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Ethereum-based meme coin PEPE surged over 150% in the last week of February 2024 to lead a meme coin frenzy as fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) trading kicked in after bellwether Bitcoin (BTC) neared all-time highs.

In this article, we talk about the PEPE token price, analyze the ongoing meme coin frenzy, understand why people invest in meme coins, and ask experts how to find the “next DOGE.”

Key Takeaways

PEPE outperforms older rivals DOGE, SHIB, and BONK.
2023-created meme coins like Solana’s WIF and Donald Trump-themed TRUMP posted outsized gains.
Whales began taking PEPE profits as one whale converted their position from PEPE to SHIB.
Social forces and attempts to find the next 100x meme coin fuel the market frenzy.
Crypto expert Anndy Lian shares methodology to “find the next DOGE.”

Finding the Next Dogecoin

Table of Contents

The Latest Price Analysis: PEPE Outperforms Popular DOGE and SHIB

On February 28, 2024, the PEPE crypto price rose to $0.00000362, its highest since May 2023. Pepe the Frog-inspired meme coin regained its billion-dollar market cap for the first time since its debut. Only Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Bonk (BONK) had a higher market cap than PEPE at the time of writing.

This week, PEPE has become the top performer among the biggest meme coin names. The three dog-themed meme coins DOGE, SHIB, and BONK posted gains of 50%, 45%, and 74% in the last seven days, respectively – as of February 29, 2024 – only to be trumped by PEPE, which rose over 150% in the same period.

PEPE is a newer meme coin compared to DOGE and SHIB. PEPE debuted less than 12 months ago, in late April 2023, while DOGE is over ten years old, and SHIB came to prominence in the 2020-2021 bull cycle.

The freshness of PEPE certainly plays a part in its outperformance against the old dogs. Supporting this thesis is the explosion in the price of meme coins that debuted in 2023 and 2024.

Take Solana’s new meme coin darling, for example. Dogwifhat (WIF) is one of the hottest new cryptos in town, which has gained nearly 400% since its December 2023 debut and over 150% in the last seven days as of February 29, 2024.

Another 2023-launched meme coin that has outperformed its peers is a Donald Trump-themed crypto called MAGA (TRUMP). The TRUMP meme coin has ballooned nearly 3,000% since the start of 2024.

However, there were warning signs that PEPE price movement was getting overheated. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed that a whale sold all of their 1.9 trillion PEPE tokens on Binance for a cool $3.49 million profit on February 29, 2024. The whale later changed his position from PEPE to SHIB – the latter has been underperforming PEPE.

Meme Coin Frenzy Takes Over 2024 Crypto Bull Run

In this section, we explain meme coin investing through the following points:

1. Meme Coin Degens Do Not Care About Utility or Fundamentals

For an outsider, the price movement of meme coins tends to make zero sense. Fundamental analysts are often baffled by the large sums of money invested in these crypto tokens with zero utility.

Non-crypto-natives should understand that crypto degens rarely look for utility or strong fundamentals. They want to find the next Dogecoin to possibly 10x-100x their crypto investment, well knowing the high volatility and risks involved.

2. Crypto Traders Seek Outperformance in Bull Markets

Battle-hardened crypto natives tend to invest in cryptocurrencies through bear markets, making them well-prepared to take hefty profits early when bull markets return. In search of market outperformance, experienced traders have shown a tendency to shift funds out of large market cap coins like BTC, which tend to lead crypto bull runs, to smaller market cap tokens that follow.

As quoted in Techopedia’s Bitcoin bull run 2024 article, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital said in a report:

“While one of the highest sources of alpha has historically come from a perfectly timed rotation from Bitcoin into altcoins as phase 2 commences, that relationship won’t necessarily always hold true, nor is timing that rotation perfectly a reality for any trader.”

The meme coin frenzy that we are witnessing at the moment is an indicator that traders are now looking to altcoins for “alpha” as Bitcoin nears all-time highs.

3. The Importance of Social Forces in Meme Coin Investing

Social forces play an incredibly important role in driving meme coin price gains. Meme coins are inspired by internet memes, jokes, and satire. They bank on community participation, humor, and virality to attract followers and investors.

Elon Musk’s ‘comeback’ in the game could add flames to the meme coin frenzy.

Top meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE have loyal followers who enjoy sparkling conversations about their beloved meme coins on social media platforms like Discord and X.

This vibrant social buzz tends to attract newcomers, many of whom end up swapping their fiat for meme coins.

Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert, told Techopedia: “Meme coins can create a sense of community and belonging among their fans, who often use memes and jokes to communicate and promote their favorite coins.”

“Social forces play a crucial role in meme coin investing, as they can generate demand, influence sentiment, and create network effects for these coins.”

Finding the Next Dogecoin

New meme coins may come and go, but none has been able to usurp the king of meme coins – DOGE. The Elon Musk-endorsed token is the ninth biggest crypto in the world with a market cap of over $18.64 billion. At the time of writing, Dogecoin price stood at $0.13, having returned a whopping 23,200% since its debut in December 2013, CoinMarketCap data showed.

In this section, we talk to crypto expert Anndy Lian on how to find the next DOGE.

