The 2024 Meme coin season is on its way. Last year, Sponge (SPONGE) reached unprecedented levels of growth from when it launched in April 2023, going from $2m to $90m market cap in four days.
Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, is bullish about the next meme coin frenzy, having subtly revealed his portfolio with SPONGE on the list—but why?
Are the next generation of meme coins simply Dogecoin imitators that will rise and fall? Or do their features make them the future leaders of meme coins as we enter the Web 3.0 metaverse?
Pepe Coin: Sustainable Surge or Passing Trend?
For years, the ‘Pepe The Frog’ meme has dominated the internet, originating from 4Chan and spreading across various social media platforms.
Its expressive nature, often coupled with phrases like ‘Feels good, man’ or ‘Feels sad, man,’ has solidified its place in online culture.
Investors who hopped onto the Pepe Coin bandwagon early might indeed be feeling good. The cryptocurrency rode the wave of Pepe meme stardom, skyrocketing by a staggering 1,000,000% within just five days of its April 2023 launch.
Surpassing the trading volume of both Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu coin (SHIB), Pepe Coin raises an intriguing question: does Pepe hold more meme influence than Doge?
While both enjoy substantial popularity, Dogecoin has faced criticism due to its limited utility. Operating on the energy-intensive Proof-of-Work mechanism, Dogecoin’s generation and trading process result in significant carbon emissions, drawing considerable negative attention.
In contrast, Pepe Coin operates on Ethereum’s platform using the more environmentally friendly Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism.
This grants it an edge over Dogecoin, presenting itself as a more sustainable option with quicker transactions and lower fees.
Floki: A Different Dogecoin?
The mascot behind this meme coin isn’t just any Shiba Inu; it’s Elon Musk’s very own pet, ‘Floki’—also a Shiba Inu breed.
The Shiba Inu’s association with the doge meme has inspired many meme coins, including the renowned Dogecoin.
In contrast to Dogecoin, Floki (FLOKI) operates on a PoS mechanism, offering inherent scalability advantages.
FLOKI aims to stand out by focusing on genuine utility rather than solely relying on community enthusiasm to drive its value—a criticism often directed at Dogecoin.
FLOKI boasts four prominent utility projects encompassing gaming, NFT marketplaces and content platforms, all within Floki’s envisioned metaverse ecosystem.
These initiatives signify Floki’s attempt to build a meme coin with tangible value and practical applications for its community, distancing itself from the perceived reliance on hype that has been associated with DOGE.
Sponge: On Track for Massive Success?
Sponge (SPONGE) has emerged as a formidable contender in the meme coin market. Since its launch in May 2023, Sponge has showcased an unprecedented surge, scaling an astonishing 4,000%. Notably, it plans to re-enter the market as a v2 token, setting new objectives to captivate investors once more.
In the small pool of successful meme coins that steer clear of Doge-inspired memes, Sponge stands out, currently priced 70% higher than PEPE—an equally non-Doge meme coin that surged around the same time as SPONGE.
Unlike many alt-coins that follow a presale model, Sponge chose to skip the presale phase entirely, directly launching on Uniswap.
This unconventional move paid dividends as Sponge quickly gained traction, leveraging Uniswap’s facilitation to soar over 320% in less than 12 hours, establishing its early value.
Presently, Sponge continues to trade over $0.1, boasting a community of over 11,000 token holders and amassing more than 30,000 followers on X.
The token’s current trading volume exceeds $1,196,000, with over $1.6 million worth of SPONGE staked in anticipation of transitioning to the new v2 token. The release of Sponge v2 introduces two significant goals planned for 2024.
Initially, the Sponge team aims to debut the v2 token on prominent crypto exchanges such as Binance and OKX.
Simultaneously, Sponge envisions the launch of a crypto game based on a play-to-earn (P2E) model, inviting users to race as beloved characters from Bikini Bottom in the metaverse world.
Participation in the P2E game necessitates staking SPONGE v2 tokens. As gamers climb the ranks, they stand to receive SPONGE coins as rewards, fostering sustained demand for the tokens.
The upcoming Sponge P2E game intends to offer both free and premium versions, with users leveraging SPONGEV2 tokens to acquire game credits, enabling them to engage in play-to-earn activities and accumulate additional tokens.
With its focus on utility, Sponge (SPONGE), an Ethereum-based coin employing the PoS mechanism, allocates over 51% of the SPONGEV2 token supply for staking and P2E rewards.
Meme Coin Ecosystems Are the Future of Crypto?
The advent of Sponge v2 marks an exciting phase for the Sponge ecosystem. Bolstered by its meme influence and a diverse array of P2E offerings, SPONGE appears poised to lead the meme coin market in 2024.
Investors eyeing SPONGEV2 now stand at an opportune moment, given its current price pegged at $0.0009248 and is available to purchase through ETH, USDT, and Card transactions on the official website.