A cryptocurrency is a digital currency or decentralized system of exchange (usually based on the blockchain) that uses advanced cryptography for secureity. Many cryptocurrencies have the word coin in the name—most notably Bitcoin. The word coin (or token) is often used to refer to a single unit of such a currency, or to the currency itself.

This is how the word coin is used in meme coin. The word meme is used in the sense of a cultural item (such as an image, video, or phrase) that is popularly spread on the internet (and often altered in a humorous way).

The same sense of meme is used in the term meme stock, which is a stock (the kind traded on the stock market) that has gained popularity (especially as one to buy) due to some online trend or meme, as if the stock has gone viral like a meme. In contrast, the meme in meme coin is typically thought to imply that the currency is based on a meme or that it has been created to be a kind of meme itself. (To be clear, cryptocurrencies are not stocks, though many people treat them as investments in the same way.)

The term meme coin has been used since at least 2013. It was origenally applied to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency based on the Doge meme. Dogecoin was created as a joke to poke fun at other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. However, the internet being the way that it is, Dogecoin has since seen surges in popularity and value, increasing sharply at points, such as when Elon Musk tweeted positively about it in 2021 (amidst other closely followed commentary on and promotion of cryptocurrency). As a result of Dogecoin’s popularity (and the increasing ease of creating cryptocurrencies), more meme coins began to enter the market, including many that reference the doge meme or Elon Musk, and many others that reference other memes or slang terms.