As the meme coin craze continues to heat up, crypto exchanges are joining the meme coin battle. The well-known exchange Binance.US will list the popular meme coin PEPE on 12/5 at 11 AM EST, and the "meme coin war" among exchanges is about to begin. However, there are also many netizens and crypto players who have polarized reactions to meme coins.
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ToggleBinance.US Launches PEPE / USDT Trading Pair
Binance.US will officially open the trading pair of meme coin PEPE and stablecoin USDT at 11 AM EST on 12/5. Data shows that as of 12/5, PEPE's market capitalization has reached nearly $9 billion, making it one of the superstars in the meme coin market.
Well-Known Exchanges Continuously Increase Meme Coin Offerings, Driven by the "Trump Effect"
The meme coin market has recently been indirectly influenced by the US President-elect Trump, causing exchanges to become increasingly interested in these tokens. Coinbase's Vice President Tom Duff Gordon had previously stated that under the "crypto-friendly" atmosphere brought by Trump, Coinbase will continue to plan to expand meme coin-related trading, including smaller coins and meme coins that were not previously offered.
In fact, Coinbase has listed several meme coins in December, including Moodeng (MOODENG), Mog (MOG), and Dogwifhat (WIF). Binance.US also added a dog-themed meme coin Bonk (BONK) in November.
The Market Reacts Polarizedly, Are Meme Coins Investment Opportunities or "Gambling Dens"
Currently, the market capitalization of the meme coin market has exceeded $130 billion, but there are many divergent views on whether meme coins are "worth investing in". Some supporters believe that meme coins are not simply driven by market speculation, but have real-world use cases, such as payments, community activities, and internet culture.
However, opponents believe that meme coins are just short-term speculation without real value and carry extremely high investment risks. The well-known crypto commentator Jimmy Song criticized meme coins as a form of "extreme gambling culture" on Twitter, and that they do not have a positive impact on the overall market. The founder of Metamask had also previously stated that the technical protocols of many meme coins are disconnected from social expectations.
The Origin of Meme Coins, From Cartoon Frogs to Billions in Market Value
The story of PEPE can be traced back to 2005, when it was created by artist Matt Furie as an "peaceful frog" internet meme. But after the crypto boom, it became one of the representative meme coins.
Interestingly, PEPE was used by some far-right groups during the 2016 US presidential election, which caused controversy. Furie himself sued the conspiracy theory website Infowars in 2019, accusing them of using the PEPE image for political propaganda without authorization, which severely damaged Furie's own image.
Despite the ongoing controversies, the vast majority of PEPE usage is non-discriminatory. This has made PEPE not only a representative of the meme coin market, but also a cultural phenomenon.
