It’s open season for altcoins. As Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) slips to its lowest market dominance in years, investor interest in underdog currencies is rising. And, with the heroic story of Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD), it seems that any coin has the potential to break out. Now, investors are clamoring to find the next Dogecoin.
Altcoin investors are typically throwing their support against the coins that are right on the heels of Bitcoin. Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) is an altcoin favorite with its increasingly popular blockchain. Binance (CCC:BNB-USD) is another, with a market capitalization approaching $100 billion and a major exchange platform to its name.
Dogecoin is not Ethereum; it’s not Binance either. Dogecoin is an entity born as a joke, a response to the growing popularity of Bitcoin. Donning a Shiba Inu mascot and chugging along with a price lower than a penny, DOGE simply existed as a meme for eight years. But 2021 is bringing change. DOGE has reached crypto Mt. Rushmore with year-to-date gains of over 5,000%.
The unlikely story of DOGE has captured the interest of many — not just crypto fanatics. With a name like Dogecoin and a smiling dog as a mascot, it’s hard to not pay attention.
There are a number of ridiculously named meme-cryptos popping up in response to DOGE’s success, and some of them have picked up some serious momentum. For investors looking for the next meme coin to pop, there are a few options.
With that in mind, we pulled together a list of seven meme cryptos ready to be the next Dogecoin:
- MonaCoin (CCC:MONA-USD)
- Meme Coin (CCC:MEME-USD)
- PooCoin (CCC:POOCOIN-USD)
- Pirate Chain (CCC:ARRR-USD)
- Elongate (CCC:ELONGATE-USD)
- Asscoin (CCC:ASS-USD)
- Shiba Token (CCC:SHIB-USD)
The Next Dogecoin? MonaCoin (MONA-USD)
MonaCoin is Japan’s counterpart to DOGE. MONA was created the same year as Dogecoin, and rather than featuring a dog, the quirky currency opted for a feline mascot. The crypto has been proclaimed as the first native Japanese token, and it could be the next meme coin to seek rapid, DOGE-like gains.
What’s very interesting about MonaCoin is the support the coin finds in its home country’s government. Japan’s Financial Services Agency has approved the MONA currency for years now..
MONA investors can make purchases with the coin both online and physically with ease. In fact, back in 2014, MONA made waves in the crypto world thanks to a major purchase. A man used 32,000 MONA to purchase a two-acre plot of land in Nagano. The news was scandalous at the time, as a purchase of that size was not yet normal in the crypto industry. In fact, it led to a selloff. However, MONA has since enjoyed the press the event brought its way.
This coin is largely unknown in the U.S. — its userbase is almost 90% Japanese. However, investors can still trade MONA on ShapeShift for USD. The coin is also popularly traded with ETH on exchanges like Bittrex and BleuTrade. There is still a dedicated userbase of MONA investors worldwide.
Meme Coin (MEME-USD)
Meme Coin is in a different class from the rest of the cryptos on this list.
DOGE, as well as the other six crypto picks, trade for relatively small amounts compared to industry giants like ETH and BTC. MEME, however, is a meme token for the heavy hitters.
MEME is the pineapple-faced crypto brainchild of ConsenSys’ DeFi project lead Jordan Lyall. The whole idea behind Meme Coin is that it was made as a joke. Lyall wanted to satirize DeFi tokens by created a crypto with no real utility — the token exists simply to exist. Users can perform any activities with MEME that they can with any other DeFi crypto; the coin has recently grown in relevance with NFTs. It’s basically a way for investors to build passive income without any real boundaries set for its use.
Because Meme is very much what its users make it, it can also be volatile. Trading for just a few dollars after its creation in August 2020, the crypto has shot up to nearly $4,000. It has sunk since to $1,800. It is not the affordable, casual gamble of DOGE or the other meme coins here on this list, but it certainly captures many of the same themes.
The Next Dogecoin? PooCoin (POOCOIN-USD)
If there was ever a cryptocurrency whose name existed simply to frustrate serious crypto investors, it would be PooCoin.
PooCoin, with its oddly cutesy new logo, is touting itself as the immediate successor to DOGE. One of the newer cryptos on the list, PooCoin has seen some wild fluctuations in the few weeks it’s been trading. The coin is currently trading for $4.87, already almost double its initial of $2.82price. The coin’s all-time high is already past the $5 mark, trading briefly for $5.17 before settling.
PooCoin has a distinct purpose. The token is used to unlock features on the decentralized app of the same name. The PooCoin DApp, built on the Binance Smart Chain, allows users to manage their crypto portfolios and chart prices. Users do these things with their… Poo.
