2021: The Rise of Meme Coins Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, NFTs and DAOs

• 2021 saw the meteoric rise of meme coins, NFTs, and the resurgence of decentralized autonomous organizations.
• Meme coins occupied two spots in the top 10 cryptocurrency lists by market capitalization for the first time while a DAO almost owned a rare copy of the US constitution.
• A successful 2021 has led to crypto enthusiasts setting their gaze on an optimistic 2022 with analysts throwing more light to the future.

The year 2021 will forever be remembered in the digital asset ecosystem as the year that came with a ton of surprises for keen watchers of the space. From NFTs to DAOs and meme coins, no one could have predicted the course of the year.

It’s 2021 And Memecoins Are Not Jokes Anymore

Meme coins grabbed the markets by the scruff of its neck with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu leading the charge. Dogecoin, founded way back in 2013 as a joke shot to prominence this year after receiving backing from Elon Musk and other celebrities. The result was the gargantuan leap by over 1,000% that sent the asset to the top of the charts as it asserted its dominance.

Against the backdrop, Shiba Inu rode the waves created by DOGE and equally rose astronomically, essentially giving life to the phrase, meme coins. Without any exact use cases, investors have flocked to this new asset class in droves as the markets saw two meme coins occupy the 9th and 10th spot on the charts. At their peak, SHIB and DOGE controlled a market capitalization that exceeded $50 billion.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations made a comeback this year after the botched attempts in 2017. This year, DAOs stamped authority in the ecosystem with ConstitutionDAO raising a record $45 million in a week to bid for a copy of the US constitution. The ecosystem certainly took note of the brave attempt of the DAO as DAOs now occupy the center stage.

NFTs Took Us By Storm 

Digital collectibles surfed to new levels in the first quarter of 2021 before slowing down following the downturn in the market. The first half of 2021 saw a record NFT sale of over $2.5 billion with digital artworks selling for millions. This is a massive improvement from the first half of 2020 where NFT sales were at $13.7 million. 

NFTs became prominent in art, music, sports, and gaming. As more NFTs continue to get minted, marketplaces have struck deals this year with retired sports legends, music icons and sports clubs and leagues to incorporate the asset class to their platforms.

The boom of DAOs, NFTs and meme coins in 2021 is iconic and the tempo has already been set for 2022. Meme coins like SHIB are considering a first into NFTs that could bring the asset class to a wider range of investors. The metrics indicate that the NFT bubble has shown no signs of popping anytime soon as more persons get into the space.