Meme coins took the crypto world by storm in 2021, with Dogecoin leading the pack as the OG meme cryptocurrency. But in 2022, a new puppy entered the race – Shiba Inu.
Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have grown tremendously in popularity and market cap recently. But which one is the better investment for 2023 and beyond? In this expert review, we’ll compare the key features of each meme coin to help you decide.
Introduction to Meme Coins
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies that started as jokes or centred around internet memes. They are characterized by having no real utility beyond speculation and community enthusiasm.
The first meme coin was Dogecoin, which launched in 2013. It featured the Shiba Inu “doge” meme that was popular at the time. Other early meme coins included PepeCoin and Garlicoin.
However, meme coins exploded in 2021, led by Dogecoin. Several new meme coins launched to try and capture Dogecoin’s magic, including Shiba Inu.
Let’s take a closer look at how Shiba Inu and Dogecoin compare the key factors for evaluating meme coin investments.
Origins and Creation
Dogecoin
Dogecoin was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. They branded it as “the fun and friendly internet currency” with its logo featuring the famous Shibu Inu “doge” meme.
Dogecoin was created based on Luckycoin, which itself was derived from Litecoin’s code. It was initially launched as a satirical cryptocurrency without much serious intent.
Shiba Inu
Shiba Inu coin was launched anonymously in August 2020 under the pseudonym “Ryoshi.” The founder(s) remain unknown.
According to the original medium posts, Shiba Inu was envisioned as an “experiment in decentralized spontaneous community building.” Its logo features the same Shiba Inu dog as Dogecoin as an homage.
So while Dogecoin was created as a parody, Shiba Inu was created more intentionally to build an ecosystem and community known as the “ShibArmy.”
Supply and Distribution
The supply and distribution of a cryptocurrency can impact its price performance and viability.
Dogecoin Supply
Dogecoin has a current circulating supply of 132,670,764,299 DOGE as of September 2022.
Notably, Dogecoin has an unlimited total supply. 10,000 DOGE are mined per block, with new blocks added roughly every minute. This means around 5.2 billion new DOGE enter circulation each year.
Early on, Dogecoin was mainly distributed via mining and tips. Recently, popularity has led to availability on most major exchanges.
Shiba Inu Supply
Shiba Inu has a current circulating supply of 549,063,278,876,302 SHIB as of September 2022.
The Shiba Inu total supply is set at one quadrillion tokens (1,000,000,000,000,000). Of that, 50% was gifted to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin with the other half locked to Uniswap for liquidity.
Buterin donated his 50% to charity, burning 410 trillion SHIB. The remaining circulating supply was distributed via exchanges like Binance. The founders retained a small portion.
So while Dogecoin has an unlimited supply, Shiba Inu has a fixed supply that is already widely distributed.
Utility and Development
Meme coins are not known for real-world utility. But some have more active development than others.
Dogecoin Utility
True to its origin as a parody coin, Dogecoin does not have much real utility beyond being used for payments and transactions.
The Dogecoin Core developers release updates and security fixes for the protocol. But there is little active development beyond that.
Recently, Dogecoin has gained some commercial utility after being accepted for payments by brands like AMC Theaters and the Dallas Mavericks. But its tech development remains minimal.
Shiba Inu Utility
While created as a meme coin, Shiba Inu has rapidly expanded into an ecosystem with more utility.
Most notably, ShibaSwap is a decentralized exchange that allows users to stake and provide liquidity for SHIB as well as other ecosystem tokens like LEASH and BONE.
The developers have hinted at eventually creating utility-like metaverse integrations and NFTs as part of an ambitious roadmap.
So while minimal right now, Shiba Inu’s roadmap suggests more potential future utility than Dogecoin currently has.
Popularity and Community
Meme coins live and die by the strength of their community and hype. Let’s see how Doge and SHIB compare.
Dogecoin Popularity
Dogecoin exploded from obscurity thanks to community events and celebrities like Elon Musk promoting the coin. This drew in waves of retail investors.
Today Dogecoin consistently ranks among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, at over $8 billion as of September 2022. Its Reddit community has 2.3 million members.
However, Google Trends shows that searches for Dogecoin have waned since the May 2021 hype peak, indicating fading interest recently.
Shiba Inu Popularity
Shiba Inu was largely unknown until a meteoric rise in the Fall of 2021 saw it fleetingly become a top 10 crypto. This cemented its status as the top new meme coin alternative to Doge.
As of September 2022, Shiba Inu’s market cap stands at $5.5 billion – behind Dogecoin but still substantial. Shiba Inu’s Reddit group has grown to 552,000 members.
Google Trends indicates searches for Shiba Inu remained higher than Dogecoin over the past 12 months, signalling growing interest.
Price History and Performance
Of course, price action is key for evaluating any investment asset. How have Doge and SHIB performed?
Dogecoin Price History
Dogecoin spent its first several years trading for tiny fractions of a penny. In early 2021, it began climbing to half a cent amid growing crypto hype.
The coin skyrocketed to an all-time high of $0.7376 on May 8, 2021, for an incredible 12,000% gain from the start of that year. This was fueled by retail mania and endorsements by Elon Musk.