It’s not really evident why so many traders are flocking to the coin, but its bizarre branding is certainly attracting attention. And while it’s all very cute and the gains are evident, investors should be sure to understand the risks. It is brand new, created during Q1. And with speculation floating around about other new cryptos being potential scams, it’s best to look at PooCoin with a cynical eye for now.
Pirate Chain (ARRR-USD)
ARRR, matey! Pirate Chain, with its chuckle-worthy ticker symbol, is making headlines as it surges to new highs with DOGE-like speed.
Pirate Chain was founded in 2018. And much like a pirate, ARRR is all about keeping your money secure. Pirate Chain touts itself as being the most secure, anonymous blockchain technology in the world. Yet, while keeping user privacy locked tight behind strong security protocols, the company strives to be one of the most transparent blockchain options.
Pirate’s launch was very clear about not giving its founders and insiders any competitive advantage. There were no pre-mined coins and no initial coin offering, and the amount of ARRR is set explicitly at 200 million. There is no hiding behind a curtain for Pirate Chain’s founders.
The users of Pirate Chain benefit from the airtight security measures that the chain employs. Specifically, the Zero Knowledge-Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARKS) protocol is what keeps users’ information protected. With zk-SNARKS, information can be verified on the blockchain in milliseconds, without a user ever having to actually allow access to the data. Everything is verified by word of mouth.
ARRR is seeing huge gains recently, reminding investors immediately of Dogecoin. The token has gained 50% in the last 24 hours. It is changing hands at $12.05.
The Next Dogecoin? Elongate (ELONGATE-USD)
Who would’ve thought it took this long to make a cryptocurrency named after Elon Musk? Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) founder and digital currency aficionado Musk has been tweeting out about Doge for what seems like ages now. And now, as a weird sort-of thank you for his boosting of the currency, he has his own namesake token.
Not even a month ago, Musk posted this tweet:
If there’s ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2021
And it took mere weeks for somebody to use the post as the genesis for a new altcoin.
The official Elongate website labels the crypto as “a frictionless, high yield deflationary token.” It also pledges 80% of the total Elongate income will find its way to charities. And today, the crypto is causing a stir with its newest announcement. The fledgling token is already pledging $1 million to charities, including a donation of over $300,000 to Children’s International.
For a crypto that is trading for a small fraction of a penny, it is causing quite a bit of commotion. The meme coin is a feel-good investment that may just end up being the next Dogecoin.
AssCoin
AssCoin is the most crudely named meme crypto on this list, and that’s saying something with PooCoin present. It’s also one of the joke currencies looking to make a DOGE-esque bull run.
ASS, which innocently enough stands for Australian Safe Shepard, is the youngest meme coin in the space race, and it’s one of the fastest growing. The coin has picked up momentum extremely quickly, thanks to coverage on Australian stock news outlet Stockhead.
AssCoin is the product of a developer in Canada who goes by the name Crypto Liv. Her primary mode of advertising the coin is through racy photos emblazoned with the $ASS ticker on her Twitter profile. In fact, one of the driving forces behind ASS is the promise of Crypto Liv NFTs upon ASS reaching a $69 million market cap.
AssCoin is up for trading through PancakeSwap’s (CCC:CAKE-USD) exchange. It already has the support of popular European DJ Hudson Mohawke, and the ASS community has already launched a large campaign to bring Asscoin to the attention of meme-coin influencers like Elon Musk and Dave Portnoy.
Shiba Token (SHIB-USD)
Shiba Token labels itself “the Dogecoin killer” and seems to exist for the sole purpose of beating out DOGE as the meme coin of choice. Heck, it even lifts the Shiba Inu mascot right from Dogecoin.
While Shiba Token exists for the somewhat vain purpose of just being “the best meme-coin,” it has a tight-knit community behind it. The Shiba Token website advertises a rich community of Shiba artists. The plan for the Shiba artwork is to implement a Shiba NFT market in the near future. Additionally, the website pushes for users to support the Shiba Inu Rescue nonprofit through Amazon Smile. There is a level of community-consciousness and charity that is drawing a lot of support.
The financial draw of SHIB is that it is a fraction of a penny per coin, and has already grown thousands of percent. The Shiba Token creators are advertising that SHIB can outpace DOGE in a short amount of time. In fact, they are so confident in the success of SHIB that they are readying another meme crypto called BONE.
SHIB is available for purchase on Uniswap (CCC:UNI-USD), and it is seeing quite a bit of success post-launch. In fact, the SHIB token is up over 91,000% since it initial release just months ago. Dogecoin killer? Maybe, just maybe.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Brenden Rearick is an Assistant News Writer for InvestorPlace’s Today’s Market team. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Professional Writing and Political Science. His journalistic background spans many topics, and he prides himself on providing the most accurate and unbiased financial news.