How to Create a Meme Coin? A Complete Walkthrough

The meme coin season is in full swing once again – from beloved classics like Dogecoin to rising stars like PEPE. It seems the crypto community just can’t get enough of meme coins these days. Whether you’ve been watching from the sidelines or have joined the fray as an investor, you’ve probably caught yourself thinking, “If only I knew how to create a meme coin”.

The good news is that, in 2024, it’s easier than ever before! Between 40,000 and 50,000 new meme tokens are launched every day, and there’s no reason why yours couldn’t be next. Who knows – one day, you might even see it listed on a major crypto exchange like Bybit, Binance, or Kraken!

In this article, I will walk you through the whole process from start to finish. You’ll find out how to develop a concept for your meme coin, bring your idea to life, get the word out, and foster a dedicated community around your project. If you’ve ever wondered how to make a meme coin, this guide is the best place to start.

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What is a Meme Coin?

First things first – if you want to learn how to create a meme coin, you need to have a clear picture of what a meme coin is. How are they different from other cryptocurrencies?

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To put it simply, meme coins are a type of crypto that exists primarily as a joke. Unlike “serious” digital assets, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, they’re not meant to solve any financial or technological problems. Their value lies in their ability to leverage internet memes and viral trends to gain popularity^[1].

Their very purpose makes meme coins much more volatile than other cryptocurrencies. They tend to be very cheap, making for a low barrier of entry, and can go viral in a matter of hours, riding on nothing more than a spike in community engagement. Their quirky and whimsical aesthetic makes them feel approachable and non-intimidating even to inexperienced traders.

Thanks to these factors, these digital tokens continue to proliferate and remain relevant, even years after the original meme that inspired them fades into obscurity – as was the case with Dogecoin, the first cryptocurrency inspired by the Shiba Inu meme. While most of these tokens fizzle out as quickly as they appear, some manage to achieve lasting popularity and recognition.

Is Launching Your Own Meme Coin Worth It?

If meme coins are so frivolous, you might ask – what is there to gain from launching one? Fair enough. Before we explore how to create a meme coin, let’s have a little “for and against” session.

Benefits

For some people, the only reason to learn how to start a meme coin is simply because they can!

Due to their lack of advanced functionality, these digital assets are typically much easier to launch than other cryptocurrencies. You can create one on an existing blockchain.

Some of the most popular ones have templates and guides on how to create tokens with almost no technical knowledge required. At its simplest, knowing how to create a meme coin on Solana or Ethereum involves nothing more than using a meme coin generator (more on these later).

This low barrier to entry extends to other areas as well. You don’t need to be a marketing whiz to get your meme coin off the ground – by their very nature, these tokens tend to take on a life of their own. All you need is a catchy idea and a social media presence to build a community around it.

Speaking of community – this is, hands down, the most rewarding aspect people discover in their journey of how to create a meme coin. Fan engagement is the engine that drives these tokens to the moon, and, as the creator, you get to decide which particular internet meme, trend, or other cultural phenomenon to capitalize on and have all that engagement revolve around.

Now, another factor you’re probably hoping I would mention is the potential for profit. A lot of discussions on how to make your own meme coin end up circling back to the question, “How do meme coin creators make money?”.

The answer is, of course – it depends. No one can predict whether or not a particular token will go viral. However, when it comes to crypto, the saying “a rising tide lifts all boats” often holds true. If one meme coin soars, others are likely to get a boost, too. Even though only a small percentage of meme coins reach mainstream popularity, there’s definitely a chance your token will get its chance sooner or later.

Risks and Challenges

Let’s talk about the downsides next. As you might have guessed, the project of how to create a meme coin isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Even with this detailed walkthrough, it won’t exactly be a walk in the park!

The first thing to be wary of is the cost. In fairness, meme coins are cheaper to launch than other cryptocurrencies due to their relative lack of complexity and the abundance of meme coin generators that strip the process down to the bare essentials. Nevertheless, you’ll still have to make a starting investment.

