3 Reasons to Avoid These Meme Coins at all Costs

In the previous crypto bull market cycle, both Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) were standout performers. They skyrocketed in price in a remarkably short period of time and helped to popularize the idea of investing in meme coins. When most people think about meme coins, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are almost always the first names that come to mind.

However, if you're still investing in Dogecoin and Shiba Inu in 2025, you could be making a mistake. Hard as it may be for some enthusiasts to accept, it's time to put these dog-themed meme coins in the doghouse, and here's why.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results

This might sound obvious, but just because a certain meme coin performed well during one crypto bull market doesn't mean that it will perform well during the next crypto bull market. And, indeed, if you pull up a chart for Dogecoin, you'll see exactly what I mean.

Dogecoin traded for mere pennies for much of its early existence. Then, it enjoyed a brief momentary spike in price in late 2020 and early 2021 before plummeting. It has never fully recovered despite billionaire Elon Musk remaining a supporter. In 2025, Dogecoin is down about 15%, and that's despite the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being in the headlines almost every single day.

When Dogecoin and Shiba Inu enjoyed their stratospheric price rises, there were only a handful of meme coins. Now, there are literally thousands of meme coins being created. That makes it much harder for the same meme coin to turn in an encore performance.

Image source: Getty Images.

Even if you only consider the universe of dog-themed meme coins, it's getting harder and harder for Dogecoin and Shiba Inu to stand out. In fact, there are now three other dog-themed meme coins that rank among the top 100 cryptocurrencies based on market cap.

Solana is now the premier blockchain for meme coins

There's another reason to be concerned about Dogecoin and Shiba Inu: They were not launched on the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) blockchain and are not part of the Solana blockchain ecosystem. From my perspective, this limits their upside.

Quite simply, Solana has emerged as the blockchain of choice for new meme coins. It's where the most popular decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges are. It's where the most popular blockchain wallets are. It's where meme coin factory Pump.fun pumps out thousands of new meme coins each day. And, to top it all off, it's where President Donald Trump chose to launch his new Official Trump meme coin.

To understand why the choice of blockchain matters so much, consider the following analogy from 21Shares, which is the company that partnered with Cathie Wood's Ark Invest on new spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Choosing between Ethereum (where many meme coins previously launched) and Solana is like choosing between Android and iOs. So, just as some people only buy iPhones running on iOs, some investors only consider meme coins running on Solana.

The meme coin supercycle thesis

The meme coin supercycle is arguably the most important investment thesis for meme coin investors in 2025. The term comes from a presentation given by crypto investor Murad Mahmudov at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore in September. In a 20-minute presentation loaded with charts, graphs, and data, he laid out all the reasons the meme coin market is poised to go parabolic in 2025.

According to this investment thesis, the total value of meme coins is going to hit $1 trillion. Leading the way will be a small group of meme coins, two of which will have the potential to become $100 billion digital assets. Notably, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were not on the list of top meme coins.

What's so interesting about the meme coin supercycle thesis is that it argues for holding a small number of meme coins for the long haul. Instead of moving into and out of meme coins constantly, you should buy and hold, much as you would for a stock.

The key to investment success, says Mahmudov, is to identify which top meme coins have active online communities and are capable of inspiring cult-like devotion. This helps to ensure that investors will be willing to hold these coins through thick and thin even amid steep market sell-offs.

Just a few years ago, Dogecoin might have fit this definition of a cult-like meme coin. Some people truly believed in its potential to create life-changing wealth.

However, it's getting harder and harder to believe that Dogecoin can go much higher. If $100 billion is the ceiling for a meme coin, then the best case scenario for Dogecoin is to roughly double in value (it's market cap now is about $40 billion). Meanwhile, other meme coins are much smaller and could soar 10 or even 100 times in value.

A final caveat for investors

Remember: Investing in meme coins is very risky and speculative. Even the most popular meme coins are really just based on feel-good vibes, hype, and social media buzz.

Making things even more challenging for investors, there are literally tens of thousands of meme coins to choose from now. As a result, there's no way that I'm putting my money into overvalued dog-themed meme coins that are all bark and no bite.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.