Memes are a unique invention of modern pop culture. Meme culture is a significant aspect of the online experience. From high school kids to billionaires and popular brands, memes are used by everyone. So, it is natural that memes found their way to cryptocurrency. Since the inception of DOGE, SHIBA, and other OG memecoins, it’s safe to say that meme coins are a permanent part of today’s crypto industry. So, what is a meme coin? How do meme coins work? We will break it down in this article.
Key Takeaways
- 🤠 Meme coins are culture-driven tokens. Meme coin is born from internet jokes and thrives on viral community hype, not underlying tech or utility.
- ⚠️ High-risk, high-reward plays. Prices can skyrocket thousands of percent in weeks, then drop 80-90% just as fast, making timing and risk control critical.
- 🤣 Community is everything. The strongest projects (DOGE, PEPE, BONK, PENGU) keep momentum through relentless meme creation, catchy slogans, and active social channels.
- 📉 Watch out for traps. Pump-and-dump schemes and sniper bots target new launches. Tools like Bubblemaps or GMGN help spot wallets that control too much supply.
What Are Meme Coins?

Meme coins are a type of cryptocurrency inspired by internet memes, characters, trends, and other forms of pop culture. Meme coins are usually derived from viral media such as funny videos, images, or characters. It is often created as a joke meant to be fun for people with similar interests. Popular meme coins are DOGE, SHIBA, and PEPE.
However, these initial ideas of meme coins eventually evolved. Memecoins are starting to be treated as a genuine investment asset for valuing cultural phenomena, or essentially a way to speculate on viral trends.
Furthermore, rumors of a meme coins ETF also surfaced earlier this year. This is because many meme coins reach ridiculous valuations (PEPE reached $7B, FARTCOIN $2.5B, and WIF $5B).
Why Do People Buy Memecoins?
Initially, meme coins like DOGE are just fun ways to create communities within crypto. It didn’t come with an expectation for profit. Earlier meme coins exist as a contrast to their highly technical crypto cousins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, as meme coins evolved, people are speculating on meme coins with specific goals and expectations. People now buy meme coins for their potential profit. This is thanks to the rapid growth of Pump.Fun and Jupiter on Solana.
Furthermore, WIF, POPCAT, BONK, PEPE, and other meme coins rose by thousands of percent in a very short time, usually between 1 to 3 months. So, many people now consider investing in meme coins for a high-risk, high-return strategy.
Meme coins are a good indicator of the crypto market. When the market is very bullish, meme coins’ volatility shoots through the roof, giving traders an opportunity for incredible gains. However, as the market worsens, meme coins will suffer the most compared to utility altcoins.
How Do Meme Coins Work?

As explained before, the main attraction of meme coins is the community and expectation of profit. Almost every meme coin does not have any utility attached to it. They are usually created in the standard token format of the blockchain, such as ERC-20 for Ethereum and SPL for Solana. The simpler a meme coin, the easier it spreads to more people.
A Meme coin works when its community spreads the message by sharing memes and creating their own art. Each meme coin usually has its own “tagline” that’s fun and catchy, such as “hot air rises” for FARTCOIN or “the cat pops” for POPCAT.
Meme Coin Risks

Pump and Dump
Pump and Dumps is one of the most common schemes in meme coins, where a small group of people controls the supply of a token. Once these people sell, the price crashes significantly, often reaching -90% or even more. Pump and dump schemes usually start when a group of people relentlessly “shill” or promote their token to lure people to buy. Once demands are artificially created, they sell their tokens for profit, leaving other traders at a loss.
Now, pump and dump schemes are even more sophisticated. Scammers now use trading bots or snipers that immediately buy the token the moment it is created. However, developers also created tools so people can easily identify these pump-and-dump meme coins. Tools such as Bubblemaps and GMGN can help you avoid a significant loss.
Extreme Volatility
As briefly explained, meme coin is a good indicator of the market. Traders usually sell meme coins first at the sign of a bearish situation. On the flip side, smart money also knows that meme coins pump the hardest in a bullish market environment.
So, meme coins present significant risks and opportunities due to their extreme volatility. Meme coins can pump 200% within a day, only to suffer a -50% correction on the next. One of the most bulletproof strategies for investing in meme coins is to buy at extreme corrections for high-quality meme coins.
Usually, good meme coins with real community and high mindshare will form a bottoming pattern at around -80% to -90%.
Popular Meme Coins in 2025
1. DOGE

