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What are meme coins?
Meme coins have made crypto trading accessible to younger retail investors with their low prices. Investors can acquire thousands or even millions of these tokens with just a few dollars, offering the potential for significant gains.
In 2024, these tokens are among the winners of the market bull run, with their total market cap reaching $48 billion at the beginning of March.
It all began with the phenomenon of "meme stocks" like GameStop and AMC Entertainment experiencing dramatic price increases, fueled by the Reddit community WallStreetBets in late 2020.
In January 2021, the Reddit group suggested boosting the price of Dogecoin to mirror the success of GameStop. This idea gained traction, amplified by endorsements from Musk, leading to a rapid surge of 2,000% in Dogecoin's value.
Currently, over 1,300 cryptocurrencies are presented in the CoinMarketCap meme coin section. Dogecoin, the first-ever meme coin, and Shiba Inu, the self-styled "Dogecoin killer," are the top market performers in terms of market cap, leaving the rest of the tokens far behind.
Top Meme Coins 2026: List
Meme coins are among the most volatile assets in crypto. However, some of the established meme coins have gained international popularity, which is reflected in their market cap, strong online community and substantial price increase since they were launched.
- Dogecoin
- Shiba Inu
- Pons
- AiCoin
- Cashcat
Top meme coins in September 2026: Dogecoin
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Ticker:DOGE
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Year:2013
Dogecoin is an open-source, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency inspired by the Shiba Inu internet meme. It was created by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus and has since developed into a decentralized cryptocurrency with a large community.
Dogecoin has its own blockchain and uses Proof of Work with the Scrypt algorithm. The network is maintained by decentralized nodes and miners rather than a central company or authority.
Dogecoin was originally created as a humorous alternative to more serious cryptocurrencies, but its stated purpose has evolved toward functioning as a peer-to-peer digital currency.
Billy Marcus and Jackson Palmer launched Dogecoin (DOGE) in 2013 as a jest at Bitcoin. Dogecoin was created based on a meme of the Japanese hunting dog Shiba Inu.
It was initially designed with a hard supply cap of 100 billion coins. However, the creators removed this limit to discourage hoarding and speculation. With an unlimited supply, Dogecoin lacks scarcity, which can impact its perceived value.
Unlike Bitcoin, which has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, Dogecoin's unlimited nature may lead investors to view it differently, not as a store of value but rather as a medium of exchange or a means of tipping and donations.
Dogecoin remained relatively stagnant from December 2013 to December 2020. Its trading volume surpassed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies combined in January 2014. However, it hit its lowest price of $0.0000869 on May 6, 2015. In early 2018, Dogecoin experienced a brief price increase before the overall crypto market crash.
In January 2021, Elon Musk's remarks led to a 339% surge in Dogecoin's value to $0.032642. Its highest price of $0.682 was reached on May 8, 2021.
DOGE subsequently declined alongside the wider crypto market, closing 2022 at about $0.07. It recovered to approximately $0.09 at the end of 2023 and surged again in 2024, closing the year around $0.31.
In 2025, however, it fell back to roughly $0.12. As of September 2026, DOGE is trading at around $0.09, approximately 88% below its 2021 peak.
Despite celebrity endorsements, Dogecoin's adoption for business transactions remains limited.
Top meme coins in September 2026: Shiba Inu
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Ticker:SHIB
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Year:2020
Shiba Inu is a meme-based cryptocurrency created as an Ethereum-based token inspired by Dogecoin and the Shiba Inu dog meme. Over time, the project expanded into a broader ecosystem of tokens and blockchain-related applications.
SHIB was originally created as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. The wider Shiba Inu ecosystem also includes Shibarium, a Layer 2 network designed to support transactions and applications connected to the ecosystem.
The Shiba Inu ecosystem has expanded beyond the original meme token and includes projects such as Shibarium, the BONE and LEASH tokens, and ShibaSwap.
