DOGE Vs SHIB: Which One is the Better Buy?

Key Takeaways

• According to data from LunarCrush, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are currently the two most popular meme coins on social media.
• Unlike Dogecoin, Shiba Inu is developing more practical projects, including decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse.
• Technical analysis results show that Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are at risk of falling, but Shiba Inu shows signs of potential reversal.

Introduction

Dogecoin and Shiba Inucoin are both meme coins based on dog images. Although they look similar, they have many differences, such as ecosystems, community activity, and adoption.

This article will thoroughly analyze and compare these two meme coins, summarizing their similarities and differences. Gaining more information will assist you in making smarter investment choices.

Background

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin was created in December 2013. Its founders, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, thought traditional cryptocurrencies lacked fun, so they created Dogecoin based on the popular "Doge" meme.

Such an "absurd" thing was unexpectedly successful. Two weeks after its launch, Dogecoin's daily trading volume once exceeded Bitcoin. Within a month of its launch, the number of unique visitors to the Dogecoin website exceeded one million.

Although Dogecoin's price has fluctuated over the years, it is still the most well-known and successful meme coin. By market value, Dogecoin is now the number one meme coin and the ninth-largest cryptocurrency in the world.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu is also a cryptocurrency created based on the popular "Doge" meme, but it was launched much later than Dogecoin. Shiba Inu was launched in August 2020 by an anonymous developer or group named "Ryoshi".

Shiba Inu also gained popularity on social media after its launch. Shiba Inu is now the second-ranked meme coin by market capitalization. Because of their similar appearance and large number of followers on social media or in the community, Shiba Inu is also known as the "Dogecoin Killer."

Brief comparison of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu

To help you quickly distinguish the two coins, here is a brief comparison of Shiba Inu and Dogecoin.

Dogecoin vs Shiba Inu

Community and social media influence

Dogecoin: King of meme coins

Dogecoin has a very active community on social media, especially on Reddit and X. Dogecoin has 2.6 million followers on Reddit and 4.3 million followers on X.

In addition to having a large number of followers, celebrity endorsements are also one of the important reasons for Dogecoin's success. In 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made many pro-Dogecoin remarks on X (Twitter). He once called Dogecoin "the people's crypto," which triggered a hype frenzy. Musk's celebrity effect helped Dogecoin's price reach an all-time high of nearly $0.70 in 2021.

To this day, Dogecoin still has a high level of activity on social media platforms and communities. According to LunarCrush's AltRank (a metric that evaluates the popularity and activity of cryptocurrency projects compared to other projects in the market), Dogecoin ranks first in social media activity.

Shiba Inu: the "Dogecoin killer"

Like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu also has a large number of loyal followers, with 549K followers on Reddit and 830.2K followers on X.

Although Shiba Inu does not have as many followers as Dogecoin, it still poses a challenge to Dogecoin's status. According to LunarCrush data, Shiba Inu's activity on social media is second only to Dogecoin. Therefore, Shiba Inu is also called the "Dogecoin Killer".

However, Shiba Inu faces competition from newer meme coins. Some meme coins, such as Pepe (PEPE), may replace Shiba Inu as the new "Dogecoin Killer".

Consensus mechanisms

Dogecoin

Like Bitcoin, Dogecoin uses the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism.

Using the PoW consensus mechanism means that users need to solve complex mathematical puzzles on powerful computer hardware (such as ASICs) to verify transactions and get rewards. The first person to solve the puzzle gets the token. This process requires a lot of electricity and computing resources.

However, the threshold for "mining" Dogecoin is not very high. This is because Dogecoin uses a memory-intensive algorithm called Scrypt instead of the SHA-256 hash algorithm used by Bitcoin. So, if you want to mine Dogecoin, you only need ordinary computer hardware (such as GPUs) instead of professional mining computers (such as ASICs).

Since Dogecoin has no mining limit and new coins are constantly being mined, Dogecoin is an inflationary cryptocurrency. This means that Dogecoin has always been in a state of depreciation, which leads to a non-store-of-value crypto asset.

Shiba Inu

Shiba Inu is a meme coin based on the Ethereum blockchain. Therefore, the consensus mechanism of Shiba Inu, like Ethereum, has been switched from PoW to Proof of Stake (PoS) in 2022.

