10 of the most popular meme coins in 2023

The cyclical nature of the blockchain has been on full display lately. While market changes may have previously been triggered by generative avatars, major innovations, or even catastrophic events, the recent resurgence of memecoins has inspired a major shift in the day-to-day operations of those in the NFT space.

In early 2023, open issues appeared to be the salvation of a declining NFT market. But now the trading volume for memecoins has continued to far outpace NFTs. Likewise, the amount of crypto enthusiasts holding memecoins has continued to chart new records month after month.

This frenzied trading may inspire nostalgia in those who rode the “shitcoin” wave in 2021, but things seem to be a little different this memecoin season. $PEPE, the Pepe the Frog-inspired coin, has taken center stage as the king of memecoin mania in 2023, but there are many others dominating the charts as well.

So let’s take a look at some of the best memecoins on the market.

What are the most popular memecoins?

Pepe

$PEPE is unequivocally the most popular memecoin of the 2023 season and is credited with leading the resurgence of memecoins overall. Created by an anonymous team of developers, $PEPE reached a market cap of $1 billion and entered the crypto market’s top 100 cryptocurrencies three weeks after its launch. Although both traders and exchanges have quickly adopted $PEPE as a facet of the crypto ecosystem, some remain wary that the coin’s IP may lead to legal problems down the line.

Turbo

$TURBO is a coin created as both an experiment and a piece of performance art by Sotheby’s-selling OG crypto artist Rhett Mankind. Mankind created the coin with a budget of $69 and no previous experience to speak of. He simply asked ChatGPT to do it for him. He described the whole process via his Twitter, and even asks his followers for help with decisions along the way. $TURBO has since grown to a market capitalization of over $50 million.

Good Gensler

$GENSLR, also known as Good Gensler, is a memecoin based on a parody of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Since (the real) Gensler is known to be an opponent of crypto and NFTs, Good Gensler exists as his antithesis. The Good Gensler character, who serves as the visual representation of $GENSLR, is said to be “the founder of the Intergalactic Crypto Defense League (ICDL) and a champion of crypto” who came to Earth to defeat his doppelganger.

Mong

$MONG, or, MongCoin, is a memecoin linked to the existing Mongs NFT collection launched in January 2022. The original concept of the Mongs ecosystem can be traced back to a joke made by Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman about a fictitious “mongose ​​coin “. .” After running with the joke, the Mongs community launched $MONG to reward its NFT holders and offer the larger NFT space a “meme coin the community has always deserved.”

Wojak

$WOJAK is a memecoin based on a historical meme called Wojak, AKA “Feels Guy.” Dating back to 2010, the meme features a black outline cartoon of a bald man whose many expressions are interchangeable and used in different meme formats. Wojak has become particularly popular in the crypto and NFT space, and $WOJAK is just another evolution of the meme that has been shared in various blockchain communities for years.

Jeff

$JEFF is a memecoin that is also based on the Wojak meme, but with a twist. Instead of using the original Wojak meme, Jeff is based on the McDonalds version that is often circulated as a kind of self-deprecating inside joke between crypto and NFT traders when prices crash. Jeff (the McDonald’s Wojak character) is said to be “an average guy who works at McDonald’s,” hoping to take a risk and make some money by launching his own token.

Capybara

$CAPY, or Capybara Coin, is a community-driven token designed to be “the next best memecoin.” Led by the tagline “come quick to explain,” $CAPY uses a Capybara as its mascot and shares frequently Capybara memes as part of branding on social media. In the future, the creators of $CAPY have said they plan to donate funds to charities and organizations (such as zoos) that support Capybaras.

Rizz

$RIZZ is a memecoin that is said to be the “ultimate cultural ecosystem built on top of Ethereum.” A play on the term “rizz” (which is short for charisma), the token is described by its creators as a “cultural artwork” based on “fun and entertainment” that will evolve into a decentralized lending market, yield farm, tools for chain analysis and more .

Four

$FOUR, or FourCoin, is a memecoin probably based on a bunch of memes where people, animals and characters hold their own four fingers while posing for a picture. Although little information is known about the token or its roadmap, its popularity has been boosted thanks to an event where a trader spent 64 ETH (around $120,000) in transaction fees to buy $13.7 billion FIRE.

Guac

$GUAC, or Guacamole, is a memecoin said to be “for the people, for the memes, for toast and chips.” The coin features prominent green and guacamole-themed branding, and unlike the other meme coins on this list, it’s based on the Solana blockchain. $GUAC has been attributed to the rise of Solana memecoins and is considered the most successful memecoin on Solana. Its official Twitter also posts regularly transparency reports to keep holders and community members up to date on all that is happening.