got here in shut and claimed second place.
$PEPE neighborhood getting ready for Twitter polls: pic.twitter.com/SeTRgAdf5s
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 25, 2023
PEPE and Dogecoin have their similarities and can inevitably carry out in a different way from one another. Each crypto tokens gained a important following and had been created for a comparable cause, which is leisure. Nevertheless, the distinction lies in their journey to a $1-billion market capitalization and performances after hitting the market capitalization.
Dogecoin’s journey to the high of the memecoin world
Dogecoin was created 4 years after the genesis block of Bitcoin (BTC) was mined. It was created by software program engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, trying to poke enjoyable at the cryptocurrency house.
The memecoin first gained traction in January 2014 because it reached a market capitalization of $60 million. 4 years later, the token’s market capitalization reached $1 billion for the first time as the token’s worth reached $0.0100.
Days after DOGE hit the milestone, the cryptocurrency proceeded to pump as much as $0.0175, bringing its market capitalization to $1.98 billion earlier than falling to a $784-million market cap, when the worth fell to $0.0069 again on Jan. 16, 2018.
Virtually 4 years later, the crypto had one other run, breaking its earlier document. On Could 8, 2021, the token reached a market capitalization of $88 billion as its worth reached an all-time excessive of $0.7315 per token. The value motion is often related to the bull run of 2021–2022 the place token costs soared as BTC reached new highs.
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Opposite to the expectations of its founders, DOGE grew to become certainly one of the most distinguished cryptocurrencies to ever exist. At the time of writing, the token sits on a $10-billion market capitalization, surpassing tokens akin to Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC), which arguably have extra use circumstances than DOGE.
PEPE’s efficiency after hitting a $1-billion market cap
Not like DOGE, which took virtually 4 years earlier than reaching the milestone, PEPE gained recognition in a short time. Simply three weeks after its launch, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency virtually immediately shot up to a $1-billion market capitalization. The token gained assist and obtained listed in numerous exchanges from Bybit as much as Binance.
The token performed fairly equally to DOGE after hitting the $1-billion mark. After attending to $1 billion on Could 5, the up-and-coming memecoin additionally virtually reached a $2-billion market cap on the similar day. Nevertheless, after reaching $1.82 billion in market capitalization, the token’s market cap rapidly plummeted to $725 million on Could 9.
At the time of writing, the token is buying and selling at $0.00000192 per token, with a market capitalization of $800 million.
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