$2,000 In PEPE or Shiba Inu? AI Has a Clear Winner

Meme coins are always a gamble. But sometimes, the data tilts the odds. We decided to ask AI which one is a better pick among biggest memes.

Meme coins are a risky investment. However, sometimes the data can help you decide which token is a better pick.

If you’re looking to park $2,000 in either Pepe (PEPE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB) right now, one token clearly has stronger momentum, community backing, and potential upside.

If you’re reading this on CoinMarketCap, don’t forget to check out our Best Crypto Apps and Best Crypto Exchanges articles.

Shiba Inu Is Struggling Despite Strong 2024 Start

Shiba Inu began 2024 with some momentum as it tries to climb out of a 83% drop from its all-time high in August 2021.

After reaching highs near $0.000033 in December 2024, Shiba Inu dropped sharply, losing 68% in just four months to hit lows of $0.00001082 in mid-March 2025.

Though it has since bounced, SHIB is still down about 40% year-over-year and 83% from its peak.

On the other hand, Pepe saw huge gains this year. After setting a new all-time high of $0.000283 in December 2024, the token cooled off but then rallied by more than 86% in a single month during the second quarter of 2025.

Despite the wild swings, PEPE is up around 17% year-over-year, showing the kind of raw momentum that traders often look for.

Shiba Inu Has Size, Pepe Has Speed

Shiba Inu still boasts the larger market cap, currently at around $8 billion. It’s also a heavily-listed token, available on Binance, Coinbase, Robinhood, and other major platforms, and enjoys deep liquidity.

However, that size also serves as a drag. It takes massive capital inflows to move Shiba Inu meaningfully, especially at its current market cap.

Pepe, in contrast, is newer, leaner, and moves faster, currently boasting a market cap of around $5.5 billion. At its peak, it pulled in over $8.5 billion in daily volume following its Coinbase listing, showing that traders are hungry for the token.

Shiba Inu can boast of 1.5 million token holders, a long median hold time of 230 days, and a 3.9M-strong following on X. However, that size can also be a double-edged sword. It’s harder to ignite fresh hype with a large community, and recently, community sentiment towards SHIB has been lukewarm.

Recently, there has been less new user growth, and whale holdings in Shiba Inu are still significant.

Pepe's holder count just passed 100,000, but it’s growing quickly, and they are a loud bunch. On X, PEPE has more daily mentions than SHIB. In March 2025, for instance, Pepe had 14,590 daily mentions on X compared to 9,820 for Shiba Inu.

This suggests that there is more conversation and engagement around Pepe, which could indicate stronger community interest and potential for more volatility.

Also, recently, we saw growth in sub-$1 transactions for PEPE, which suggests that smaller investors are becoming more involved in the token.

Shiba Inu Is Building Its Ecosystem

Shiba Inu is building its own ecosystem with Shibarium, its Layer-2 blockchain, which has processed over 1 billion transactions. It’s also developing a metaverse and has released supporting tokens such as BONE and LEASH.

Shibarium is designed to reduce transaction fees and increase throughput for Shiba Inu. It’s also planning to launch an NFT platform and has teased a new token called "ShibaCoins."

Shiba Inu is aiming to create a "decentralized autonomous ecosystem" where users can participate in governance and earn rewards.

Its burn mechanism, which destroys tokens to reduce supply, is focused on burning Shibarium fees.

Ultimately, Shiba Inu is hoping to become a major player in the metaverse space with its gaming, NFT, and ecosystem plans.

Pepe Has None Of That- And It Works

Pepe, on the other hand, has no roadmap, no dev team updates, and no utility other than meme status. Its contract is renounced and tax-free.

Yet despite zero utility, it has delivered more price action than most tokens with roadmaps. A few staking and liquidity farming opportunities have emerged, but fundamentally, it’s community-driven chaos.

And somehow, it works.

Pepe's meme status and viral appeal give it an edge in short-term FOMO cycles. Shiba Inu has infrastructure- but infrastructure takes time to influence price.

Right now, the buzz