Meme coin

In late 2013, Dogecoin was released after being created as a joke on the Doge meme by software engineers. This sparked the creation of more meme coins. In October 2021, there were 124 meme coins circulating. Notable examples include Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

In early 2021, Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission banned meme coins as part of a crackdown on digital goods with "no clear objective or substance".{{Cite web|title=Thailand bans meme coins and NFTs as part of crypto crackdown |first=Saqib |last=Shah |url=https://www.engadget.com/thailand-bans-meme-coins-nft-113518980.html |access-date=2021-07-11 |date=June 14, 2021 |website=Engadget|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324062039/https://www.engadget.com/thailand-bans-meme-coins-nft-113518980.html|url-status=live}} In late 2021, advertisements promoting the meme coin Floki Inu in London led to investigations around promoting the meme coin, considered to be an unregulated financial product by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).{{Cite web|date=2021-11-17|title=Watchdog investigates tube adverts for Floki Inu cryptocurrency |first=Mark |last=Sweney |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/17/advertising-watchdog-investigates-tube-adverts-for-floki-inu-cryptocurrency-elon-musk-dog|access-date=2022-01-10|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110165529/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/17/advertising-watchdog-investigates-tube-adverts-for-floki-inu-cryptocurrency-elon-musk-dog|url-status=live}}

File:Official $TRUMP price chart (2025).svg

Meme coins increased in popularity in 2021 and 2022 when Elon Musk endorsed Dogecoin, one of the first meme coins.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-12 |title=If Elon Musk wrote this, the headline would be a meme & Dogecoin fortunes would've changed |first= Regina |last=Mihindukulasuriya |url=https://theprint.in/tech/if-elon-musk-wrote-this-the-headline-would-be-a-meme-dogecoin-fortunes-wouldve-changed/675264/ |access-date=2022-02-07|website=ThePrint|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207081811/https://theprint.in/tech/if-elon-musk-wrote-this-the-headline-would-be-a-meme-dogecoin-fortunes-wouldve-changed/675264/ |url-status=live}} He posted several tweets about the coin, including saying that Tesla-branded merchandise could be purchased with Dogecoin.{{cite news |last1=Thorbecke |first1=Catherine |title=Dogecoin rallies after Elon Musk tweet |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dogecoin-rallies-elon-musk-tweet/story?id=82265024 |access-date=15 February 2025 |work=ABC News |date=14 January 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Bariso|first=Justin|date=2022-01-27|title=Elon Musk Offered to Eat a Happy Meal on TV. McDonald's Response Was Perfect|url=https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/elon-musk-mcdonalds-happy-meal-dogecoin-twitter-social-media-lesson.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Inc.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207081812/https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/elon-musk-mcdonalds-happy-meal-dogecoin-twitter-social-media-lesson.html|url-status=live}} Musk was sued by investors who accused him of using Dogecoin as an unregistered security to operate a pyramid scheme.{{cite news |last1=Bushard |first1=Brian |title=Elon Musk, SpaceX And Tesla Sued For $258 Billion In Alleged Dogecoin 'Pyramid Scheme' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/06/16/elon-musk-spacex-and-tesla-sued-for-258-billion-in-alleged-dogecoin-pyramid-scheme/ |access-date=15 February 2025 |work=Forbes |date=16 June 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Elon Musk is accused of insider trading by investors in Dogecoin lawsuit {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/investing/elon-musk-dogecoin-lawsuit/index.html |access-date=15 February 2025 |work=CNN |agency=Reuters |date=2 June 2023 |language=en}}

Meme coins have seen a resurgence following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election.{{Cite web |last=Wile |first=Rob |date=2024-12-15 |title=Memecoins like Fartcoin are riding Trump's victory to huge valuations. Experts say it may have only begun. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/memecoins-what-are-they-why-are-they-popular-cryptocurrency-rcna184223 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=NBC News}}{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Sental |date=2024-12-17 |title=Fartcoin rides memecoin surge following Trump's win |url=https://www.salon.com/2024/12/17/fartcoin-rides-memecoin-surge-following-win/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Salon.com}}{{Cite web |last=Morris |first=Chris |date=2024-12-16 |title=What is Fartcoin? And why is it soaring right now? |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91248014/what-is-fartcoin-why-memecoin-soaring-right-now-cryptocurrency |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Fast Company}} One such example is Fartcoin, whose valuation briefly surpassed $2 billion.{{Cite web |last=McGrath |first=Catherine |date=2024-12-19 |title=Ew: Fartcoin hits $1 billion market cap as memecoin market explodes |url=https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/12/19/fartcoin-1-billion-market-cap-memecoin-market-explodes/ |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=Fortune}} Trump himself launched the meme coin $Trump three days before his second inauguration.{{cite news|last=Goodman|first=Jasper|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/18/trump-crypto-meme-coin-inauguration-00199157|archive-url=|title=Trump launches crypto meme coin, ballooning net worth ahead of inauguration |date=18 January 2025|work=Politico|accessdate=18 January 2025|archivedate=}}{{cite news|last=Faguy|first=Ana|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vmym2jvy9o|archive-url=|title=Trump launches cryptocurrency with price rocketing|date=18 January 2025|work=BBC News|accessdate=18 January 2025|archivedate=}}

