Contents
Over more than a decade in the crypto world, meme tokens have become something that is no longer easy to write off as simple fun. Most well-known ones have exploded in value even more impressively than any other altcoins with serious value propositions, and have multiplied their holders’ bags. After a stunt like that, it is no surprise that buying meme coins is a question warranting a guide!
At the same time, the successful memes that you’d want to buy are very few, with thousands failing to meet expectations. We will share insights into how to spot meme coins worth your while in this guide as well.
Key Takeaways
- Although they started for jokes and used to be worth pocket change, meme coins and tokens today are popular speculative digital assets. Where to buy a meme coin? Markets for trading them abound, both on major centralized exchanges and decentralized platforms.
- Finding a potential big winner is mostly down to luck but you will increase your chances by scouring social media and forums for promising projects, as well as analyzing specialized tracking tools. You may also need to branch out: in addition to Ethereum, successful meme tokens emerge in other ecosystems, Solana being the most recent and illustrative example.
- Meme coins are speculative investments with the arguably highest risk to reward ratio in the crypto market. A lot of them do not rely on fundamental qualities that will ensure their worth in the long run and are instead vehicles for short-term quick trades.
What Are Meme Coins and Why Are They Popular?
As the name might tell you, meme coins or tokens are cryptocurrencies based on internet memes, jokes, and references. Their perceived value mostly comes from the mascot or idea, not innovations breaking new ground or solid use cases.
Probably the best-known even in the mainstream memecoin is DOGE or Dogecoin. Its mascot is an Internet meme Doge, which was very popular in 2014 with the demographic that knew about crypto or was at least curious. Dogecoin helped open up the crypto world to those people.
A few years later, Ethereum introduced tokens, and creating a cryptocurrency became even more accessible. The number of memecoins grew exponentially, with some outperforming DOGE and stealing its spotlight at times: SHIB and PEPE, for example.
Despite their frivolous origins, meme coins have become serious business:
- Market Capitalization: The top meme coins collectively represent billions in market value
- Trading Volume: Daily trading volume regularly exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars
- Community Size: Major meme coins boast communities supposedly in the millions
- Cultural Impact: They’ve bridged the gap between crypto and mainstream audiences
Where to Trade Meme Coins?
Availability greatly varies by meme coins: some have already secured large followings and listings on major exchanges while others might have very few trading pairs on a singular DEX. In meme token trading, however, this does not mean the former is strictly better than the latter. But more on asset choice later, and first, let’s focus on platform choice to help you choose the best place to buy meme coins.
Centralized Exchanges (CEXs)
Usually the first choice for any kind of trading, centralized exchanges provide the most straightforward way to buy meme coins, especially for newcomers to cryptocurrency.
Popular CEXs for meme coins include:
- Binance - The world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, supporting major meme coins and occasionally listing newer ones
- Coinbase - User-friendly platform with a selection of established meme coins
- Kraken - Known for security and regulatory compliance
- OKX - Offers a wide variety of meme coins with competitive fees
- Bybit - Popular for its trading features and growing selection of meme assets
Centralized exchanges normally feature intuitive and understandable interfaces that simplify the buying process and direct support for fiat currencies to help with onboarding. These platforms also generally maintain higher liquidity, which makes it easier to execute trades at expected prices. More advantages of CEXs include customer support channels and security measures such as insurance funds to protect against unlikely but possible breaches.
Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)
A tier further into the crypto specific platforms are decentralized exchanges where you will find newer tokens and more control over your crypto assets. Trades on DEXs happen entirely on-chain, so you will need to have some cryptocurrency prior, and the burden of due diligence is also almost entirely on you.
Top DEXs for meme coins:
- Uniswap - The leading Ethereum-based DEX, hosting countless ERC-20 meme tokens
- PancakeSwap - The premier DEX for BNB Chain meme coins
- SushiSwap - Another Ethereum ecosystem option with unique features
- Raydium - Leading DEX for Solana-based meme coins
- dYdX - Known for advanced trading features
Decentralized exchanges often serve as the initial launch point for emerging meme coins, offering early access to brand new tokens that haven’t yet reached major exchanges. Users can start trading by connecting a wallet, without signing up and completing Know Your Customer (KYC) verification procedures. Traders keep full custody of their assets throughout the transaction process, and are less exposed to the counterparty risk of centralized platforms.
Now that you know where to do it, how to trade meme coins? Let’s walk you through it right now!
