Why Community Hype Is the Real Utility in Crypto

Key Highlights

• Market Dominance & Cap Gap: DOGE still leads with a market capitalization hovering around ~$39–41 billion, while SHIB and PEPE trail in the ~$4–8B range. On MEXC, traders have been able to access all three early, making it a hub where retail participation in meme markets has shaped liquidity.
• Trading Volumes: PEPE has, at times, overtaken SHIB in daily trading volume, often fueled by social media hype and viral memes. MEXC’s fast listing strategy ensured these moments translated into real trading opportunities for its community.
• Supply Differences: DOGE has ~150.9B circulating supply; PEPE ~420T; SHIB an enormous ~589T. While such token supplies distort price perception, MEXC’s Earn products and trading tools help users navigate inflation dynamics and speculative flows.
• Narrative Strength & Community Projects: SHIB is pushing Shibarium and burn mechanisms, DOGE continues to ride celebrity influence, and PEPE thrives on raw meme energy. By curating strategic listings, MEXC has become a gateway for traders to capture these narrative-driven surges.
• Risks of Volatility & Attention Loss: Meme tokens are fragile — driven by sentiment shifts, whales exiting, or attention swinging to newer tokens. On MEXC, traders see both sides: the upside of hype cycles and the lessons of fading growth.

1. What Is the Meme Economy?

Meme coins are digital assets whose value comes less from protocol utility or traditional financial metrics, and more from cultural visibility memes, jokes, social media virality, and community identity. Together, these tokens form what’s known as the Meme Economy: an ecosystem powered by followers, influencers, and online platforms that amplify hype into real trading activity. Within this landscape, MEXC has positioned itself as a key marketplace, giving traders access to meme tokens at their earliest stages and enabling communities to translate cultural moments into market momentum.

In this case study, SHIB, DOGE, and PEPE are the focal points. They illustrate how divergent supply curves, narrative styles, and community dynamics lead to different risk reward profiles, despite all operating in the same attention-driven model.

2. Meme Coin Design and Functional Components

2.1 Overview of Core Modules (for SHIB, DOGE, PEPE)

2.2 Core Mechanisms of Value & Hype

• Viral Triggers and Media Amplification: Tweets, memes, celebrity retweets produce burst demand. DOGE has benefitted many times here (e.g. Elon Musk tweets). PEPE often rises on meme virality. SHIB’s ecosystem initiatives provide additional narrative fuel.
• Supply Perception & Token Price Psychology: With SHIB’s enormous supply, per-token price is extremely low, which psychologically attracts retail investors seeking upticks. PEPE’s similar low pricing per unit plays into this.
• Ecosystem / Utility Add-ons: SHIB is developing services (Shibarium, more burning, staking). DOGE has lesser utility (more of a store-of-identity, tipping, community). PEPE is mostly social meme; limited utility beyond culture.
• Elastic Attention: Trader attention shifts fast, new memes, new tokens. PEPE sometimes overtakes SHIB or DOGE in daily volume but may fade if narrative dies. The “next meme” risk is real.

3. Governance & Community Participation

• Influencer & Celebrity Effect: DOGE historically benefits from high profile voices. SHIB relies more on decentralized community activities, shib burns, governance participation in its ecosystem. PEPE’s governance is looser, community sentiment, social media trends dominate.
• Community Projects & Burn / Utility Campaigns: SHIB’s burn mechanics and development of layer-2 scaling (Shibarium) are efforts to embed more substantive activity. DOGE’s infrastructure improvements and adoption (merchants accepting DOGE, tipping, etc.) provide cultural anchors. PEPE, though large in hype, shows fewer sustained utility projects to date.
• Governance Through Social Consensus: Meme coin holders often vote with their attention: choose which token to hype, which meme to spread. No formal DAO for PEPE; SHIB has more formalized community decision making around ecosystems; DOGE lacks formal token governance but strong brand liquidity.
  

4. Meme Coin Tokenomics

Table: Market Metrics Comparison (SHIB / DOGE / PEPE, Sept 2025)

5. Key Use Cases (for SHIB / DOGE / PEPE)

• Retail Onboarding: PEPE and SHIB especially serve as low-barrier entry points for new users. The sheer token count (cheap per token) invites casual investment and speculation.
• Cultural & Social Identity: Ownership isn’t just financial, it’s identity. DOGE has “DOGE Army” history; SHIB has “SHIB Army” and charity / community burns; PEPE resonates with meme culture.
• Marketing for Exchanges & Projects: Hype around PEPE/SHIB driving listing fees, promotions, volume. Exchanges benefit from volatility and community chatter.
• Speculative Plays and Hedging Attention Cycles: Traders use PEPE for short-term pumps; SHIB or DOGE for longer holds when narrative stable; some traders hedge between them (long PEPE, hedge SPY, etc.).

6. Conclusion

The case of Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and PEPE shows that community hype is not just “noise” but a measurable form of utility in today’s crypto markets. DOGE leads in market cap and stability, SHIB pushes for utility expansion, and PEPE illustrates how raw social energy can quickly generate liquidity and attention spikes.

Yet, the future of each coin depends on sustaining narrative relevance, shaping supply perceptions, and adding real ecosystem value through burns, scaling, or utility. For traders, success in the Meme Economy means tracking not only charts and code but also sentiment shifts, governance cues, and the platforms enabling access.

That’s where MEXC plays a central role, by offering deep liquidity, early listings, and structured access to meme tokens, it acts as the bridge between hype-driven communities and market infrastructure.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational and reference purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. Digital asset investments carry high risk. Please evaluate carefully and assume full responsibility for your own decisions.