During the memecoin frenzy of early 2025, hackers hijacked verified government X accounts, including those of the Cuban government, former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, and Bihar’s Water Resource Department, to promote fraudulent memecoins like "CUBA" and "MALAYSIA" on platforms like Pump.fun. These tokens surged before crashing, with CUBA’s volume dropping from $158.7M to $4.3M and MALAYSIA’s rug pull draining $1.7M. The Catholic News Agency and German President’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier's accounts were also compromised to push similar scams by repurposing them to impersonate various figures promoting tokens.{{Cite web |title=German President's X Account Hacked, Changed To Bihar Government's Profile |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/german-presidents-x-account-hacked-changed-to-bihar-governments-profile-7724078 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=NDTV |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Reporters |first=F. M. T. |date=2025-02-05 |title=Dr M’s X account hacked, promoting crypto coin |url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/02/05/dr-ms-x-account-hacked-promoting-crypto-coin |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Free Malaysia Today {{!}} FMT |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Crypto News: Former Malaysian PM’s X Account Hacked in $3.4 Million Meme Coin Scam {{!}} CoinMarketCap |url=https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/83d6eae4-b699-4bc6-897a-549d828c9c29 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=CoinMarketCap Academy |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Grosso |first=John |title=Reporter's Inbox: Catholic News Agency X account hacked, used to push crypto scam |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/reporters-inbox-catholic-news-agency-x-account-hacked-used-push-crypto-scam |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=National Catholic Reporter |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Crypto Scams on Social Media {{!}} Merkle Science |url=https://www.merklescience.com/blog/weaponized-influence-social-engineering-in-crypto-scams |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.merklescience.com}}

In February 2025, the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, announced a national memecoin, $CAR, on his official X account.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d36700a4-023a-493e-85cf-2840d8b3ff78|title=Central African Republic’s Trump-style memecoin crashes after launch|first1=Nikou|last1=Asgari|first2=Aanu|last2=Adeoye|date=February 11, 2025}} Soon after its launch, the project's X account was suspended amid questions about its legitimacy and because the announcement video had previously been flagged as a deepfake. Despite continued promotion from Touadéra via his verified X account, the value of $CAR dropped by 95% on February 11—just one day after trading began.

On 15 April 2025 hackers compromised UK Government Minister Lucy Powell's verified X account to promote a fraudulent "House of Commons" cryptocurrency ($HCC), using deleted posts with the House of Commons logo to tout it as a "community-driven digital currency."{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=Minister Lucy Powell's X account hacked to promote crypto scam |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5drp0n8zjo |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}

Commentators have compared meme coins with the speculative frenzy and collapse of the NFT market in 2022. American investor David Einhorn stated that, "We have reached the ‘Fartcoin’ stage of the market cycle ... Other than trading and speculation, it serves no other obvious purpose and fulfills no need that is not served elsewhere."{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/21/david-einhorn-says-we-have-reached-the-fartcoin-stage-of-the-market-cycle.html|title=David Einhorn says we have reached the 'Fartcoin' stage of the market cycle|first1=Yun |last1=Li|first2=Jesse|last2=Pound|date=January 21, 2025|website=CNBC}}

In January 2025, three US asset managers set out to launch exchange-traded funds investing in meme coins linked to Trump and Musk, which the Financial Times describes as "casino-like speculation".{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Steve |date=2025-01-28 |title=Memecoin ETF filings spark concerns over 'casino-type' speculation |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f857ee8c-c2ba-441f-b392-57adec640e15 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=Financial Times}} In February, more than 700 different copycat and spam coins were sent to Trump's digital wallet by people apparently seeking to falsely suggest they had his endorsement.{{Cite news |last=Asgari |first=Nikou |last2=Hawkins |first2=Oliver |last3=Hemingway |first3=Eade |date=2025-02-07 |title=Donald Trump's memecoin copycats spark fears for investors |url=https://www.ft.com/content/831919a9-47b0-4ac3-bcdd-5154c27d9f9c |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=Financial Times}}

This list includes meme coins that have received significant amounts of media coverage:{{Cite news |last=Asgari |first=Nikou |date=2024-12-04 |title=Billion dollar squirrel: Trump effect fuels crypto’s ‘memecoin’ boom |url=https://www.ft.com/content/66fe7655-704a-407f-8f20-a3f081296a36 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=Financial Times}}{{Cite news |date=2025-01-20 |title=What’s the value of Trump’s new memecoin? |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d9e383a5-b13c-47bf-9f90-e15be797e926 |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=Financial Times}}