Shiba Inu, introduced in August 2020 as the "Dogecoin killer," gained attention for its unique approach of donating 50% of its total supply to Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum creator.
The token surged by over 300% within a month, rivaling Dogecoin's frenzy in early 2021. It even rivaled Ethereum's trading volume in October 2021.
Vitalik Buterin's donation of over 50 trillion SHIB to charity and subsequent burn of 90% of his remaining tokens removed a significant portion from circulation.
Despite a decline post-peak in 2021 and a quiet 2023, recent trends show a resurgence for SHIB. Its price has soared by 220.5% on the 14-day charts and nearly 250% over the past month, with a 223.3% increase since March 2023.
The 2025 Bitcoin rally gave Shiba Inu a 250% surge in price. In addition, SHIB had a market cap of $24.4 billion in March 2025.
Following the 2021 peak, SHIB entered a prolonged decline alongside the broader cryptocurrency market. It remained well below its record throughout 2022 and 2023 before recovering during the 2024 crypto rally. SHIB briefly moved above $0.00004 in March 2024, although it subsequently retreated.
As of September 2026, SHIB trades at approximately $0.0000055, with a market capitalization of roughly $3.2 billion. This puts the token around 94% below its 2021 all-time high, illustrating the scale of its historical volatility.
SHIB's substantial supply remains a challenge. A potential solution could involve a burn similar to Buterin's in 2021, sparking another rally akin to 2021's frenzy.
Top meme coins in September 2026: AiCoin
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Ticker:AI
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Year:2023
AiCoin is an AI-themed cryptocurrency project. However, the name is ambiguous because several unrelated projects use “AiCoin” or “AICoin,” including an Ethereum-based project and newer tokens on other blockchains.
The original AICoin project documented in its public GitHub repository is built on the Ethereum blockchain.
AiCoin should not be confused with AiCoin, the cryptocurrency market-analysis platform at aicoin.com.
AiCoin (AI) is a relatively small cryptocurrency project that should be distinguished from AiCoin, the cryptocurrency market-data and trading-analysis platform.
The token trades under the AI ticker and operates on the BNB Smart Chain as a BEP-20 asset. Public information about the project is limited, and available market-data providers report relatively low liquidity compared with established cryptocurrencies.
The token was launched in 2023, with a stated total supply of 3.25 billion AI.
The token's price history has been characterized by sharp fluctuations and limited trading activity. Historical data is considerably less extensive than for major cryptocurrencies, making long-term price comparisons more difficult.
Available market records show that AI traded at fractions of a cent, with its price reaching substantially higher levels during periods of increased interest before subsequently declining. The asset has insufficient accurate trading data, citing limited liquidity or possible delistings on some exchanges.
At the time of the latest available market data, AI was trading at approximately $0.0001, giving it a market capitalization in the tens of thousands of dollars. AiCoin has roughly 7,800 token holders and a market capitalization of around $18,000, although these figures can change significantly because of the token's limited liquidity.
It is important not to confuse this cryptocurrency with AiCoin, the established market-data platform. The latter provides cryptocurrency charts, exchange data, market indexes, technical-analysis tools and AI-assisted market interpretation, but it is a separate product from the AI token.
Given the token's small market size and limited publicly verifiable information, its historical price movements should be treated as substantially less representative of the broader cryptocurrency market.
Top meme coins in September 2026: PONS
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Ticker:PONS
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Year:2026
Pons is a meme-oriented token associated with the Pons launchpad on Robinhood Chain. The launchpad lets users create and trade tokens directly from their wallets, with PONS serving as its representative token.
PONS operates on Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-compatible network. The Pons documentation identifies Robinhood Chain as the network and gives Chain ID 4663.
PONS is closely connected to the Pons launchpad ecosystem, where tokens are created with fixed supplies and liquidity mechanisms. The project documentation also warns that tokens launched through the platform can be volatile, illiquid, or lose their value entirely.
