meme coin

noun

plural meme coins

: an altcoin that is created typically as a humorous tribute to something (such as an Internet meme) or someone (such as a celebrity) and that typically has no real utility

There is one category of crypto tokens meant purely for speculation: Meme coins. These tokens have no functional purpose and no intrinsic value aside from the fun of trading. They are based on "meme" characteristics, like a symbol or story that drives their prices.

—Thomas L. Hogan

Meme coins are meant to be short-term investments that move based purely on hype and speculation. … That being said, there might be one reason to invest in meme coins: portfolio diversification.

—Dominic Basulto

Many speculators in the crypto world have now shifted their focus to meme coins like Dogecoin, dogwifhat, Bonk and Mog Coin—essentially online jokes turned into a currency. In June, the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea released her own meme coin called Mother. In August, the former N.B.A. player Scottie Pippen introduced the cryptocurrency $BALL on the Ethereum blockchain.

—Steven Kurutz

The Melania Trump meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency, hit the market Sunday night about 6 p.m. on the eve of Trump's inauguration. The returning first lady announced the offering's arrival in a post on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, saying "You can buy $MELANIA now."

—USA Today (online)

Examples of meme coin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The proximity-to-Trump angle didn’t work for the US men’s team, or for holders of his meme coin, or for many of the CEOs that have sought his favor. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 July 2026

Months into his second term, Trump in May 2025 hosted 220 investors at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, who collectively pumped $148 million into the $TRUMP meme coin. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Fun platform has seen people pay strangers to perform life-altering tasks, like tattooing meme coins on their foreheads or quitting their jobs. — Josh Feldman, NBC news, 23 June 2026

Key Facts Collins, who first disclosed a pair of investments between $1,001 and $15,000 in the Ski Mask Dog meme coin in December 2024, has reported a dozen transactions involving the cryptocurrency, including 11 purchases and his lone sale in May 2025. — Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meme coin

• phenytoin
• tenderloin
• adjoin
• benzoin
• bitcoin
• conjoin
• enjoin
• rejoin
• sirloin
• subjoin
• coyne
• groin