Meme coins first appeared as an internet joke, but they soon became a true utility and asset for traders. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are leading the race in this category. Although users have accepted these cryptocurrencies, experts are still arguing whether they hold long-term potential. You will often find the question “Will Dogecoin be $1?” in the crypto world.

In this guide, you’ll get an investment outlook for 2025 for both DOGE and SHIB. The article covers the basics, tokenomics, and historical price trends to help you determine a better option for your portfolio.

The Basics of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are both meme coins, but they are significantly different once you scratch under the surface. Here’s what you should know about both projects.

Dogecoin Info

The coin’s history started in 2013, with Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. Inspired by the Shiba Inu dog from the famous meme, they created a coin. The idea was to have some fun, but the community accepted DOGE as a new virtual asset. It became a useful solution for direct P2P payments, especially with fast transfers and low transaction fees.

Dogecoin uses the proof-of-work consensus. That means new coins get mined, and the developers’ plan includes no maximum supply. Once it appeared, DOGE attracted the attention of investors, including big names like Elon Musk.

Shiba Inu Info

Shiba Inu is another memecoin. It was launched in August 2020. The asset appeared on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token. Many have pronounced it the “Dogecoin killer,” but Shiba Inu creators took a different path.

Source: Pixabay

They created a blockchain and an ecosystem, along with the ShibaSwap decentralized exchange. The developers launched the Shibarium chain in 2023, reducing its dependency on Ethereum. Another important feature is the token burning scheme, which creates a deflationary momentum.

Tokenomics and Supply Dynamics

Free dogecoin coins currency illustration

Source: Pixabay

From an investor’s perspective, it’s all about the numbers. Here’s what they have to say about DOGE and SHIB tokenomics and how that could impact the long-term value of these coins!

Circulating Supply and Inflation

Dogecoin uses an inflationary approach by mining new coins every minute. The system can reflect in DOGE’s price per coin since more tokens in circulation might mean a lower price per unit. Feel free to check the Dogecoin calculator to learn about the latest asset value.

Shiba Inu uses a different approach, using active token burning. Each time a transaction occurs on the chain, the transaction fee or a small amount goes to a null address. It eliminates those SHIB coins from circulation. That creates deflation and contributes to increasing the coin’s scarcity.

Market Capitalization Comparison

Dogecoin has over 149 billion coins in circulation, with its maximum supply being infinite. The project’s market cap is currently over $33.6 billion, with an average trading volume of over $1.8 billion daily.

If we compare that to Shiba Inu, we’ll notice that SHIB has a market cap of over $8.6 billion. Its trading volume is around $220 million daily. Those numbers are decent for the crypto market, but they are far from DOGE. Shiba Inu has over 589 trillion coins in circulation, but with the active burning mechanism, this number will decrease.

Price Performance and Volatility

You can get a single Dogecoin for around $0.22. The price of Shiba Inu is much lower, set around $0.00001460 per coin. In the following sections, we’ll check out the historical price trends and volatility patterns.

Historical Price Trends

Dogecoin attracted a lot of attention immediately as it was launched. Its value per coin was relatively low, with the records showing it was worth $0.0000126 in 2015. A first significant jump occurred in 2021, when the coin reached $0.01711.

Significant changes started occurring with the crypto market boom. In May 2021, Dogecoin reached its all-time high, with the value set at $0.7376. It was obvious that some stabilization was to follow after that, so the coin ended the year at about $0.2. In 2022, DOGE struggled to go over $0.1, and things didn’t get much better in 2023. However, the last six months have brought a significant increase, leading us to today’s value of DOGE.

Shiba Inu doesn’t have such a rich history, having hit the market only in 2020. Its initial value was only $0.000000001, but it increased to $0.000015 in 2021. SHIB reached its all-time high of $0.00008845 in October 2021. It didn’t last long, with the asset stabilizing at around $0.00001 during the next two years.

If we focus on the last 12 months, we’ll see that SHIB actually lost some value. It was worth $0.000023 in May 2024, with today’s value dropping to $0.000014.

Volatility Patterns and Risk Level

Meme coins are particularly sensitive to market events and big news surrounding the industry and these assets. Elon Musk commented on Dogecoin on numerous occasions, and it has always had a significant positive or negative effect. In the latest news, Musk announced a withdrawal from DOGE, leaving a lot of room for investors to doubt the project’s long-term future.

SHIB is also volatile and known for sharp price movements. Media hype, social network discussions, and macro events only increase daily swings and standard deviation. The risk level is significant for both short and long-term investors because both assets are quite speculative.

Which One Is a Better Investment in 2025?

Dogecoin has the longest tradition and biggest reputation in the meme coin industry. If this category continues to thrive, the odds are that DOGE is a good choice for long-term holders. As for short-term investors, it will depend on the current market movement and analysis.

Whether you choose to buy Dogecoin or SHIB, it’s important to understand that the community drives the growth of both. It’s important to analyze the current market sentiment and all other relevant details, along with your investment preference. That will help you pick a coin that’s a better fit for your portfolio.