What place do meme coins even have in crypto?

You can say the father of meme coins was Doge. It wasn't the first nor the only meme coin, but it was the first one that definitely gained traction.

It was made as a joke, but the team behind it still tried to make a real crypto with functions, and a blockchain. It was loosely based on other crypto like Litecoin, used proof of work, and used faster transaction and lower fees.

In the process, they inadvertently created a coin that was pretty useful for payment, along with BCH, Litecoin, and XLM at the time.

But the part that made it stand out, requires more of a degree in psychology to understand, than in tokenomics.

It built a fan following, became the "fun and friendly" crypto, and was able to built a big community behind it.

That's probably the real strength and real place for meme coins. That psychological x factor.

The pitfall

One of the big problem that can still stem from this, is greedy people, and even scammers, who have picked up on that x factor.

While Shib attempted to piggy back off the Doge hype, it still had a real attempt at utility. But coins like DogeElon straight up tried to exploit the Doge hype and Elon hype, by creating a coin that could confuse people into thinking it's like Doge, or associated to Elon.

And there have been many meme coins that have been straight up scams and pump and dumps.

It's not always nefarious.

Sometimes they just jump in on the latest joke or meme, like with VDICK.

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But even if it's for fun, it's still a coin, and there's always going to be an element of greed.

People will try to make money.

This is the other pitfall of meme coins. They are fueled by fad for that meme, or by hype. And often turn into pump and dumps.

Can you still make money with meme coins?

Absolutely. And you can just as easily lose money.

This is not for everybody.

It shouldn't be approached like an investment. They're more like a gamble. You're gambling on a hype train, or even hype cycles.

If you really want to take the risk, you really should only jump on this with "play" money, or money you are willing to lose. This is definitely not a retirement plan.

We've all seen what happened after the Doge and Shib hype reached its peak.

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When to buy meme coins?

As it should become obvious, the worst time to buy into them, is when the hype train is already going at full speed.

So avoid hype, and also avoid bull markets.

You only want to get on a meme coin before the hype is fully on, and preferably when we're still in a bear market. When there's still a lot of fear, and most people are out of position.

Even if you bet on the wrong meme coin during a bear market, the bull market should still lift your position a bit. So it's the one time you have an opportunity to get in with the least amount of risk.

You'll still have to be patient, because no one knows when the bull market will come.

Conclusion

Meme coins aren't for everybody, and shouldn't be treated like a normal investment. They carry risk, and tend to be fueled by hype.

But the very thing that makes them risky, the psychological x factor, is what can also make them still valuable and fuel a community behind them.

Proceed with caution, but don't underestimate them. If you really want to jump on them, don't wait for the hype, and don't wait for the bull market.

But no one knows which one is going to be big in the next bull market.