2021 has been a breakout year for the cryptocurrency sector, as the passage of the offset Bitcoin (BTC) substitution-traded fund (ETF) is a sign that crypto is condign more mainstream and has the potential to lead to an increase in investors' exposure to BTC.

The influx of new participants into the market throughout the year has had a profound bear upon on the overall culture of the crypto ecosystem. Ideas of privacy and a secure store of value have been overshadowed by the civilisation of memes as PePe's and Wojacks have become endemic to crypto Twitter, where frens say "gm" to each other every day and respectfully call each other "ser."

And, now, the surging price of dog-themed meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) take once again captured the attention of the market, much to the chagrin of the Bitcoin maximalists. Even mainstream news sources tin't help but discuss the topic which further promotes the growing crypto meme culture to the wider public.

Here's a await at how the culture of crypto is shifting as the interests of newcomers to the ecosystem are transforming the overall landscape of the crypto sector.

Google searches tell the tale

The ability of the meme and the transformation it has caused in the perception of crypto and non-crypto investors can exist seen in data provided by a recent study past Bacancy Technology, which plant that Dogecoin has, by far, been the nigh searched for cryptocurrency in the United States in 2022 with 2.3 one thousand thousand more searches than the second-place which is Bitcoin.

Elevation x most searched cryptocurrencies in the U.S. in 2022. Source: Bacancy Technology

Dogecoin is a pre-2017 meme token that was originally created as a joke and features a cute and loveable Shiba Inu domestic dog as its token sign.

Until recently, there had been lilliputian development occurring on the Dogecoin lawmaking and no roadmap to speak of, just the 2022 customs-driven revival of the project sent the DOGE price from sub $0.01 to an all-fourth dimension loftier of $0.738, and frequent mentions past Elon Musk take cemented the token's meme status. The newfound success of the project kickstarted several teams of developers who are exploring ways to upgrade the network and provide it with a use example.

Shiba Inu came in fourth place of the most searched cryptos in the United States, despite the fact that its popularity and price didn't start to see any meaningful ascension until April of this year equally information technology beat out out all other major layer-one and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols too Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Dog-themed meme coins explode in popularity

The masses of newly arrived crypto investors appear to not be looking for a fiscal product that offers them an extra yield or the well-nigh established token to act as a store of value, but rather a high-supply token that is associated with a "humans all-time friend" and a promise of overnight riches.

Meme tokens have get so popular that CoinMarketCap has dedicated a separate page to rank the "Summit Doggone Doggerel Tokens," which has at present evolved into a growing list of more than 118 tokens.

Height 4 domestic dog-themed tokens by market capitalization. Source: CoinMarketCap

Regardless of how some of the Bitcoin maximalists or fundamental analysts experience most this emerging sector and its lack of a apply case, major fiscal services companies like Robinhood have listed DOGE and also seen significant revenue from its trading, meaning that meme tokens take caught the heart of other brokerage firms who want a piece of revenue that comes from capturing trading fees and onboarding new users.

Coinbase has listed DOGE and SHIB, the latter of which recently sparked a system outage on the peak U.S. crypto exchange due to excessive user demand, equally the tokens price was running upwardly on Oct. 27.

It'south possible that younger investors view Bitcoin as a legacy coin that may go upwardly in price, but at this point, won't make them rich. Meanwhile, SHIB saw a ane,000% increase in less than a calendar month and its pocket-size unit value still excited many retail investors.

The time to come of meme coins

If meme coins are here to stay, and so information technology might exist a skilful idea for the savvy crypto investor to understand how they can bear upon the market and what may come from them in the future.

In a manner, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu represent a larger macro transition underway in the blockchain ecosystem from the original proof-of-work (Pow) consensus mechanism that is used by Bitcoin and Dogecoin to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, smart contracts capabilities and the possibilities that they open up as is institute on Ethereum 2.0 (Eth2) and utilized by SHIB.

Dogecoin is the meme coin for the onetime-schoolhouse crypto oversupply who adopt a secure network that tin can reliably store and transact value, while Shiba Inu is the next generation meme coin that has incorporated the worlds of DeFi and NFTs through the launch of its ShibaSwap decentralized exchange and Shiboshi NFT line.

Related: Memecoin mania triggers triple-digit gains from Binance Smart Chain-based altcoins

The ethos of cryptocurrency evolves over time

Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market rose out of the will of fiscal freedom fighters, cypherpunks and libertarian-minded folks who wanted to have back control of their fiscal sovereignty and escape the global central cyberbanking system.

As fourth dimension passed and the ecosystem grew, much of that ethos has shifted toward concepts that appeal to a wider population.

As much as these original adopters don't desire to admit it, one of the ways to go more people involved in cryptocurrencies and thus drive up the price of BTC and altcoins is through the rise of sub-sectors like meme coins that tap into the interests of the general public who like superheroes, sports teams and the endless laughs provided by internet meme culture.

It's the things that are shared widely on social media or discussed on a night out with friends that accept the best chance at making an touch on on people's perceptions and memes can assist push cryptocurrencies closer to mass adoption.

Want more data about trading and investing in crypto markets?

  • Shiba Inu fetches a new ATH — iii reasons why SHIB keeps jumping higher
  • Dogecoin Conference rebrands, as Hodl Assets gets into style NFTs
  • Shiba Inu could surpass Dogecoin subsequently a 700% SHIB price rally in October
  • Tesla hints it may before long resume support for crypto payments
  • Voyager Digital will be crypto brokerage partner for Dallas Mavericks

The views and opinions expressed hither are solely those of the author and practise not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading motility involves risk, y'all should conduct your ain research when making a decision.