Recently, I’ve seen a lot of newcomers in the community discussing shitcoin tokens, and I think it’s necessary to talk about the Meme coin phenomenon. Honestly, in the past two years, the craziest thing in the crypto market hasn’t been Bitcoin or Ethereum—it’s been those seemingly nonsensical Meme coins.

First, let’s talk about what Meme coins are. Simply put, these coins are cryptocurrencies built on internet culture and social media hotspots. They have no real technological or financial backing; they’re driven purely by public opinion and the enthusiasm of speculators. Dogecoin is the classic example. Back then, it was launched as a joke, inspired by that famous Shiba Inu meme. What happened? With a major influencer like Elon Musk fanning the flames, Dogecoin’s market cap once surged to several tens of billions of dollars. Now, Dogecoin’s price is around 0.11 dollars, and its circulating market cap has reached 16.8 billion dollars. Later, Shiba Inu (SHIB) appeared, calling itself the “killer” of Dogecoin and drawing in a large number of retail investors; its market cap is now 3.7 billion dollars. Add new entrants like Pepe coin, and the entire Meme coin ecosystem has grown crazily.

But the most exciting game in all of this is actually chasing shitcoins. Do you know what a shitcoin is? It’s the kind of small coin that has just been released, with an extremely low market cap and little to no reputation—usually showing up on DEXs like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. These coins typically have a market cap of only a few ten-thousands or even a few thousand dollars, with extremely limited liquidity, an opaque team background, but once the price starts moving, it can rise several times or even dozens of times. Many people go after this, hoping to catch the next opportunity like Dogecoin or Shiba Inu.

I have to say—the biggest attraction of chasing shitcoins is the possibility of a quick double. The prices of these coins are determined entirely by social media hype. Once a topic goes viral, retail investors rush in. But the risks here are definitely not a joke. First, these coins’ prices are purely speculation-driven; once the hype cools down, they can collapse rapidly. Second, many of the developers or early holders behind these shitcoins will dump huge amounts after the price gets pushed up—this is the so-called pump-and-dump to “cut the wheat” (take advantage of newcomers), and latecomers often become the final bagholders. On top of that, these coins usually lack real technological support or real application scenarios. Project quality varies widely, and big players can easily manipulate the price, leaving new users with no way to fight back.

So what’s my advice? If you truly want to participate in this market, first of all you need to do risk control—never put all your assets into shitcoins. Second, do plenty of homework: before you chase, at least understand the project background, team information, token model, and other basic things. Most importantly, stay rational and don’t get brainwashed by those “riches overnight” myths on social media. Stories of getting rich in a single night do exist, but the risks behind them are real.

Overall, the Meme coin and shitcoin phenomena reflect social media’s enormous influence on the market, and they also show retail investors’ speculative enthusiasm. But this high-risk game really isn’t suitable for everyone. Bitcoin is now at 78420 dollars, and Ethereum is at 2310 dollars. While these mainstream coins aren’t as exciting, they’re at least more stable. If you have some spare money and want to experience the thrill of shitcoins, you can—but make sure to control your position size and don’t end up ruining yourself.