Dogecoin's market cap grew six-fold in January 2021 after tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and has kept on growing since. By February 2021, the market cap of the cryptocurrency based on the famous internet meme had already doubled again. Compared to both the Bitcoin market capitalization as well as the Ethereum market cap, Dogecoin was not as popular.

Dogecoin (DOGE) price per day from July 1, 2022 to March 26, 2025 (in U.S. cents)

The market cap of the top 10 stablecoin initially multiplied over time, reaching a combined value of over 221 billion USD in March 2025. Note this value does not include TerraUSD (UST), the algorithmic stablecoin tied to the LUNA crypto which declined severely in May 2022. Up to then, estimates reveal that the market cap had more than tripled within five months - likely in the wake of growing interest worldwide in cryptocurrencies, after sudden price spikes in a coin like Dogecoin (DOGE). Stability above all, or what does a stablecoin do? Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies - like the commonly known Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) - but their value is determined in a different way. Whilst the price of Bitcoin mainly follows supply - how many coins are being mined or are available to purchase - and demand - how many investors want buy the coin - stablecoins are synthetically connected to the price of an altogether different asset. Tether's USDT, for instance, is connected to the price development of the U.S. dollar (USD): if the U.S. dollar falls in the FX market, so does the USDT. Compare this to the "regular" price history of a cryptocurrency like Ripple (XRP) and stablecoins reveal themselves to be a relatively less volatile digital currency to either use or invest in that their counterparts in the free market. A test ground for digital payments This stability of these particular cryptocurrencies is important for two areas in digital payments that do not prefer volality. For instance, these coins are a popular choice within the world of Decentralized Finance or DeFi - an online financial market without the supervision of central bank that relies on cryptocurrencies for payments and loans. Because of that reliance, it is a market that can rapidly change in size due to price fluctuations or changing transaction fees of certain cryptocurrencies - something that is less likely to occur when using stablecoins. Additionally, stablecoins are seen as the inspiration for so-called CBDC or Central Bank Digital Currencies - such as China's e-CNY currency or the "digital euro" that is being researched in the EU-27. In terms of how advanced countries worldwide are into researching their own cryptocurrency, China ranked third in 2020, behind Cambodia, and The Bahamas.

Daily cryptocurrency data (transaction count, on-chain transaction volume, value of created coins, price, market cap, and exchange volume) in CSV format. The data sample stretches back to December 2013. Daily on-chain transaction volume is calculated as the sum of all transaction outputs belonging to the blocks mined on the given day. “Change” outputs are not included. Transaction count figure doesn’t include coinbase transactions. Zcash figures for on-chain volume and transaction count reflect data collected for transparent transactions only. In the last month, 10.5% (11/18/17) of ZEC transactions were shielded, and these are excluded from the analysis due to their private nature. Thus transaction volume figures in reality are higher than the estimate presented here, and NVT and exchange to transaction value lower. Data on shielded and transparent transactions can be found here and here. Decred data doesn’t include tickets and voting transactions. Monero transaction volume is impossible to calculate due to RingCT which hides transaction amounts.

Somewhat resembling developments of Dogecoin in early 2021, the market cap of Shiba Inu (SHIB) more than tripled in only a few weeks. This rapid growth especially occurred since September 2021, with the cryptocurrency breaking the 10 billion U.S. dollar barrier multiple in the following month. Whilst no exact reason was given why the memecoin grew so fast during this time, the digital currency did become available on Coinbase, one of the world's most well-known crypto exchanges, on September 17. This move, and the fact that consumers in the U.S. and the UK overall tend to invest in crypto for fun or as a potential growth investment, might explain the popularity of the dog-themed coin. Indeed, Shiba Inu ranked as the number 13 cryptocurrency in the world based on market cap in late October 2021 - closely behind DeFi-affilated like Uniswap (UNI) and Terra (LUNA).

As of October 28, 2024, Dogecoin had the highest trading value on Bitkub, which was one of Thailand's leading exchanges for cryptocurrency. The trading value of Dogecoin from each exchange varied due to the level of demand and supply for each market.

Memecoin Shiba Inu saw its price grow by more than 300 percent within one and the same month, marking a trading fury reminiscent of Dogecoin in early 2021. Indeed, the SHIB coin ranked as one of the biggest crypto in the world based on 24h trading volume in October 2021 - with trading activity being almost as high as that of Ethereum. Originally starting out as a fun token based on the famous Japanese dog breed, the digital currency grabbed mainstream attention in 2021 probably due to its low barrier of entry: Even after its price spikes, Shiba Inu was one of the cheapest coins availalbe, especially when compared to the price of 99 other cryptocurrencies. Combine this with survey information that most consumers in the U.S. and the UK invest in crypto either for growth or fun, and Shiba Inu is probably seen by many as a relatively simple, "quick win" investment.