• Dogecoin – A cryptocurrency created in 2014 that has been touted by Elon Musk since 2021. It has reached a market cap of $62 billion and become one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.{{Cite news |title=Dogecoin Project |url=https://www.nytimes.com/topic/dogecoin-project |access-date=2025-02-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=de Best |first=Raynor |title=Market capitalization of Dogecoin |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1201792/market-cap-dogecoin/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2025 |website=Statista}} Musk's tweets include "Dogecoin is the people's crypto", "No highs, no low, only Doge", and "One Word: Doge", and were associated with an increase in trading volume and value of the coin.{{Cite web |last=Isidore |first=Chris |date=February 4, 2021 |title=Elon Musk tweeted. Dogecoin surged more than 50% | CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/investing/elon-musk-dogecoin/index.html |website=CNN}} In November 2024, Trump announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE for short.{{Cite web |last=Macheel |first=Tanaya |date=2024-11-13 |title=Dogecoin spikes after Trump announces a Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/13/dogecoin-surges-20percent-after-trump-announces-a-department-of-government-efficiency-doge.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=CNBC |language=en}}
• PNUT – refers to Peanut, an orphaned squirrel that was put down by New York authorities. Reached a circulating value of $1.2bn.
• PEPE, referencing a comic frog character Pepe the Frog ($8.2bn).
• BONK, a cartoon dog made after the collapse of exchange FTX ($3bn).
• $HAWK – Released by Haliey Welch in December 2024, an American woman who became viral online for the "hawk tuah" meme, and reached a peak of $490 million before plummeting to $25 million. She was accused of promoting a pump-and-dump, and engaging in a rug pull scheme and insider trading.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-06 |title=Hawk Tuah girl: Online star faces crypto coin criticism |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89xvjkzzyvo |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}
• $Fartcoin ($2.5bn).
• $Trump – Publicly announced on Trump's X and Truth Social accounts three days before his second presidential inauguration. A day later, the market cap reached $27 billion, with Trump companies' holdings at $20 billion. While some very early traders in the memecoin had large gains, as of early February 2025, other investors cumulatively lost $2 billion after the token's price crashed.{{Cite news |last=Lipton |first=Eric |last2=Yaffe-Bellany |first2=David |date=2025-02-09 |title=Early Crypto Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin as Others Suffered Losses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/us/politics/trump-crypto-memecoin.html |access-date=2025-02-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
• $Melania – On January 19, 2025, Trump's wife Melania launched her own meme coin, $Melania.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Chloe |date=2025-01-20 |title=Melania Trump launches cryptocurrency ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/20/melania-trump-launches-cryptocurrency-ahead-of-donald-trumps-inauguration.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=CNBC |language=en}} By February 6, the coin had lost 90% of its value.{{Cite web |last=Mulima |first=Monique |last2=Shukla |first2=Sidhartha |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Melania Memecoin is Down 90 Percent From Peak as Novelty Value Wanes |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-06/melania-memecoin-is-down-90-from-peak-as-novelty-value-wanes?embedded-checkout=true |access-date=February 9, 2025 |website=Bloomberg}}
• $CAR – Announced on February 10, 2025 by the Central African Republic's president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, as the country's official meme coin and an "experiment" in national development.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-11 |title=Cryptocurrency: Central African Republic leader launches meme-coin 'experiment' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly5x0vpen8o |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}
• $LIBRA – Promoted by the president of Argentina Javier Milei on February 14, 2025, $LIBRA is considered by specialists a meme coin. Milei stated in a tweet that its purpose was to "incentivize the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small companies and Argentine ventures". The coin's value increased significantly after his endorsement but subsequently declined sharply. This post generated political controversy and led to an investigation into potential legal violations.{{cite news |last1=Alcoba |first1=Natalie |last2=Cholakian Herrera |first2=Lucía |last3=Zhuang |first3=Yan |title=Argentine Leader Draws Fire After Cratering of Crypto Coin He Promoted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/world/americas/argentina-milei-crypto-trump.html |access-date=17 February 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=15 February 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Tarricone |first1=Manuel |last2=Corti |first2=Delfina |title=Javier Milei promocionó la criptomoneda $LIBRA que luego perdió su valor rápidamente: 5 claves para entender el tema |url=https://chequeado.com/el-explicador/javier-milei-promociono-la-criptomoneda-libra-que-luego-perdio-su-valor-rapidamente-5-claves-para-entender-el-tema/ |publisher=Chequeado |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=es |date=16 February 2025}}

• Meme stock
• Rug-pull scheme
• Pump and dump scheme
• Pump.fun - Popular Solana token creation platform where many memecoins originate

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Category:Cryptocurrencies