Pepe Hunt Teaches American History in a New Way!

They hunt for secret Pepe memes, tokens, or collectibles online and IRL. This is video game fun with a dash of scavenger hunt.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, meme coins have emerged as a dominant force, capturing the imagination of online communities and driving significant shifts in the crypto market.

With their playful spirit, community-driven nature, and rapid price movements, meme coins have become a unique and engaging aspect of Web3, bringing together memes, crypto, and a touch of gambling in a way that has never been seen before.

From the classic Dogecoin to the newer Shiba Inu and Pepe Hunt, these meme coins have sparked conversations, divided opinions, and ultimately shaped the narrative of crypto in 2025.

1. Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin is undoubtedly the king of meme coins. Launched in 2013, DOGE went from an internet joke to a full-blown cryptocurrency and has remained the largest meme coin with a market cap of over $35 billion.

Dogecoin is the best-known cryptocurrency meme, having started as a parody of another cryptocurrency, Litecoin, in December 2013. The coin was created by software engineer Billy Markus, from Colorado, and Adobe programmer, Florida-based Marc Karpovsky, also known online as "משתמש:סטיב").

After growing tired of the negativity in cryptocurrency forums online, Markus decided to create a coin that would embody the light-hearted fun he felt was missing. "I decided to make a coin that would be focused on fun and positivity," Markus told .

Inspired by a meme of the Shiba Inu dog, which was becoming popular at the time, he set about making the coin and searching for a community to introduce it to.

Having previously made a small contribution to the development of a coin called "Counterevalue" - which was later renamed to "ixledger"- he reached out to the coin’s creators on a chat on the programming messaging board, irc, to ask if they could help him code a coin from scratch.

Despite being told it was "too difficult" by theixledger developers, one user, "Miota" offered to help. Together, they coded Dogecoin and launched it on 8 December 2013.

The coin was quickly picked up by the irc community and, within a few months, had gained a strong following online.

After making an appearance on the widely-read programming and technology news site Hacker News, Dogecoin began to gain attention in the mainstream media.

In 2014, the coin was the subject of an article in The New Yorker, which explored how the coin had become a hit with programmers and how it was being used to organize playful donations to charities.

The article also touched upon the coin’s close links to the meme culture of the time, noting how it was being used to organize playful bets on the outcome of sporting events.

Dogecoin was also covered by the U.S. business news channel CNBC, which highlighted how the coin had managed to generate interest among a broad range of people.

The coin’s playful spirit and close-knit community were crucial to its success, according to economists at the time.

Its PoW blockchain, low fees and active community have kept it alive even after many other meme coins have crashed and burned. Dogecoin’s brand is further strengthened by celebrity endorsements and speculation around potential integrations with big platforms. It’s the blue chip of meme coins, offering short term hype driven gains and long term staying power.

2. Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu is the second-largest meme coin with a market cap of almost $9 billion in 2025. Built on Ethereum, SHIB has gone from a simple meme token to a full-blown ecosystem with its own decentralized exchange (ShibaSwap), NFT projects, and Shibarium Layer-2 blockchain.

Shiba Inu is a cryptocurrency token named after the Shiba Inu breed of dog, a popular subject of memes online. The token was created in August 2020 by an individual known only as “Ryoshi.”

Shiba Inu is the second-largest meme coin after Dogecoin, with a market cap of over $4 billion as of May 2023. It is also the 15th largest cryptocurrency overall, according to CoinMarketCap.

Shiba Inu’s price has risen by more than 1,000 percent since March 2023, following a series of developments such as the launch of its own metaverse project and the listing of its token on institutional-grade crypto exchange Bitstamp.

Shiba Inu’s ecosystem is rapidly expanding, with plans to introduce a stablecoin and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in the future.

The token’s community, known as the SHIB Army, is highly engaged and supportive of the project.

Shiba Inu’s rapid ascent is a testament to the power of memes, community and innovation in the cryptocurrency space. Its story is still unfolding, and it will be interesting to see what