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The Rise of the Meme Coins - SHIB vs DOGE
By Shane Addinall Jun 24, 2022Whether you are a stock trader or a novice tech enthusiast, cryptocurrency and the volatile trading market it exists in, must be on your radar in some form or another. Meme coins spark the interest of many modern investors, and we explore why.Many compare investment trading with gambling, and for good reason. The stock markets can be treacherous, even on a good day, and this is truer with crypto investments. Since the first digital coin launched in 2009, decentralised currencies have exploded, and investors now have over 10,000 options in this market.
So many jumped on the hyped-up bandwagon of Bitcoin that tech wizards Bill Markus and Jackson Palmer set out to create a spoof coin to poke fun at the wildly speculative investment. Much to their surprise, Dogecoin experienced massive success in its first three weeks, spawning countless other meme coins.
Since Dogecoin's arrival in 2013, many altcoins joined the digital currency race, and many failed. On the other hand, Shiba Inu seems promising, and as a self-declared Doge-killer, we must inspect how the top two meme coins measure up.
Meme Coins and Investment
Those familiar with Decentralised Finance (DeFi) may know meme coins and understand what it is about, but to some, the concept remains foreign. If you are wondering, the name explains it all. These altcoins have images of popular memes as their logo.
The creators of Dogecoin claimed the most meme-worthy dog as its symbol, hence the name. Doge memes include a quirky photo of the Japanese dog breed, Shiba Inu, with a collection of rainbow-coloured sayings like "such wow", "very concern", and more comical dog language. Following the success of Dogecoin, the crypto market now has a horde of dog-themed coins.
Like other altcoins, meme coins bring scalable options to the cryptocurrency market, a feature lacking in Bitcoin. Meme coins also rely heavily on community activity and therefore need viral results to thrive. This makes it an extremely volatile investment space, and experts on either side of the fence agree investors should only buy crypto stock with money they can afford to lose.
Dogecoin vs Shiba Inu
As the most talked-about investment opportunities in the meme coin category are Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, we weigh the two against each other. Below, we explore key similarities and differences between the two dog meme coins and uncover the core traits of each. Then we compare them in the investment space to discover the best bet for those who want to gamble on meme coins.
Similarities and Differences
The most basic feature these two coins share is the animal on their logo. Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu flaunt an image of the adorable breed behind the viral memes from the 2010s. The only difference is that the original meme coin has a cartoon version of the dog, and its rival has a modern pop-culture image of a Shiba Inu. With recognising the coins in the stock market, the logos are irrelevant. These coins trade as DOGE and SHIB, respectively.
Another feature these coins share is the intention of being a peer-to-peer payment network. This means that, unlike Bitcoin, these coins have no central authority, corporate structure, or executives making crucial decisions that affect the entire network.
Instead, these coins are entirely community-led. This may be where some want to take a step back and question the reliability of investments, but like all other reputable coins, the blockchain ledger is available to the public and bears the same immutable qualities.
The peer-to-peer network impacts market value and causes major fluctuations, making meme coins a bad choice for novice investors.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu both fork from larger blockchain models. Although the former came into being as a satirical response to Bitcoin investments, DOGE ironically enough, forks from Litecoin which originally forked from Bitcoin. Shiba Inu runs on a different chain, namely Ethereum, which many see as an advantage. This technicality means the coins have reliable infrastructure, and both networks come with their pros and cons.
✓ Dogecoin
Originally launched in 2013, Doge enjoyed huge success thanks to virality. As mentioned, the creators of Doge were making fun of the speculative nature of cryptocurrency investments, but thanks to the community in the Doge network, it reached exciting heights in the initial phase. Seems like the tech world has an appetite for humour, as the comedic meme coin reached 300% growth in its first couple of weeks of trading.
Experts believe this happened because it was a very appealing way to enter the crypto market without breaking the bank. The consumer-focused approach of the new breed of altcoins attracted new investors, and soon, Doge was a genuine alternative to existing coins, like Bitcoin. Because Doge uses a similar Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism as Litecoin called Scrypt (pronounced es-crypt), the currency is less energy-intensive and quicker than Bitcoin.