When it comes to money, keep in mind that there are risks involved at both ends. Just as the process of how to make a meme coin might end up pricier than you expected (especially if you intend to go all the way with the marketing and listing opportunities), the profits are in no way guaranteed, either.

The best motivation to learn how to make your own meme coin is intrinsic: stay true to the underlying philosophy and do it for fun!

If viral fame is what you’re after, I’d advise the same thing – keep in mind that a lot of it is down to pure luck. The meme coin market is so volatile that things can change rapidly in either direction at any minute. Your coin could become the number one most popular asset one day, only to crash by 80% an hour later, with no way to predict this.

Finally, there are various logistical hurdles to take into account. Even if you use a meme coin generator, there’s still a certain amount of technological and domain know-how involved. You’ll need to have a solid grasp of how cryptocurrencies work, especially the ins and outs of tokenomics. You should have a plan and means for scalability, too, and keep abreast of regulatory compliance and potential security issues.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Meme Coin?

Now that I’ve covered the pros and cons of learning how to create a meme coin, it’s time to set the record straight on the expenses.

How much does it cost to make a meme coin? It’s going to depend on a number of factors, such as which blockchain you choose, the complexity of your coin’s tokenomics and functionalities, which exchanges you’re going to list it on, and many others.

Here are some of the costs involved:

• Listing the coin on exchanges: Listing your coin on a major CEX like Binance or Kraken will cost you somewhere between $10,000 and $1,000,000 in listing fees and an additional $20,000 to over $100,000 for regulatory compliance expenses.
• Smart contract development: You can develop a custom smart contract yourself for $5,000-$100,000, hire a developer to do it for you for $500-$15,000, or use an existing template for free or nearly free.
• Deployment: Testing a deploying a smart contract requires paying gas fees, which differ depending on the blockchain platform.
• Security: One of the most critical expenses in this category is security audits, which can cost between $5,000 and $50,000.
• Branding: Professional Professional logo and UI design services can range from $500 to $5,000.
• Marketing: This area might involve anything from hiring a social media manager ($30,000 to $70,000 per year), paid advertising campaigns on social media platforms (between  $500 and $20,000 per campaign), community events and giveaways (from $1,000 to $10,000 per event), and more.

Not all of those expenses are essential, of course: if you have the time and necessary skills, you can take branding, marketing, and/or development into your own hands and save a lot of money down the road. Nevertheless, the verdict is clear: if you were hoping to learn how to create a meme coin for free, you’re going to be disappointed!

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How to Create a Meme Coin: A Step-by-Step Guide

With those considerations out of the way, let’s get to work! In this section, I will walk you through the process of how to create a meme coin in eight steps from start to finish. You’ll find out how to narrow down a punchy idea, develop the underlying infrastructure, launch your coin, and create a following.

Step 1: Define the Concept

This is the first stepping stone of your journey. Every creative project needs a clear concept, and the project of how to start a meme coin is no exception.

Every meme coin is based on an internet joke or a trend. Think about a relevant and memorable online cultural phenomenon that has resonated with you in particular. Craft a compelling narrative around it – is your coin meant to poke fun at a certain trend or perhaps tap into a specific subculture? Think about what target audience you’re trying to reach – they’ll need to be in on the joke.

This is also the stage to start thinking about your coin’s aesthetics and design. Aim for something quirky and lighthearted, but make sure to have a unique spin that would make your meme coin stand out among others. As for the name, it’s best to go for something recognizable – if your coin is inspired by a specific meme or trend, make the connection immediately visible.

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Step 2: Choose the Right Blockchain

This is where it starts to get technical! Meme coins are usually built on an existing blockchain. Which one you pick will impact your coin’s transaction costs, functionality, security, stability, and ease of use. The blockchain platform could enhance your coin’s success or hinder it, so I can’t overstate just how crucial it is to get it right!

