The year is proving to be a difficult one for cryptocurrency fans who have piled into memes coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin amid the industry’s long-standing rallying cry of “to the Moon”.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, tokens that are more associated with jokes than actual software products, were hit harder than the sector originals Ethereum or Bitcoin during the recent decline from record-setting prices. According to Messari data, Doge has fallen nearly 80% since its May record high of 74c in May and Shiba has dropped more than 65% from its October peak of fractions a penny in October.
The decline in trading volumes is now measured in millions, not billions. The jokes that used to persuade a lot of retail day traders to purchase coins on a whim are now a bit sad.
Doge was the first to get into the frenzy. The digital token was created by two software engineers in 2013. As interest in crypto trading soared, new generations of retail traders began to take to social media platforms to share their enthusiasm. They used jokes, sarcasm, and trolling to gain attention.
The token’s adoption by Elon Musk, Tesla Inc. chief executive, helped it soar. The popularity of Doge inspired the creation of new tokens based upon the breed of a dog. These tokens include Shiba Inu, Baby Shiba Inu, and Floki. Musk is the pet of the token’s creator.
The memes are becoming less funny due to the constant decline in crypto prices. Shibetoshi Nakamoto, a Twitter user, tweeted a cartoon showing a young man wearing a backwards cap and asking: “Did I waste my life making Dogecoin?”
Although Shib coin holders, according to Stalwarts, are “on the path to the moon and beyond,” dedicated chatrooms reveal that this resounding rally cry has lost some of its power.
A user going by the name djcau5e posted on a Discord channel dedicated to Shib: “It’s an entire roll of the dice. While I would love the moon, I think a lot of people’s expectation to reach $1 or even.01 in the next few years is unrealistic.”
