Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

How 10 Meme Coins Make Millionaires

Validated Project

Can a Meme Coin Make You Rich?

People can get rich from meme coins or at least make some money from it, if they buy in before the meme coin has gone viral, and sell to take profits instead of holding on. For example, by buying $11.87 worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) when it just launched, an investor could have become a meme coin millionaire within 1 year and 3 months.

That said, meme coins are a very risky type of crypto because they are based on Internet cultural references. In other words, the price movement depends on whether the meme coins can stay relevant by driving hype or support among the community, and lack fundamental value.

How Much Money Needed to be a Meme Coin Millionaire

An investor would have needed $66,298.25 on average to become a meme coin millionaire, according to an analysis of 10 meme coin price returns. To reach $1 million in meme coin holdings, the minimum initial investment that is needed ranges from $11.87 for Shiba Inu, to $190,585.57 for ArbDoge AI (AIDOGE).

Meme Coin Millionaires with Lower Initial Investment

Someone buying into the first meme crypto Dogecoin on December 15, 2013, would have needed to put in $819.51 to become a millionaire. This is much higher than the amount needed to be a Shiba Inu millionaire, but the initial investment to become a Dogecoin millionaire can still be considered relatively affordable, for those with middle income and moderate risk tolerance.

Investors who only caught onto the meme coin hype in 2021 would have had to buy at least $4,507.98 worth of FLOKI (FLOKI) to reach millionaire status.

Meme Coin Millionaires with Higher Initial Investment

Becoming a meme coin millionaire with Dogelon Mars (ELON), Bonk (BONK) or Baby Doge Coin (BABYDOGE) would have been much more expensive. An investor would have had to put between $20,838.51 to $28,297.05, to reach $1 million in either of those 3 meme coins.

With the exception of the smaller cap crypto Ignore Fud (4TOKEN), the latest meme coins launched in 2023 require a much higher initial investment to turn into $1 million.

Pepe (PEPE), Wojak (WOJAK) and ArbDoge AI (AIDOGE) have seen the lowest percentage price returns so far, from the hypothetical purchase date to the all-time high date. As a result of the comparatively modest price gains between 424.7% to 531.7%, an investor would have needed upwards of $158,311.59 to become a 2023 meme coin millionaire.

How Quickly Can You Become a Meme Coin Millionaire

An investor could have become a meme coin millionaire in just under a year, or 361 days on average. At the fastest, a Bonk investor only needed 7 days to turn $26,667.85 into $1 million. At the slowest, Dogecoin took 2,701 days or almost 7 and a half years, to grow $819.51 into $1 million.

Out of the 2021 meme coins, the price of Dogelon Mars grew the fastest and needed just 19 days to make $20,838.51 become $1 million. FLOKI and Baby Doge Coin took much longer, at 4 months and 7 months respectively.

For the 2023 meme coins in particular, it is likely that Pepe, ArbDoge AI, Wojak and Ignore Fud will subsequently surpass their current all-time highs. Although they might take longer to reach higher prices, it also means that a lower initial investment is needed to become that meme coin’s millionaire.

Bonk’s exponential price pump remains the fastest record among meme coins.

What is the Most Successful Meme Coin?

In terms of price gains, Shiba Inu was the most successful meme coin with a 8,424,202.3% increase at its peak, compared to its starting price on August 1, 2020.

On the other hand, Dogecoin has been the most successful meme coin over the long run, as a pioneer in the category since 2013.

What is the Next Big Meme Coin in 2023?

Pepe, ArbDoge AI and Wojak are the biggest meme coins launched this year, and have been among the top trending crypto recently. Ignore Fud is another new meme coin in 2023 that has enjoyed strong price gains since it went live.

However, given that meme coins are especially narrative-driven, it is almost impossible to know for sure whether these 4 meme coins can continue to grow and still be the biggest by the end of the year.

While there is no telling what the next big meme coins will be, traders might turn to tools like a decentralized crypto exchanges' tracker. The small-cap tokens that can be found on these trackers offer the possibility of buying into early opportunities.

How Many Meme Coins Are There?

There are currently 179 meme coins being tracked on CoinGecko. As of May 4, 2023, three meme coins have made it into the top 100 crypto by market capitalization, namely Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Pepe.

Methodology

The study examined a number of notable and illustrative meme coins’ price returns over time, based on CoinGecko data: Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Baby Doge Coin (BABYDOGE), FLOKI (FLOKI), Dogelon Mars (ELON), ArbDoge AI (AIDOGE), Wojak (WOJAK), Bonk (BONK), Ignore Fud (4TOKEN).

The hypothetical date of purchase above is taken from the start of data availability, and the hypothetical date for selling to realize profits is the all-time high price as of May 4, 2023.

This study is for illustrative and informational purposes only, and is not financial advice. Always do your own research and be careful when putting your money into meme coins, or any other crypto or financial asset.

Read more: https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/meme-coin-millionaire

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • BTC Surpasses $67,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $67,000, currently priced at $67,007.8, with a 24-hour decline of 2.04%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • BTC Surpasses $67,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $67,000, currently priced at $67,015.44, with a 24-hour decline of 1.94%. The market is highly volatile, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • U.S. Initial Jobless Claims at 202,000 Last Week

    On April 2, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week was 202,000, estimated at 212,000, with a previous value of 210,000.

  • BTC Falls Below $66,000

    Market data shows that BTC has fallen below $66,000, currently priced at $65,999, with a 24-hour decline of 3.86%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • Iran: Enemy Forces Will Be Annihilated in Ground Attack

    On April 2, Iranian Army Chief of Staff Hatami warned that if enemy forces attempt a ground invasion, no enemy soldiers will survive. He urged the military to maintain the highest level of vigilance and skepticism, constantly monitoring enemy movements and actions, and to implement operational plans to counter any enemy attacks at the appropriate time. (CCTV International News)

  • Metaplanet Acquires 5,075 BTC in Q1, Total Holdings Reach 40,177 BTC

    On April 2, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich announced that in the first quarter of 2026, the company purchased 5,075 BTC at an average price of approximately $79,898, with a total investment of around $405.48 million. The year-to-date return on Bitcoin is 2.8%. As of March 31, the company has accumulated a total of 40,177 BTC, with a total cost of approximately $4.18 billion and an average cost of about $104,106.

  • BTC Falls Below $67,000

    Market data shows that BTC has fallen below $67,000, currently reported at $66,960.01, with a 24-hour decline of 1.21%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • ETH Drops Below $2100

    Market data shows that ETH has dropped below $2100, currently priced at $2099.91, with a 24-hour decline of 0.04%. The market is highly volatile, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • BTC Falls Below $68,000

    Market data shows that BTC has fallen below $68,000, currently priced at $67,997.84, with a 24-hour decline of 0.37%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • Drift Protocol on Solana Ecosystem Attacked, Losses Estimated at Over $200 Million

    On April 2, the derivative trading platform Drift Protocol, based on Solana, experienced a security incident. On-chain data indicates losses of at least approximately $200 million, with some estimates nearing $270 million. The project team reported that they have detected unusual activity and are currently investigating, advising users not to deposit funds into the protocol and emphasizing that 'this is not an April Fool's joke.' The attack involved multiple liquidity pools, including JLP Delta Neutral, SOL Super Staking, and BTC Super Staking. A single transaction involved the transfer of approximately 41.7 million JLP tokens, valued at around $155 million, along with other assets such as SOL, USDC, cbBTC, and wBTC being withdrawn. According to statistics, this incident may become one of the largest DeFi attacks in the Solana ecosystem since the Wormhole bridge exploit.