“Investors should look at the next DOGE in a “fun” manner. Personally, I hunt for them on X (formerly known as Twitter). This is the same place where I spotted $RATS, $FLOKI, $WIF, $GROK, and many more.”

Investors should look for the following traits when evaluating the potential of meme coins:

Catchy and memorable name, logo, and theme, based on a popular or trending meme.
Strong and engaged community that is active on social media, sharing memes, jokes, and news about their coin.
Supportive and influential network of core community/team members or celebrity endorsements (e.g., Musk and DOGE) that can boost a coin’s visibility and credibility.
Clear and fair tokenomics.

The Bottom Line

Meme coin is an interesting sector to uncover. The best place to discover and analyze the social fever created by meme coins is on X. There, you will find opinions about meme coins from incredibly passionate community members as well as rational crypto traders.

However, we want to highlight that meme coins are highly volatile and risky cryptocurrencies. Most meme coin projects enjoy a short period of fame and may become irrelevant after the market loses interest in them.

Source: https://www.techopedia.com/pepe-leads-meme-coin-frenzy-as-investors-search-for-the-next-dogecoin

Anndy Lian

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com

India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has stated that the Indian government is engaging in “detailed discussions” with other G20 members regarding the development of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for regulating cryptocurrencies. The current unregulated environment for cryptocurrencies in the country and across the globe, has prompted India to seek a collaborative effort, on the sideline of the G20 Summit, to develop a comprehensive framework. Sitharaman stressed the need for a globally coordinated approach to regulating cryptocurrencies during a recent meeting with the International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries and the European Union, representing around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. Sitharaman has affirmed that the government is working together with other G20 members to develop a “coherent, comprehensive approach” that will regulate cryptocurrency mining and transactions.

In India, the cryptocurrency trade currently attracts a 30% tax and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS). While the country has still not prepared a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the government introduced new crypto tax penalties, including jail time for nonpayment of crypto TDS. Meanwhile, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has continued to recommend a complete ban on crypto assets, including bitcoin and ether. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has warned that cryptocurrencies pose a risk to the country’s financial system and will cause the next financial crisis if they are not banned. The government’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been challenged by the Indian crypto industry, which has been advocating for regulatory clarity and a favorable operating environment.

Sitharaman’s call for a coordinated approach to regulating cryptocurrencies is a significant development that highlights the need for international collaboration to develop comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets. The outcome of the discussions within the G20 will be closely watched by industry stakeholders and governments around the world as they could provide a model for regulating cryptocurrencies in other countries.

Uniform Regulations For Cryptocurrencies May not Work

In my humble opinion, I do not have any objections in forming regulatory frameworks to protect users. The idea of having uniform regulations throughout G20 countries is the issue I have. There are several reasons why uniform regulations for cryptocurrencies may not work.

Firstly, the global cryptocurrency market is highly fragmented, with different countries and regions having different regulatory frameworks and approaches to cryptocurrencies. Therefore, imposing a uniform set of regulations across all these jurisdictions may not be practical or feasible.

Secondly, cryptocurrencies themselves are highly diverse and complex, with different types of cryptocurrencies serving different purposes and having different features. For example, some cryptocurrencies are designed to be used as a medium of exchange, while others are intended to be used as a store of value. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies can be structured in different ways, such as security tokens or utility tokens, and can be traded on different types of platforms. Therefore, any attempt to impose uniform regulations may not take into account the nuances and specificities of different types of cryptocurrencies.

Thirdly, there may be differences in the priorities and interests of different countries and regions when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies. For example, some countries may prioritize consumer protection, while others may prioritize financial stability. Therefore, it may be difficult to reach a consensus on uniform regulations that satisfy the interests and concerns of all countries and regions.

Finally, even if uniform regulations are agreed upon, enforcing them may be a challenge. Cryptocurrencies are highly decentralized, and transactions can be carried out anonymously and without the involvement of traditional financial institutions. Therefore, enforcing regulations may require sophisticated technology and a high degree of international cooperation and coordination.

Regulated By A Patchwork of Different Regulations Across Different Countries

It’s true that traditional finance, or “tradfi,” has not achieved uniform regulation globally, and this may be an indication that achieving uniform regulations for the cryptocurrency industry may also be difficult.

“Traditional finance is regulated by a patchwork of different rules and regulations across different countries and regions, and achieving global harmonization has been a long-standing goal of regulators and industry participants. However, despite years of effort, there are still significant differences in the regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions, and achieving uniformity is a complex and ongoing process.

Given the challenges of achieving uniform regulation in traditional finance, it’s possible that the cryptocurrency industry may also face similar difficulties in achieving global harmonization. However, it’s important to note that the cryptocurrency industry is still in its early stages, and there is still a significant amount of uncertainty and ambiguity around the regulatory frameworks that will ultimately be put in place.

Ultimately, the goal of achieving uniform regulations in any industry is to promote transparency, consistency, and stability. While it may be difficult to achieve this goal, it is an important one to strive for, as it can help build trust and confidence in the industry, promote innovation, and protect consumers.”

Source: https://www.3-verse.io/3versetv/blog/india-leads-g20-talks-on-crypto-regulation-sop/BA-20230218141140026-226059