Dogecoin has several celebrities backing it, and Elon Musk called it 'the peoples crypto' on Twitter, triggering enormous growth for Doge and other meme coins. Thanks to the low price of the coin, in stark contrast to Bitcoin, anyone can invest in Doge. Industry experts warn potential investors should be cautious when doing so. Labelled as the 'fun and friendly internet currency', Doge experiences sporadic rate changes on the stock market. At the time of writing, 1 Doge was worth $0.063.
This open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency offers users a couple of advantages, like the speed of transactions. Thanks to the Scrypt algorithm, Doge creates blocks much faster than other value storage cryptocurrencies, and it is a lot more scalable than Bitcoin. The estimated time for the creation of a block is 1 minute, while Bitcoin takes 10 minutes.
✓ Shiba Inu
Compared to Doge, Shib is an infant in the trading market. Created to mimic the surprising success of the original meme coin, Shiba Inu arrived on the scene in 2020. There is no reason to speculate on the inspiration behind this meme coin as the coin's creator labelled it as 'the Dogecoin killer'. While both Doge and Shib rely on community engagement and major hype from it, Shib presents its users with interesting options.
Shiba Inu operates on the Ethereum blockchain, giving it an edge that Doge lacks. Apart from the community platform known as Shiba Swap, where members can trade their coins for others, Shiba users can choose from three cryptos with different applications. SHIB is the basic currency used as a medium of exchange. LEASH is a limited token; only 107,647 are available, which are used as staking rewards for those validating the currency. Lastly, investors can purchase some of the 250 million BONE coins available, which allow its owners to vote on governance proposals.
Shib experienced massive growth in 2021, much like Doge, but we must point out that 1 coin is worth $0.00001017 at the time of writing. Regardless, for an investor, percentages matter and considering the 3500% gain within the first couple of days of trading, Shib is an attractive choice for traders. The low price makes it an easy option for those who want to experiment in the crypto space without losing too much if they're out of luck.
Unlike Doge, Shib has no celebrity endorsements as yet. If you believe that all publicity is good publicity, we could argue that the coin burning indaba, where Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin irrevocably destroyed approximately 40% of all issued Shib and shunned the coin, was a PR stunt. It is safe to say that Shib enjoys success thanks to Doge, and only time will tell which becomes the victor.
Should You Gamble on Meme Coins?
As mentioned, high-risk investment trades are a gamble, and the risk is so much more with cryptocurrency markets. The truth about meme coins is that you need to understand what can topple a good trading day and stay on top of community interactions. Like with gambling, you should only use the money on crypto and meme coin investments if you can afford to lose that money.
Once you understand that, there are a few things to consider before deciding on where to lay your stake. How do Doge and Shiba compare on the stock market, and which is the best choice for investors right now? What does the future hold for these dog coins?
DOGE vs SHIB?
Basic economics comes down to supply and demand. The relationship between these two variables determines the value of an asset, and most altcoins come with a capped supply. Doge is an exception to this rule, as the creators stuck to an authentic peer-to-peer payment system by utilising an inflationary mechanism. This helps prevent investors from holding onto massive chunks of the token and keeps costs low in the long run.
Doge has a supply rate of approximately 5 billion coins a year. With a 9-year history on the market, one would think Doge has more solid backing from investors, but despite impressive gains here and there, experts remind us that meme coins have no real precedent for how their value can change. Bursts of huge gains seem to be short-lived with Doge, and it is an extremely volatile space to play in.
Shib gradually clawed its way up the market ladder in the two years of its existence. It launched at a value lower than $0.00000001 because the creators needed to leave room for significant growth. Following on the coattails of Doge's remarkable gains in 2021, Shib increased in value to $0.0000036, showing a 3500% gain on investors' books. The Doge-killer reached an all-time high in October 2021 of $0.0000826, but as we pointed out, it has dropped significantly since then.
Choices, Choices
Considering the hype around these altcoins and how it impacts the coin's values, it is best to approach with caution when investing in meme coins. Both show promise, as Doge has been around for nearly a decade, and Shiba offers innovative options for its community. However, investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse with these communities to beat the curves.
Remember that meme coins are high-risk investments, and neither Doge nor Shiba bears a 'safe investment' label. Considering the stability and track record of Doge, it may be a less risky option for investors, but Shiba has a few tricks up its sleeve that makes it a potentially good choice for growth.
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