Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) market cap is rapidly approaching Dogecoin’s (DOGE), with the former currently sitting around $20.5 billion, just 17% below Dogecoin’s market capitalization of $24.1 billion.

Traders optimistic about Shiba Inu potential 

Over the past week, meme cryptocurrencies have experienced a significant surge. Shiba Inu often hailed as the so-called ‘Dogecoin Killer,’ has climbed several positions in the top 100 rankings, placing itself just below its rival, DOGE.

In the past 7 days, Shiba Inu has seen a 62% price incline and a 280% surge over the past month. In contrast, Dogecoin has experienced a 19% price increase in the last week and a 109% price surge over the month.

On October 29, 2021, Shiba Inu experienced a remarkable surge, peaking at over ten times its previous value, resulting in a market capitalization of $41 billion.

Despite a significant decline in market capitalization to $5.97 billion as of December 8, 2023, Shiba Inu continues to hold a top-ten position among meme cryptocurrencies by this metric, trailing only behind Dogecoin.

In January 2023, the Shiba Inu community leadership unveiled Shibarium, a layer two blockchain intended to operate atop Ethereum. Its objectives include alleviating congestion, integrating staking into its ecosystem, reducing gas fees, and establishing a framework for decentralized applications and Web 3 expansion.

As per CoinGecko’s Data, Shiba Inu (SHIB) is trading at $0.00003472 and is ranked 11th in the global cryptocurrency market.

Meanwhile, Dogecoin’s price sits at $0.168, accompanied by a 24-hour trading volume of $3.2 billion.

Over the past year, Dogecoin has consistently traded within a tight range of $0.08 to $0.10, indicating a period of little fluctuation.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 6, data analytics platform Santiment revealed that Dogecoin’s wallets experienced unprecedented growth, with 413,800 new wallets added in just two weeks, most of which held between 0.001 to 1 DOGE.

Market sentiment indicates the possibility of either a retest of the $0.20 resistance level or a fallback to the $0.12 support level, based on buyer behavior.

Part of the excitement surrounding Dogecoin is credited to Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO and X owner’s commentary on the coin in tweets has led to price spikes and heightened public awareness. 

Beyond just social media support, Musk has shown interest in funding Dogecoin’s development since 2019, to improve its features and establish it as a prominent crypto asset.

However, Musk’s involvement has not been without controversy; in 2022, he faced a $258 billion lawsuit for allegedly manipulating Dogecoin’s price through his social media presence and public statements. 

Dogecoin’s price movement mirrors patterns seen in previous bull markets, suggesting future growth opportunities. 

Despite varying short-term forecasts, analysts like Ali Martinez remain optimistic about Dogecoin’s potential for significant gains, with projections reaching as high as $1.70 and beyond.

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Bitcoin’s new frontier

The current meme coin hype reflects a renewed interest in community-driven narratives and decentralization within the crypto space.

The emergence of meme coins has spread to the Bitcoin blockchain through the BRC-20 token standard, leading to higher network fees due to increased trading activity. 

Introduced in March 2022, the BRC-20 token standard has experienced substantial growth, with a market cap of $120 million and over 8,500 tokens created.

Unlike Ethereum’s ERC-20, BRC-20 tokens function without smart contracts, instead utilizing the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain for token issuance and trading.

The surge in BRC-20 transactions has led to a notable rise in transaction fees, resulting in additional earnings for miners and affecting network congestion on both the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) blockchains. 

While the proliferation of meme coins on the Bitcoin blockchain demonstrates innovation in the crypto realm, it also underscores the challenges posed by transaction fees and network strain amid the meme coin frenzy.

Read more: Bitcoin hits new all-time high, surpasses $70k