DOGE is the biggest meme coin based on the popular Shiba Inu dog meme. It is one of the most recognizable dog memes on the internet. The history of DOGE coin is that it was created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a fork of Litecoin in December 2013 as a fun experiment.
As of June 29, DOGE coin price is $0.16, with a market cap of $24.42B. DOGE is the biggest meme coin by market cap and usually tops the volume chart of the meme coin sector.
2. FARTCOIN
FARTCOIN is a meme coin based on the first joke written by the popular Terminal of Truth AI. After that, FARTCOIN gained prominence with the rise of AI agents and AI meme coins. From December to January 2025, FARTCOIN rises by more than a thousand percent, establishing it as the de Facto leader of the AI meme coin meta. Since then, it has experienced severe correction and sits at -60% of its previous ATH.
3. PEPE

PEPE is a meme coin based on the popular frog character, Pepe the Frog. It is one of the biggest meme coins on Ethereum and one of the reasons why meme coins are so popular in the current bull market cycle. PEPE exploded into the meme coin scene in early 2024 and it became the catalyst for a meme coin season on Ethereum and beyond.
Currently, PEPE is the second biggest meme coin on Ethereum after SHIB (Shiba). A significant PEPE rally usually triggers a rally for other meme coins on Ethereum.
4. PENGU
PENGU is a meme coin created by the Pudgy Penguins team. Pudgy Penguins itself started as an NFT collection but exploded in popularity. Now, it is featured in ETF commercials, has millions of viewers across several social media platforms, and is building a specialized L2 called Abstract. Pudgy Penguins is one of the most popular crypto brands in the world.
Naturally, PENGU also becomes one of the most popular meme coins since its launch. Buying PENGU means you believe in the Pudgy Penguins team. PENGU peaked at $2.6 billion and now sits at $900 million (as of July 1st). Additionally, PENGU also has the third-largest trading volume in the last 24 hours.
5. BONK

BONK is one of the OG meme coins on Solana that sparked a full-scale shift to Solana from Ethereum. The meme coin was born in the 2022 bear market and was distributed to many Solana developers as a form of community moral support. Then, a strong community rallied around BONK and it showed that Solana can also support a meme coin community.
Furthermore, BONK is one of the few unique meme coins with proper utility. BONK isn’t just a simple meme coin, it has a whole suite of ecosystem. The latest was a launchpad for popular meme coins that such as USELESS. BONK currently sits at around $1 billion market cap.
Conclusion
Meme coin has evolved from harmless internet jokes into a permanent, speculative niche of the crypto world. Their value lives and dies with community buzz, making them an early indicator of market sentiment. Traders who embrace the meme coin scene must balance the lure of outsized gains against the reality of sudden crashes. Traders and investors need to research communities, use on-chain tools, and never invest more than they can afford to lose.
How to Buy Meme Coin in Pintu Pro
To start investing in meme coins like PEPE, BONK, FARTCOIN, and DOGE, you can purchase them through exchanges such as Pintu. The steps are simple:
- Open the Pintu Pro Web homepage.
- Navigate to the Market section and search for your favorite meme coins.
- Enter the amount of XAUt you wish to purchase after you log in.
- You can follow the same steps to buy meme coins on the Pintu app.
Pintu is also compatible with popular digital wallets like MetaMask, making your transactions even more convenient. Download the Pintu app now on the Play Store or App Store! Your security is ensured, as Pintu is regulated by OJK (Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority) and CFX (Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency).
In addition to trading, Pintu also enables you to learn more about crypto through a wide range of educational articles on Pintu Academy, updated weekly. All articles published by Pintu Academy are intended for educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.
References
- “What are Memecoins?”, Blocmates, accessed on June 19, 2025.
- “What Are Meme Coins and How Do They Work?“, Crypto.com, accessed on June 20, 2025.
- “What is a memecoin?“, Coinbase, accessed on June 20, 2025.
- Kraken Learn Team, “Memecoins: what they are, popular examples, and how to buy them”, Kraken, accessed on June 23, 2025.