There are several solid options these days, all with their own growing community and tools. Here are the three top choices and their characteristics:

• Ethereum: One of the oldest and most established platforms for creating meme coins. It has the largest developer community, meaning plenty of resources and support, as well as extensive smart contract capabilities. On the flip side, it’s known for slower transaction speeds and high gas fees.
• Binance Smart Chain (BSC): Developed by the Binance exchange, BSC offers cheap and speedy transactions and highly scalable infrastructure. BSC supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), making it easy for Ethereum developers to migrate their projects.
• Solana: One of the newest blockchains, it has a smaller yet rapidly growing community. What it lacks in track record, it makes up for with exceptionally low transaction costs and high speeds.

If you’re an inexperienced developer, you might want to go with Ethereum due to its extensive community support. On the other hand, if you have more of an innovative streak with a lower level of risk aversion, you could decide to pick a less established blockchain that offers a superior infrastructure, such as Solana.

Step 3: Develop and Deploy the Smart Contract

Now that you’ve chosen your blockchain, it’s time to start building the smart contract for your meme coin. The contract will manage the creation, distribution, and transfer of your digital asset while also defining its functionalities. If you’ve decided to do it yourself instead of hiring a developer, here’s how it works.

First, you’ll need to pick the programming language. If you want to learn how to create a meme coin on Ethereum, Solidity and Python are the most popular choices. The latter has the advantage of easy syntax, which makes it a great choice for beginners, while the former boasts a large toolkit for building dApps and NFTs. Alternatively, if you’re looking at how to create a meme coin on Solana, you could try Rust instead.

The next step is deciding which development tool to use. Remix IDE is a popular choice for building and testing smart contracts on Solidity, while Anchor Framework is for developing smart contracts on Solana using the Rust language.

Once you have your tools in order, here’s the list of the key elements of a smart contract you’ll have to define:

• Token attributes: Decide on the main attributes of your meme coin, such as its name, logo, total supply, and decimal places.
• Minting and burning function: Add functions to create new tokens and destroy them when necessary.
• Transfer and approval mechanisms: Include the function to transfer your asset between addresses and let users approve others to spend funds on their behalf.

After you’re through with the development, it’s time for the testing stage. Put your brand-new smart contract through a rigorous trial in a controlled environment to make sure it’s up for the job. Use test networks to simulate various scenarios, including transactions.

Once you’re sure the smart contract performs as expected, get ready to deploy it by following this checklist:

1. Set up a crypto wallet if you don’t have one yet, and fund it to ensure there’s enough to cover the deployment gas fees.
2. Select a reliable deployment tool for the blockchain of your choice, using tools like Hardhat or Turtle.
3. Compile the smart contract code into bytecode that can be executed on the blockchain.
4. Send a transaction containing the compiled bytecode to the blockchain.
5. After confirmation, verify the deployment by checking the contract address and making sure all functions are operational.

That’s it! Your smart contract is now up and running, and your new meme coin is ready for the next stage.

Step 4: Decide on the Distribution and Fundraising

Knowing how to create a meme coin is only half the battle – if you want it to reach the right audience, you’ll have to consider how to get it out there.

If you’ve reached this stage of the journey, chances are you’ve already considered the question, “How much does it cost to make a meme coin?” and accounted for the initial expenses. However, there’s still much more to do!

The best way to ensure your project doesn’t crash right after launch is to run a fundraising campaign. This step often goes hand in hand with distribution – that is, allocating a certain percentage of your coin’s supply to users to get things moving.

One of the most common fundraising strategies for meme coins is an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). It involves selling a portion of the supply to early investors at a fixed price before the token is publicly available^[2]. Another popular alternative is a Token Generation Event (TGE), where tokens are created and sold to raise funds.

On the other hand, token presales are often seen as an antithesis to the idea of fair and transparent token distribution. Decentralized ownership is the core tenet of the philosophy behind cryptocurrency – you don’t want your meme coin to end up concentrated in the hands of a few individuals or entities and give them too much power over its value and governance.

