Shiba Inu vs. Dogecoin: Which Meme Token Could Be the Better Buy in 2025?

Cryptocurrencies are coming off a strong year in 2024, the total value of all coins and tokens in circulation having soared to a new record high of $3.9 trillion

The total value of all cryptocurrencies surged to a new record high of $3.9 trillion following the U.S. presidential election in November, as President Trump's campaign promises could pave the way for new use cases and a fresh wave of value creation.

Among the best-performing coins of 2024 were Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), which gained 105%, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), which soared 251%. Both are among the world's most prominent meme tokens, meaning they typically serve as vessels for speculation with very little real-world utility.

Nevertheless, there is no denying their ability to deliver incredible gains, so which one could be the better buy in 2025? The answer might surprise you.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Shiba Inu

Shiba Inu delivered one of the best returns in the history of financial markets in 2021 when it soared by an eye-popping 45,278,000%. That would have been enough to turn a perfectly timed investment of $3 into more than $1 million.

But the rally was unsustainable because it was driven by speculation, so Shiba Inu lost more than 90% of its peak value by mid-2022. Unfortunately, the meme token still doesn't have a real use case -- according to Cryptwerk, just 1,005 businesses accept it as payment for goods and services, and many of them are obscure providers of internet and crypto services or even online gambling houses. If consumers can't spend Shiba Inu at their favorite stores, there will always be a barrier to widespread adoption.

Shiba Inu's developers have tried to make it more efficient as a payment mechanism to encourage people to use it. They launched a Layer-2 blockchain solution called Shibarium that eliminates some of the clunkiness associated with the legacy Ethereum network upon which Shiba Inu is built, making it faster and cheaper to transact with the meme token. Almost a billion transactions have been processed on Shibarium since it launched in 2023, but that's still a drop in the bucket considering consumers and businesses execute more than 3.4 trillion transactions annually.

Shiba Inu's developers have tried to make it more efficient as a payment mechanism to encourage people to use it. They launched a Layer-2 blockchain solution called Shibarium that eliminates some of the clunkiness associated with the legacy Ethereum network upon which Shiba Inu is built, making it faster and cheaper to transact with the meme token. Almost a billion transactions have been processed on Shibarium since it launched in 2023, but that's still a drop in the bucket considering consumers and businesses execute more than 3.4 trillion transactions annually.

Moreover, Shiba Inu has a major supply problem. There are 589.2 trillion tokens in circulation, which is why they trade at the tiny price of $0.000012. Simple math suggests that if Shiba Inu tokens rose to a more conventional price of $1 each, the cryptocurrency would have a mind-boggling market capitalization of $589.2 trillion. That would make it more valuable than all the wealth held by every person, company, and government on Earth, which stood at $454 trillion at the end of 2022 (according to UBS).

Moreover, Shiba Inu has a major supply problem. There are 589.2 trillion tokens in circulation, which is why they trade at the tiny price of $0.000012. Simple math suggests that if Shiba Inu tokens rose to a more conventional price of $1 each, the cryptocurrency would have a mind-boggling market capitalization of $589.2 trillion. That would make it more valuable than all the wealth held by every person, company, and government on Earth, which stood at $454 trillion at the end of 2022 (according to UBS).

The Shiba Inu community has banded together to resolve the supply problem by "burning" tokens, which means removing them from circulation forever. The easiest way to do this is by sending them to a dead wallet, from which they can never be retrieved. In theory, the price of each Shiba Inu token should increase in proportion to the number of tokens burned, which could pave the way to $1 in the future (but there is a catch, which I'll highlight later).

The case for Dogecoin

Dogecoin was the original meme token. It was founded in 2013 by two friends who literally used the "doge" meme as inspiration. But investors who joined the fun were laughing all the way to the bank years later, because Dogecoin soared to a peak market cap of around $90 billion in 2021.

Dogecoin was the original meme token. It was founded in 2013 by two friends who literally used the "doge" meme as inspiration. But investors who joined the fun were laughing all the way to the bank years later, because Dogecoin soared to a peak market cap of around $90 billion in 2021.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a lot to do with that incredible run. He had been supporting Dogecoin since 2019 by posting memes and engaging with other investors on social media. But the hype surrounding his involvement reached fever pitch in May 2021, when he appeared on Saturday Night Live and participated in a Dogecoin-themed skit. The meme token reached a high of $0.73 during the show, which proved to be the top.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a lot to do with that incredible run. He had been supporting Dogecoin since 2019 by posting memes and engaging with other investors on social media. But the hype surrounding his involvement reached fever pitch in May 2021, when he appeared on Saturday Night Live and participated in a Dogecoin-themed skit. The meme token reached a high of $0.73 during the show, which proved to be the top.

It lost more than 90% of its value by mid-2022, and it still hasn't fully recovered. Like Shiba Inu, Dogecoin has very little utility in the real world, so there is nothing other than speculation supporting its value.

That said, Dogecoin staged a powerful rally after the election last year, reaching a 52-week high of $0.47 in December. Investors were bullish on cryptocurrencies overall thanks to President Trump's promise to make America "the crypto capital of the world," but Dogecoin received an extra boost when the president revealed Musk would play an external advisor role in the administration.

That said, Dogecoin staged a powerful rally after the election last year, reaching a 52-week high of $0.47 in December. Investors were bullish on cryptocurrencies overall thanks to President Trump's promise to make America "the crypto capital of the world," but Dogecoin received an extra boost when the president revealed Musk would play an external advisor role in the administration.

President Trump would also establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), focusing on reducing wasteful government spending to bring down the national debt, and