The biggest difference between PoS and PoW is that PoS does not require you to "mine" through a computer, but rather requires you to "stake" the cryptocurrency you hold. If a person pledges a large number of tokens, they are more likely to be selected to add new blocks to the blockchain.

Compared to PoW, PoS is more energy efficient because the staking process requires minimal computational effort. Moreover, cryptocurrencies using PoS are more scalable. For example, Dogecoin can process approximately 33 transactions per second (TPS), while Shiba Inu can process up to 200 transactions.

Use cases and utility

Dogecoin: Relying on community support

Dogecoin is so popular on social media platforms that some people use it as a tip currency to circulate on these platforms.

Some platforms, including Reddit and X, allow users to use Dogecoin to pay their favorite content creators. In addition, some online traders, such as Robinhood, also accept Dogecoin as a payment currency.

However, the utility of Dogecoin is still limited. Although according to Cryptwerk, there are more than 2500 companies around the world willing to accept dogecoin, most of them are unknown Internet service providers.

Shiba Inu: Building an ecosystem beyond meme

There are not many companies, stores, and websites that accept Shiba Inu as a payment method. According to Cryptwerk's data, there are approximately 900+ companies worldwide willing to accept Shiba Inu.

However, unlike Dogecoin, which is still consolidating its position as a meme coin, Shiba Inu is trying to prove that it is not just a meme coin relying on community hype by expanding its practicality.

In recent years, Shiba Inu has improved its practicality through multiple practical projects. These projects include decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), and metaverse. Shiba Inu's decentralized exchange ShibaSwap allows users to trade and pledge SHIB tokens.

In addition, Shiba Inu has also developed the second layer blockchain Shibarium, aimed at reducing transaction costs and improving scalability, while also addressing Shiba Inu's excessive dependence on the Ethereum network.

Which one is the better buy?

Technical analysis

Intellectia's technical analysis report shows that Dogecoin is currently in a bearish trend, and most technical indicators show that it is at risk of further decline. At the same time, although SHIB is bearish from a technical point of view, it shows signs of potential reversal.

Future outlook and investment potential

Dogecoin is heavily dependent on market sentiment and external factors, which makes its prospects uncertain. While it may see short-term upticks due to social media hype or celebrity influence, its long-term value is questionable due to its inflationary supply model and lack of utility.

The Shiba Inu ecosystem is expanding with the expansion of the Shibarium Layer-2 blockchain, ShibaSwap decentralized exchange, and Shiboshis NFT project adding utility. These projects give Shiba Inu a better prospect and distinguish it from other meme coins.

However, the main challenge of Shiba Inu remains its huge supply of 589,252 trillion tokens, which makes it extremely unlikely to reach a price of $1 per token without extreme destruction.

All in all, as long as Dogecoin can continue to gain support from a loyal following and maintain its position as a leading meme coin, it will likely benefit from the broader cryptocurrency market rally. However, if you consider the development prospects and use cases, Shiba Inu may be a better choice than Dogecoin.

DOGE price prediction

SHIB price prediction

Conclusion

As the two most well-known meme coins, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu both have certain investment values. Dogecoin has a loyal following due to its widespread popularity on social media platforms and celebrity influence. Shiba Inu is also popular in the community and is increasing its value through token destruction and expanding more practical projects.

However, the shortcomings of both are also obvious. Dogecoin lacks technological innovation and real-world use cases, while Shiba Inu has extremely low value due to its large supply. However, Shiba Inu seems to be a better choice than Dogecoin in terms of future development prospects and investment potential.

It is important to note that both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are highly volatile and only suitable for investors who can tolerate high risks.

If you are interested in investing in Dogecoin or Shiba Inu but don’t know when to buy/sell, I suggest you use the AI-driven tool, Intellectia, to get professional investment insights before investing. Based on real-time data and advanced AI models, Intellectia can also identify trading signals for you to help you make smart investment decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are meme coins and why are they popular?

Meme coins are digital assets created based on interesting internet memes or pop culture. The value of meme coins usually comes from their active communities, celebrity hype, and high speculative potential.

What is the main difference between DOGE and SHIB?

The main difference between the two meme coins is that DOGE uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, while SHIB uses the Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Will Shiba Inu coin reach $1?

While Shiba Inu has growth potential, its large supply makes it highly unlikely that it will achieve its $1 price target in the near to medium term.