If you want your meme coin to exemplify these values, I recommend considering other distribution alternatives, such as:

• Airdrops: Distribute free tokens to wallets to encourage adoption and decentralization.
• Community Sales: Allow investors to buy tokens at fair prices during a public sale, with limits to prevent hoarding.
• Liquidity Mining: Reward users who provide liquidity to the ecosystem with free tokens.
• Gradual Vesting: Lock up tokens allocated to the team, advisors, or investors with a release schedule over time to prevent dumping.

As tempting as it might be to hand out what basically amounts to VIP access in return for some extra funding, meme coins are heavily reliant on community support – and that requires a high level of trust.

A fair launch helps nip pump-and-dump schemes in the bud and boosts the token's viral appeal. After all, the whole point of meme coins is that they’re accessible to everyone – so make sure your project lives up to this ideal!

Step 5: List Your Coin on Exchanges

Now that you’ve got a healthy amount of initial circulation going, you can start listing it on crypto exchanges and trackers so that other users can buy and trade it, too.

Listing your meme coin on a major centralized exchange like Bybit, Binance, or Kraken involves quite a rigorous application process. You’ll be expected to submit a whitepaper, carry out security audits, and pay a listing fee. All that effort is definitely worth it, though – CEXs offer much higher visibility, more trading volume, and exposure to a larger user base.

If getting listed on a CEX is too pricey or time-consuming, though, you could opt for a decentralized exchange. The only thing you’ll need to do is create a liquidity pool for your coin and make sure there are sufficient funds to facilitate trading. Compared to centralized exchanges, DEXs give you more control over your token and increased security.

The next step is putting your coin on a crypto tracker to boost its visibility. Depending on the specific tracker, you’ll have to provide information like accurate circulating supply and market cap data. Don’t just rest on your laurels after getting your coin listed, though – try to engage with the community and get the trading volume up to increase the chances of making it to the trending section.

Step 6: Market Your Coin

You’re now more than halfway through the journey of how to create a meme coin – and this is where things start to heat up! A meme coin is nothing without a community, and for that to happen, you’ll have to do everything in your power to get it noticed.

First things first – if you haven’t already, create an official website and a whitepaper for your coin. Make it both informative and entertaining – that’s how you’ll attract more users and build trust. The website should include a description of your token, its purpose and features, a detailed roadmap, and an introduction to the project team.

Make sure the whitepaper mentions all of the above, too, but in more detail: describe the token distribution model, their total emission, and possible mechanisms for burning or rewarding for participation, and specify the time frames for key milestones in development.

The main goal here is to create the impression that you know where you’re going with this – users will be much more likely to buy your coin if they can trust it will still be there in a year or two.

Once you’ve laid out these fundamentals, set up your social media channels and get to work! Post engaging content, such as memes and GIFs, launch ad campaigns, and reach out to influencers to boost your platform. X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok are ideal for sharing short-form content, while Discord and Reddit serve as invaluable tools for community building.

Don’t just post memes or updates, though – spend some time and effort actively engaging with users and answering their questions. You could try hosting live events or online sessions, too. For example, the AskMeAnything subreddit is a popular choice for Q&A sessions. Keep rewarding active participation with incentives like airdrops, giveaways, and community contests.

Remember – marketing and community building isn’t a one-off task but rather a continuous process. At some point, the community you’ve nurtured could become self-sustaining, but until then, take care not to neglect it. The meme coin market has a notoriously short attention span – if things get too quiet on your front, users will move on to another hot new thing.

Step 7: Add Value

Now that your project is gaining traction, you’re probably eager to know – how do meme coin creators make money? This is the stage where you can start focusing on adding more value to your asset and exploring opportunities for monetization.

The good news is that your coin can start generating some amount of profit right off the bat as investors start buying it on exchanges. As the creator, you’re entitled to a portion of the transaction fees. A certain percentage can be allocated to the coin’s development fund, too. On decentralized exchanges, you could reap the benefits of being the owner of your token's main liquidity pool and reap staking rewards.

