Dogecoin May Be at Risk With the Other ‘Pupcoins’

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It goes without saying that Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) is no longer the top dog — that is, among dog-based cryptocurrencies. Although in recent days, Shiba Inu (CCC:SHIB-USD) has pulled back in price, its $31 billion market capitalization is not that far behind that of DOGE (around $35 billion).

Dogecoin
Source: shutterstock.com/Igor Igorevich

The “pupcoin bubble,” which has sent Shiba, and other copycats, like Floki Inu (CCC:FLOKI-USD), “to the moon,” hasn’t done much to boost the “jokecoin” that inspired it all. Instead, it has floundered.

Moving up and down, it’s still well below the nearly 74-cent high it hit back in May.

So, seeing no benefit from the “pupcoin bubble,” it’ll hold steady once this bubble pops, right? Not so fast. Sure, the bottom may not fall from under it, like what may happen to SHIB and FLOKI, but an en-masse exit out of these two unofficial spin-off cryptos could still put pressure on DOGE.

With this whole “pupcoin” mania, some traders who got in early have managed to mint fortunes –though they offer much less utility compared to cryptos like Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD). As meme traders abandon dog-based coins and chase the next hot trend, expect this one to drop just like its imitators.

Why The ‘Pupcoin Bubble’ Hasn’t Helped Out Dogecoin

Except for a short-lived spike on Oct. 28, DOGE-USD has mainly traded sideways since the “pupcoin bubble” emerged a few weeks back. Now, the question is, why hasn’t the soaring popularity of pupcoins done anything to move the needle of the dog-based coin that started it all?

In the eyes of traders, the “get rich” potential with Dogecoin has long since passed. If you got in early, even as recently as the start of 2021 (when it traded for less than a penny) — you saw tremendous returns in a short span of time. For traders who bought in at sub-penny prices and cashed out near its May 2021 top, it’s possible they realized a 100x gain in less than six months.

Putting it simply, another 100x run for DOGE looks very unlikely. A 100-fold move from its current price (26 cents) would give it a market capitalization of almost $3.5 trillion — that’s leaps and bounds above Bitcoin’s valuation. It’s also well above the $2.5 trillion market capitalization of the most valuable publicly traded American company, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

However for Shiba Inu, at the start of October, a 100x move looked far-fetched for it as well. But a 10x jump? A stretch goal for Dogecoin, but definitely attainable for Shiba. With this, the “pupcoin frenzy” took off, with Dogecoin’s imitators soaring, while it remained stuck in neutral. That’s been bad news for those holding it. But what’s even worse is the possibility that it takes a dive from this bubble popping — even as it got nothing out of it.

The Takeaway From This Recent Mania

With Shiba Inu and Floki Inu dropping, the short-lived frenzy for “pupcoins” may be wrapping up. Fueled entirely by hype, the bubble with these names appears to have popped, with additional moves lower to follow. Like I mentioned above, this may be bad news for Dogecoin as well.

Even as Doge didn’t get a boost from it, this whole phenomenon highlights, while they make for fantastic trading vehicles, they are (for now) not in the same class as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD).

To put it another way, these “meme coins” lack the level of utility seen with the aforementioned established coins. With this, institutional dollars aren’t going to flow into them — in turn, limiting their ability to maintain their current valuations.

Admittedly, some may argue that, with the backing of whales like Elon Musk, Dogecoin is well underway with upgrades that’ll enable it to level up. But as my InvestorPlace colleague Mark Hake recently argued, it may be too far behind for this to make a difference in time. Instead, it’ll head lower, as it fails to keep up with trends like DeFi (decentralized finance) and dApps (decentralized apps).

Bottom Line on DOGE-USD

Once the new pup on the block itself, the past few months have seen Dogecoin become an old dog, as Shiba Inu and Floki Inu have taken its spotlight. But while its developers, and its highest-profile supporter (Elon Musk), are trying to teach it some new tricks (by upgrading its capabilities), it may be too little, too late. With altcoins like Cardano appearing to have a clear-cut path to higher prices, why bother with this one?

As more come to the same conclusion, that low-utility dog-themed coins are a passing fad — despite failing to rise in tandem with its copycats. Dogecoin may be at risk of seeing the same fate: a trip to lower prices.

On the date of publication, Thomas Niel held long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. He did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in any other securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Thomas Niel, contributor for InvestorPlace.com, has been writing single-stock analysis for web-based publications since 2016.

Thomas Niel, contributor for InvestorPlace.com, has been writing single-stock analysis for web-based publications since 2016.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/11/if-other-pupcoins-take-a-tumble-so-too-could-dogecoin/.

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