How to Buy Meme Coins — Step-by-Step Guide
Prepare Your Crypto Wallet
Before you buy any meme coin, check if your wallet is compatible with the network you need. If you have no crypto wallet at all yet, read this guide beforehand.
- For Ethereum and BNB Chain meme coins, you can choose MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase Wallet
- Popular options for Solana meme coins are Phantom, Solflare, or Slope
- Check availability in multi-currency wallets like Exodus, Trust Wallet, or Edge with their support or on the official websites
Option 1: Buying on a Centralized Exchange
How to invest in meme coins with an established reputation? Purchase the meme coins on a CEX:
- Create and verify an account on your chosen exchange
- Top up your trading balance using bank transfer, credit/debit card, or crypto you already have
- Find the trading pair for your desired meme coin (e.g., DOGE/USDT)
- Place a buy order at your preferred price point or buy at the current market price
- Withdraw to your personal wallet for added security (optional but recommended)
Option 2: Using a Swap Service
How to buy and sell meme coins without unnecessary hassle? Swap services like ChangeHero are a convenient middle ground between CEXs and DEXs. You will not need to create an account or even connect a wallet but they take care of things like liquidity, rates and coin audit, providing a smoother user experience.
- Choose the trading pair (e.g., BTC to SHIB)
- Enter the amount you wish to exchange
- Provide your wallet address to receive the meme coins
- Send your crypto to the provided deposit address
- Receive your meme coins directly to your wallet
Option 3: Trading on a Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
How to buy brand new meme coins? DEXs are your best bet but keep in mind that this option suits traders who know the risks and have a good grasp on concepts such as slippage.
- Connect your wallet to the DEX of your choice
- Ensure you have base currency (ETH for Uniswap, BNB for PancakeSwap, SOL for Raydium)
- Find the token by pasting its contract address (be extremely careful to verify the authentic contract)
- Set slippage tolerance (usually higher for meme coins due to volatility)
- Execute the swap and approve the transaction
- Confirm the meme coins appear in your wallet
How to Buy Solana Meme Coins
As a more concrete example, let’s see how buying meme tokens on Solana works. Especially recently, it has been a hotbed of meme coin activity!
How To Buy Meme Coins On Solana Step-By-Step
- Get a Solana-compatible wallet like Phantom or Solflare
- Purchase SOL from an exchange or swap service
- Transfer SOL to your Solana wallet
- Where to buy Solana meme coins? Connect to a Solana DEX like Raydium, Orca, or Jupiter
- Swap SOL for your chosen meme coin
- Adjust settings for Solana network (typically much lower fees than Ethereum)
Where can I buy meme coins without SOL? Look no further than ChangeHero where you can get Solana meme coins such as BONK and WIF by swapping with any of the 200+ supported cryptocurrencies.
Popular Solana Meme Coins and Their Advantages
Solana’s ecosystem hosts many currently prominent meme tokens like BONK, COPE, SAMO, CATO, and dogwifhat (WIF). The main advantage of Solana-based meme coins lies in their cost-efficiency: transactions typically cost fractions of a cent compared to gas fees on Ethereum, even when no network congestion is present. It makes Solana particularly attractive for smaller traders who want to avoid having their profits eroded by transaction costs.
How to Find New Meme Coins Before They Explode
Finding promising meme coins early can be extremely lucrative but is equally risky. Anyway, where to find new meme coins?
Social Media Monitoring
- How to find meme coins on Twitter (X)? Follow crypto influencers and trending hashtags
- Telegram: Join announcement channels and meme coin groups
- Discord: Participate in crypto communities and new meme coin servers
- Reddit: Monitor both big subreddits like r/CryptoCurrency and coin-specific subreddits
Specialized Tools
- DEX Screeners: Tools like DexTools, PooCoin, and GeckoTerminal show new listings
- Token Sniffers: Applications that detect new contract deployments
- Listing Alerts: Services that notify when coins are added to exchanges
How to research the best meme coin to buy right now?
- Check tokenomics: Supply, distribution, lock periods, and team allocation
- Verify the team: Anonymous teams are common but higher risk
- Audit contracts: Look for security reviews from reputable firms
- Assess community: Size, engagement, and sentiment can indicate potential
- Understand the narrative: Every successful meme coin has a compelling story
Notable Meme Coins to Buy in 2025
NOTE: This section is not financial or investment advice. When dealing with cryptocurrencies, remember that they are extremely volatile and thus, a high-risk investment. Always make sure to stay informed and be aware of those risks. Consider investing in cryptocurrencies only after careful consideration and analysis of your own research and at your own risk.