When it comes to additional ways to earn money from your coin, one of the first things you could try is integrating it with NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to tap into the growing market for digital collectibles. While making a profit from NFT sales isn’t guaranteed, it’s still an excellent way to expand your coin’s functionality and appeal to a wider audience.

As your digital asset gains popularity, it might be time to look into partnership and collaboration opportunities to open up additional revenue streams. Do you picture your meme coin transcending its potential and gaining some real-life use cases, too? Why not try and integrate a payment gateway, for instance?

Another recommendation is to leverage your coin’s community by allowing token holders to cast ballots on critical selections – also known as the Governance Token Model.

In time, if your meme coin ever blows out beyond your wildest dreams, you might start thinking about developing a whole ecosystem around it or explore opportunities for merchandising and licensing (allowing others to use your brand for a fee). In other words - the sky's the limit!

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Step 8: Comply With Regulations

This is, of course, by no means the last step you should take care of in the process of how to create a meme coin – and definitely not the one you should skimp on!

Launching a meme coin involves complying with various regulatory requirements, depending on where you live. Make sure to do your research and get to grips with all the relevant laws, including securities law, anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.

Naturally, one of your top priorities should be safety. Follow secure coding practices, implement robust data protection protocols, and carry out smart contract audits regularly to detect and address potential vulnerabilities. Lastly, don’t forget to have a contingency plan in place for any legal or security-related incidents.

Best Meme Coin Generators in 2024

Hopefully, the guide above has taught you everything you need to know about how to create a meme coin. However, if you’re still feeling unsure, don’t worry – as with most things in life, if you look hard enough, there’s almost always a shortcut!

Due to the rising demand, there’s a growing number of cryptocurrency generators specifically catering to meme coins. They feature smart contract templates that are easy to follow, letting you start a new token by simply filling out the form with all the information. No need for coding skills or any specific software – if you want to know how to create a meme coin on the phone, this is the way to do it.

Here’s the list of the most popular platforms:

• Pump.fun: This Solana-based platform features a user-friendly interface and gamification elements in its token launch program, aiming to engage the community and drive token demand.
• Grafun: If you want to learn how to create a meme coin on Ethereum or BNB, you can’t go wrong with this one! Its key focus is ensuring a fair launch and promoting sustainable growth. It also offers a reward program, letting users accumulate reward points by completing tasks.
• Sun.fun: A high-performing TRON-based meme coin generator with a large user base in Asia. It boasts strong community support and a number of partnerships, including one with a crypto exchange, Pionex.

If you have no coding skills and a low budget, these generator platforms can be the quickest way to launch a meme coin for free – or nearly for free, anyway, since there are still expenses like gas fees involved.

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Conclusions

The process of how to create a meme coin might seem a bit intimidating at first, but rest assured – if you follow this guide to the letter, it’s nothing to be scared of! Having a clear roadmap helps make sure you’re not missing any essential milestones along the way and will always have the next step ready.

Just to drive home the main points – a meme coin can be a perfect project for both beginners and experienced investors. Thanks to the abundance of various tools and resources (including the generator platforms I mentioned earlier), you’ll always have a supportive community to ask for help. That being said, never forget that meme coins aren’t a surefire money-making scheme: if you’re set on creating one, do it for intrinsic reasons, not profit.

Nevertheless, if you play your cards right and leverage the meme coin market’s insatiable demand for a new trend to rally around, you might just see your coin trending on major exchanges like Bybit, Binance, or Kraken. Keep your expectations realistic, but don’t be afraid to dream big!

The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy, sell or hold any kind of cryptocurrency. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.

Scientific References

1. Stencel, A.: 'What is a meme coin? Dogecoin to the moon!';

2. de Moxoto, A. C., Melo, P. and Soukiazes, E.: 'Initial Coin Offering (ICO): a systematic review of the literature'.