However, Dogecoin then erased most gains, sliding back under $0.10 by mid-2022. It has traded sideways since, between $0.05 to $0.10.
Shiba Inu Price History
After launching in August 2020, SHIB remained nearly worthless for its first year, at ten zeros to the left of the decimal.
But beginning in May 2021, SHIB went on an epic run, eventually reaching an all-time high of $0.000088 on October 28, 2021. At peak, SHIB was up a mind-blowing 121,000,000% in 2021.
Since then though, SHIB has also faded, down to $0.000011 or so in September 2022. But this still represents a substantial gain from its early days.
Key Differences and Similarities
To summarize the key differences:
- Dogecoin has an unlimited supply with 10k new coins per minute, while Shiba Inu has a fixed 1 quadrillion supply.
- Dogecoin has minimal real utility or development, while Shiba Inu has more expansive goals and ecosystem.
- Dogecoin’s popularity remains high but may be fading slowly based on searches. Shiba Inu’s community is still growing.
- Both experienced massive gains in 2021 followed by sharp declines in 2022. Dogecoin hit higher peak prices so far.
The coins share memetic origins and similar logos. Both rely heavily on community-driven hype and speculation for valuation rather than technology.
Which Is the Better Investment?
The answer is complicated. On the one hand, Dogecoin benefits from first mover advantage and greater longevity.
But Shiba Inu seems to have more upward potential over the long run thanks to its active development and still-growing community. However, as meme coins, their future prices are heavily influenced by hype and social media trends.
For investors who believe in the culture and mania around meme coins, either Dogecoin or Shiba Inu could potentially offer high-risk, high-reward investment opportunities. More conservative investors may wish to avoid both.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see if Dogecoin can maintain dominance as the original meme coin, or if Shiba Inu can overtake it to become the new fan favourite.
Future Outlook and Roadmaps
To predict which meme coin may win out long-term, it’s helpful to compare their future outlooks and roadmaps.
Dogecoin Future
Dogecoin’s open-source community of volunteer developers works on occasional updates and bug fixes. But there is no formal roadmap.
Most analysts do not expect significant changes or differentiation from Dogecoin shortly. Its popularity may continue subsiding without fresh hype catalysts.
However, Dogecoin’s amino payments network is still in development. This would allow micropayments using Doge. Elon Musk also continues expressing interest in collaborating.
So Dogecoin may yet see another wave of hype if any major partners adopt it for transactions or its tech upgrades.
Shiba Inu Outlook
Unlike Dogecoin, Shiba Inu’s anonymous development team has outlined an ambitious roadmap for its ecosystem called the “WoofPaper.”
Upcoming Shiba Inu plans include:
- Launching Layer 2 solutions like Shibarium to improve scalability
- Introducing NFTs and metaverse integrations
- Continuing coin burns to reduce the circulating supply
- Getting listed on major exchanges like Robinhood
- Pursuing decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) status
This robust roadmap indicates Shiba Inu is trying to transition beyond just a meme coin. If successful, it could expand its utility.
Recent News and Events
Staying up to date on recent news developments can provide clues on meme coin momentum as well.
Dogecoin News
- In June 2022, Dogecoin launched Libdogecoin to build a standardized platform for developers. But this has not yet delivered significant upgrades.
- Elon Musk is proceeding with his Twitter acquisition deal, leading to speculation that Dogecoin integrations may follow.
- Significant merchant adoption has slowed, indicating Dogecoin may be fading from the retail hype phase.
Shiba Inu News
- In August 2022, Coinbase expanded Shiba Inu trading products, boosting its credibility.
- Shibarium Layer 2 testing is underway, nearing mainnet launch which could improve SHIB fundamentals.
- Whale holdings of SHIB remain near all-time highs, signaling institutional interest.
- More exchanges like OKX are adopting SHIB staking features to grow the ecosystem.
So while Dogecoin development remains stagnant, Shiba Inu continues gaining adoption and building out its roadmap.
Final Verdict: Which Is the Better Investment?
Based on this our analysis between the two leading meme coins, Shiba Inu appears to have greater potential upside and beyond.
Dogecoin retains an early mover advantage. But its stagnating development and reliance on hype leave it vulnerable long-term.
Meanwhile, Shiba Inu’s ecosystem expansions give it growing utility. As the “new Dogecoin,” it may be poised to overtake DOGE as the meme coin heavyweight.
However, both Shiba Inu and Dogecoin remain highly speculative. Only risk capital should be invested in cryptocurrencies without proven track records or real-world utility.
For investors who do want exposure to the meme coin mania, SHIB currently looks to be the better bet based on 2023 roadmap progress. Its expanding community and development trajectory give Shiba Inu the edge over the stale Dogecoin.
There are never guarantees in crypto. But by comparing their origins, supply models, utility, popularity growth, price history, and outlook, Shiba Inu emerges as having greater upside potential versus the worn-out Dogecoin.
The dogs may bark, but SHIB looks set to take the lead as we head into the new year. Time will tell if the scrappy Shiba Inu pup can overtake the Dogecoin old guard in 2023!
Can Shibarium Rocket SHIB to the Next Level? Find out here.