Established Meme Coins
Even if you missed the historical pumps, these meme coins are still solid options if you want to invest in this type of cryptocurrency.
- Dogecoin (DOGE), the original meme coin with high liquidity and name recognition
- Shiba Inu (SHIB), more than the “Dogecoin killer”
- Pepe (PEPE), one of the most successful meme coins of 2023–2024
- Floki (FLOKI), a strong community developed with many initiatives
Emerging Trends
Several categories of meme coins have shown particular strength:
- AI-themed meme coins (TURBO): Combining artificial intelligence narratives with meme appeal
- Gaming meme tokens (HMSTR): Connected to blockchain gaming ecosystems
- Celebrity-inspired coins (TRUMP): Based on public figures (high risk, but occasional viral potential)
What to Do After Buying Meme Coins
Getting meme coins is only the start! What are you going to do with them next? If you still don’t know, here are a few ideas.
Storage Options and Portfolio Tracking
You need a wallet to get meme coins but it does not mean you can’t consider more secure storage solutions after the fact. Self-custody wallets, also called non-custodial, are preferable for long-term holding, especially if you got your meme tokens from a smaller non-established exchange.
Although due to major risks it is not recommended to dedicate a significant portion of your portfolio to meme coins, if you get a considerable amount of them, opt for a cold wallet. Hardware wallets like Trezor, Ledger, and Tangem provide an extra layer of protection from online threats.
Many multi-currency software wallets come with portfolio tracking features like price charts and analytics. You can also use external tools such as CoinGecko’s and CoinMarketCap’s portfolio trackers and get the latest insights into the state of the market as a whole. These platforms track the meme coin category as well and compare them to other assets on the basis of correlation or performance.
Use Cases Beyond Speculation
While some meme tokens lean into their memetic value and don’t even pretend to have any fundamental value, others try to build viable ecosystems and products. Most commonly, some meme coins offer staking opportunities, although at the cost of increased inflation or transaction costs. There are meme tokens that act as governance tokens for their community, giving those with a bigger stake in the ecosystem more power to steer the development.
Meme tokens synergize well with non-fungible token projects and digital collectibles. The key is community-building, and other initiatives work well to this end, like gaming. FLOKI and SHIB are shining examples of meme coins with utility, with their Shibarium and Valhalla projects respectively.
Conclusion
No matter what you want to get memes for—holding, trading, or taking part in a community—now you are equipped with the knowledge of how and where to buy meme coins! Don’t stop learning with guides from our blog or bite-sized content from our Telegram, X, and Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to start buying meme coins?
Although it is not an ironclad number and figures vary depending on blockchain and platform, you can start with as little as $10–20. Higher minimums can happen on some DEXs due to network transaction fees, especially on Ethereum during periods of high congestion.
Are meme coins a good investment?
Even as a speculative investment, memecoins are extremely risky and volatile. The chances of seeing tremendous returns are slim, and many more holders have lost substantial portions of their investments. For legitimate and actionable investment advice, seek a consultation with a professional.
How to identify scam meme coins?
The red flags that should tip you off are anonymous teams without verifiable backgrounds, tokens with extremely large supplies and questionable tokenomics, projects that focus exclusively on price rather than community or utility, contracts that haven’t been audited by reputable security firms, and high taxes on buying or selling that may indicate a honeypot to trap investors’ funds.
Which blockchain is the best for meme coins?
Many blockchains coexist because they offer unique benefits, for meme coins included. Ethereum is considered to be the most secure chain with the highest visibility. Solana is a choice for fast transactions and minimal fees. BNB Chain provides an acceptable balance between costs and ecosystem support. L2s like Polygon and Base enjoy both the qualities of the main chain and enhance their user experience.
How to buy XRP meme coins?
The most valuable XRP meme coins at the time of writing are PHNX and PONGO. They can be traded on centralized exchanges such as MEXC.
How to buy meme coins on Phantom wallet?
Buy and transfer SOL to your Phantom wallet. Connect Phantom wallet to a Solana DEX: Jupiter or Raydium. Exchange SOL for the meme token of your choice, the tokens should soon appear in your balance.
How to sell memes?
Generally, the platforms where you can buy meme tokens also allow you to sell them or exchange to other cryptocurrencies. On a centralized exchange, find the corresponding market pair and place a sell order instead of an ask. On a decentralized exchange or a swap service, when you pick a trading pair, choose the meme coin you want to sell as a currency for exchange.
