Talk to any crypto enthusiast and you’re bound to hear a few big ideas about the future of finance, commerce, social impact and plenty more.
We’ll admit that we’re a bit obsessed with the concept of “crypto for good.” To be fair, seeing at least $2 Billion in crypto flow to charitable causes over the past few years might have something to do with it.
But there’s also a much more light-hearted side to crypto, and that’s the whimsical world of memecoins. Whether it’s a bull or bear market, memecoins can be volatile investments but they play an essential supporting role in crypto culture.
Though crypto news tends to be heavy on Bitcoin and Ethereum, fundraisers shouldn’t overlook memecoins and their communities. For one thing, the impact of memecoin donations exceeds one billion dollars (yes, with a “B”) to charitable organizations.
Read on to discover memecoins like DOGE, SHIB, FLOKI and BONK, and how they’re an instrumental part of the crypto philanthropy movement.
Key Takeaways
- Memecoins are digital assets, often inspired by internet memes and trends, that can be bought and sold on crypto exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
- Though some memecoins don’t have a specific use case, their investors are still eligible for the same tax incentives to donate cryptocurrency.
- Collectively, memecoin donors have provided a value of more than one billion dollars to numerous charitable causes.
What are memecoins? They are a type of cryptocurrency often inspired by internet memes, cultural trends and animals.
Today there are tens of thousands of memecoins in circulation. Many memecoins are created in order to be collected and traded, unlike other forms of digital assets with specific utilities, such as stablecoins.
The most popular memecoin is Dogecoin, which has a value of $0.18 per coin and is the 9th largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $26.4 Billion.
Dogecoin was inspired by a popular meme of a Shiba Inu dog sitting on a couch (more on that later).
Though definitely not for the risk-adverse, some of the biggest gains in crypto investing can come from memecoins.
A popular new memecoin called dogwifhat, for example, launched in December 2023 and its value is up by more than 250,000%, according to data from CoinGecko.
Long-term holders of memecoins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and more are eligible to make tax-efficient crypto donations via The Giving Block.
To give assets that are not supported by The Giving Block’s crypto donation form, donors can work with our Private Donor Services team.
Memecoin enthusiasts can be highly generous, often through fun charity initiatives. Here’s an example: a group of memecoin enthusiasts that bought an NFT of the original doge meme also made crypto donations valued above $2 Million to charities.
The “Own the Doge” community and PleasrDAO teamed up for this impactful crypto philanthropy project.
Plus, the actual couch featured in the doge meme was also sold in a separate charity auction.
International humanitarian organizations Save the Children received 90% of the proceeds from the auction.
BabyDoge is another trailblazer in memecoin donation initiatives.
Their community has fully embraced the potential of cryptocurrency donations, opening up an avenue of support for animal rescue groups around the world. The self-proclaimed “#BabyDogeArmy” has contributed close to $500,000 in crypto via The Giving Block, to various shelters and animal welfare programs, greatly improving their ability to help animals.
The charitable memecoin community behind Ponyo Inu has donated more than $865,000 in crypto donations to the Coral Restoration Foundation.
To achieve this level of generosity, the team allocates 3% of all Ponyo transactions automatically to the Coral Restoration Foundation, showing that investing in crypto can be a fundamentally sustainable business.
The community of enthusiasts surrounding the memecoin BONK has also been highly charitable.
Lately, the BONK team has been working on an integration of The Giving Block’s donation form that would allow token holders to donate BONK and have their donations matched.
To date, the Pawthereum community has given away more than $480,850 in crypto donations to charitable organizations.
With more than 2,000 token holders, this is a great example of a community-led initiative to make crypto investing more impactful.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, made waves when he donated $1 Billion worth of Shiba Inu memecoins to a COVID-19 relief effort in India.
Some of the generous donation was eventually returned to Buterin, in order for him to repurpose it for supporting additional COVID-related charitable efforts.
So which community will be the next big memecoin force in crypto philanthropy in 2024? We can’t predict the future, but we’re excited to watch how the memecoins for good trend unfolds in the coming weeks, months and years!
How to Accept Memecoin Donations in 2024
Memecoins are proof that, in crypto, sometimes projects are much more than meet the eye. Memecoins may be pure fun on the surface, but their communities are serious about creating a positive impact with crypto.
If your nonprofit accepts crypto donations, you could get an inquiry from a memecoin community looking to make a difference.
Don’t miss this opportunity to build a strong donor relationship with the crypto community—get started with your nonprofit’s crypto fundraising program.
Discover how your organization can get started with The Giving Block, the #1 platform for crypto philanthropy.
