Cryptocurrencies are all the rage right now. For meme tokens such as Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), this goes double — especially for those looking at these tokens’ returns in recent years.
Shiba Inu and Dogecoin are the two leading, dog-inspired meme tokens that have taken the crypto world by storm. Dogecoin, the leader in the meme token space (and created as a joke), grew to incredible size due mainly to the support of Elon Musk. Shiba Inu, largely considered a copycat of Dogecoin, has also soared in incredible fashion.
Speculators have done well with these tokens thus far. But which will win in the long term? Let’s dive into the pros and cons of both.
Shiba Inu: A bull and bear case
Shiba Inu has been perhaps the best-performing asset in the universe over the past year. A return of over 15,000,000% spells out just how incredible of a return this token has had over the past year. And that’s after losing approximately 75% of its value from its peak.
Like other meme tokens, Shiba Inu has been extremely volatile. These returns certainly suggest this is the case.
However, Shiba Inu has some interesting projects underway that bulls continue to point to as reasons to hold this token. The ShibaSwap exchange has been launched, providing the potential for increased liquidity for SHIB tokens. Additionally, the potential for staking on this decentralized exchange has become a reality with these updates. On top of this, Shiba Inu has landed major commercial partners who are now accepting SHIB for payment.
Furthermore, one of the key catalysts many point to with Shiba Inu is the potential for NFT-based gaming solutions via the launch of the Shibarium, which is still under development.
That said, bears note that Shiba Inu is no more than another ERC-20 token. Like other Ethereum-based tokens, Shiba Inu is held hostage to this network’s fees and transaction times. Accordingly, Shiba Inu’s differentiation could potentially come across as lacking to some investors.
This token currently has a market capitalization of $11.7 billion at the time of writing.
Dogecoin: A bull and bear case
The big dog in the meme token space, Dogecoin continues to dominate discussion around most retail investors in this space. Musk’s recent meme token tweets have centered on Dogecoin, with this token recently being accepted for payment for various Tesla merchandize.
Increased adoption of Dogecoin has some investors bullish on this token. Like Shiba Inu, Dogecoin has recently been accepted as payment by various high-profile commercial partners, namely Tesla. Additionally, this platform’s use as a monetary transfer mechanism is well noted.
However, barring a few other blockchains, Dogecoin’s overall network fees and speeds have been cause for concern. Some suggest Dogecoin is not yet the viable payment alternative many believe to be. Additionally, this token appears to lack the real-world utility other smart-contract-enabled blockchains provide.
Bottom line
Right now, in my view, it’s a toss-up between these two tokens. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu both represent the highest-risk, highest-upside tokens in the crypto world. Given how volatile the crypto space has been of late, it’s hard to say either is a smart investment for those with a conservative, long-term view of the markets.
That said, Dogecoin has been around longer and is leading Shiba Inu in terms of payments and overall size at the moment. Those looking to speculate may want to take a closer look at this token.
