Memecoins have taken the crypto space by storm, and continue to increase in popularity. Top among these coins and tokens are Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
Meme coins or tokens are generally created just for fun, and hardly have any real use cases. Their value is driven mainly by sentiments around whatever inspired the creation of the meme cryptocurrency.
For example, both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were inspired by the popular dog breed Shiba Inu, and their initial popularity was driven by the fans of this dog breed. Billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban have also directly contributed to making these two more popular.
However, they have major differences that anyone interested in them should know about. In this guide, we focus on these differences to help you come to a conclusion on which one is better for you to invest in.
What Is Dogecoin (DOGE)?
As stated earlier, Dogecoin is a meme coin inspired by the popular Shiba Inu dog breed, hence the picture of the dog on its logo. It was the first ever meme coin to be created, which probably explains why it is the most famous.
It is called a coin because it has its own blockchain, unlike tokens which are created on other blockchains. Dogecoin uses a version of the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism which is similar to how Bitcoin works.
Therefore it is a coin that is mined just like Bitcoin, and miners who help to verify transactions are rewarded with DOGE for helping to secure the network.
Initially, Dogecoin, which doesn’t have a capped supply, had no real world use cases and Elon Musk was heavily behind its price appreciation. However as time passed, the team began to implement some changes to give it some real world use cases which would make it sustain its price gains.
One of the major use cases for Dogecoin is as a payment method. Many major retailers accept it as a payment method, including Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car company. The token is also used by entertainment and catering services companies as a means of payment.
The team also started working on non-fungible tokens for the network, making it able to support NFTs which are another popular set of tokens.
What is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?
Shiba Inu is the second largest meme token by market cap after Dogecoin. Unlike Dogecoin however, it is a token built on Ethereum and does not have its own chain. Ethereum itself is a PoS network that transitioned from PoW.
While Shiba Inu was also inspired by the Shiba Inu dog, it doesn’t have the dog’s picture on its logo, which makes it very different from Dogecoin. However, it has also enjoyed support from Elon Musk which has contributed immensely to its growth.
Also unlike Dogecoin, Shiba Inu has a maximum supply of close to one quadrillion tokens. It also has a burn mechanism in place meant to reduce the circulating supply over time. Another strategy to increase its value has been to add some real world use cases.
Shiba Inu has been enabled to support NFTs just like Dogecoin, and with the Shibarium which is a Layer 2 network built on Ethereum for Shiba Inu, the meme token now has higher transaction speed and lower fees than before, which is a major win.
Which Is Better?
Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are top meme cryptocurrencies. However when it comes to investing, there is always a better choice to make, and in this case, there are few factors to consider.
The first is market cap. The higher the market cap, the more saturated the asset, which means its chance of growth is lower. Secondly, the number of coins or tokens.
Shiba Inu, with a capped supply and also a burn mechanism to keep reducing supply is the better choice considering both factors if you wish to buy and profit in the future.