Pons (PONS) is a cryptocurrency associated with Pons Family, a non-custodial token launchpad built specifically for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 network. The platform allows users to create and trade fixed-supply tokens directly from their wallets without handing custody of their assets to the platform.
PONS is the platform's own token and is separate from the user-created tokens launched through the service.
According to Pons' documentation, the token has a fixed supply of 1 billion PONS. The project uses a fee-based mechanism intended to create scarcity by directing part of protocol fees toward PONS buybacks and burns. Pons itself does not custody user funds, while token transactions are signed through users' own wallets.
PONS is a very recent cryptocurrency, so its price history is considerably shorter than that of established assets such as Dogecoin or Shiba Inu. The token launched in 2026 alongside the development of the Pons ecosystem on Robinhood Chain.
Its market history has been highly volatile, reflecting both its recent launch and the relatively young market surrounding Robinhood Chain.
A significant development came on August 27, 2026, when KuCoin began spot trading in the PONS/USDT pair. OKX subsequently launched PONS/USDT perpetual futures on September 5, 2026, giving the token access to additional trading infrastructure.
As of September 8, 2026, PONS is trading at roughly $0.71, based on the latest available market activity on the project's trading interface. The token remains substantially newer and smaller than established memecoins, meaning its historical price record is limited and price movements can be particularly sharp.
Top meme coins in September 2026: CASHCAT
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Ticker:CASHCAT
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Year:2026
CashCat is a community-oriented meme token built around the “Cash Cat” internet lore associated with Robinhood's early branding. The project explicitly states that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Robinhood Markets, Inc.
Robinhood Chain
CASHCAT's contract is listed as 0x020bfc650a365f8bb26819deaabf3e21291018b4 on Robinhood Chain. The token has also received exchange listings, including a CASHCAT/USDT spot market announced by LBank in July 2026.
Cash Cat (CASHCAT) is a meme cryptocurrency launched in 2026 on Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 network. The project is built around the “Cash Cat” identity, referencing Robinhood's original mascot and name.
Cash Cat states that it is not affiliated with Robinhood Markets and describes itself as a community-created meme project. Its token contract is deployed on Robinhood Chain.
CASHCAT has a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens, with the project's website stating that the entire supply was placed into the liquidity pool and that the liquidity was burned. The token has no transaction tax.
Cash Cat's price history is extremely short and volatile. According to CoinMarketCap, the token reached an all-time low of approximately $0.000799 on July 1, 2026. It then experienced a dramatic rally during the summer as interest in Robinhood Chain and its meme-coin ecosystem increased.
By September 3, CASHCAT reached an all-time high of approximately $0.3131, representing a gain of more than 39,000% from its July low.
The token subsequently declined from that record. As of September 8, 2026, CASHCAT is trading around $0.20, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $200 million. CoinMarketCap reports that all 1 billion tokens are currently in circulation.
Cash Cat has also recently gained additional technical utility through CashCat Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer 3 built above Robinhood Chain.
Its mainnet uses CASHCAT as its native gas currency, meaning the token can be used to pay transaction fees on the network.
Cash Cat Chain states that it is a community project and is not endorsed by Robinhood.
Which meme coin to buy in September 2026?
People are usually drawn to meme coins for a combination of speculation, community, and entertainment, rather than because the token has a strong fundamental use case.
Platforms such as X, Reddit, Telegram, Discord and TikTok can rapidly increase awareness of a meme coin. A growing number of mentions, posts and discussions can create a perception that an asset is gaining momentum.
A token trading at a tiny fraction of a dollar can psychologically appear inexpensive, even when its overall market capitalization is large.
Some investors therefore focus on the possibility of the token reaching $0.01, $0.10 or $1 without considering its total supply.
Being listed on major exchanges can make a meme coin easier to buy and sell and can substantially increase its visibility.
In short, the indicators usually tracked before choosing a meme coin to invest in, include: social activity, community size, liquidity, market capitalization, exchange availability, price momentum, ecosystem activity and tokenomics.
U.Today Editorial Team
Dan Burgin
