Memecoins: A new frontier or a dicey gamble for young investors in Singapore?

SINGAPORE - Mr Y.S. Tan, 18, first came across a YouTube video on cryptocurrency in late 2023, and was intrigued by the prospect of making a quick buck online. He decided to learn more by following finance influencers like Luke Belmar and even the controversial Andrew Tate, and joining a plethora of crypto communities on Instagram and X.

In July 2024, the business management student at a polytechnic made his first foray into crypto, investing $350 in Bitcoin via payment platform Skrill with the help of his friend, as he was below the legal age to open a trading account.

But two months later, he decided to pull out his money from Bitcoin and park it in memecoins instead, as the latter offered a much lower barrier to entry, with many costing less than US$1 (S$1.37) a coin.

If he gets lucky, his memecoins will give him outsized returns when they soar in value. “I have very little to lose and a lot to gain,” he told The Straits Times.

The rise of memecoins

Memecoins are cryptocurrencies that often begin with a joke or a viral meme. Like many other cryptocurrencies, memecoins have no obvious use and are not backed by real assets, so they are simply valued based on what people are willing to pay for them.

The original memecoin – Dogecoin – emerged in 2013 when two software engineers created it to make fun of the wildly speculative nature of the crypto market. But its value soared dramatically after multiple

endorsements by tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2021.

Memecoins re-entered the spotlight in 2025, when US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania launched their respective coins ahead of his Jan 20 inauguration,

reaping in billions of dollars,

at least on paper.

The TikTok trend of crypto

ST has yet to come across any published studies that look at the popularity of memecoins among Singaporean investors specifically.

But a 2024 survey by Independent Reserve – a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore – found that 47 per cent of Gen Zs, aged 18 to 25, have invested in cryptocurrency. Among millennials, 53 per cent of those aged 26 to 35, and 51 per cent of those aged 36 to 45, have also invested in crypto.

Conversely, older investors have a smaller appetite for this asset class, with 30 per cent of Gen X and 30 per cent of boomers reporting having dabbled in crypto. In terms of awareness, Gen Zs topped the charts, with 94 per cent of those surveyed having heard of crypto.

As for memecoins, young millennials aged 26 to 35 and Gen Zs were the most clued in, with 40 per cent and 36 per cent respectively saying they had heard of Dogecoin.

Mr Lasanka Perera, chief executive of Independent Reserve Singapore, said: “We can’t ignore the memecoin phenomenon – it is like the viral TikTok trend of crypto. While some see it as just hype, it has undeniably brought a massive wave of new users into the space.”

For 24-year-old Shaharaj Ahmed, the virality and quirkiness of memecoins were what reeled him in. The portfolio and asset management analyst has invested in several memecoins, such as Brett and Doge. His other investments include gold and other cryptocurrencies like Solana and Ether.

He said: “Memecoins give people a system to transfer money and something to laugh about – why wouldn’t you put money in it?”

Growing frustration at the rising costs of living, and the banality of working a nine-to-five job have also drawn many to the get-rich-quick potential of memecoins, said Mr Ahmed. “To put it simply – no risk, no ‘Rarri (Ferarri)’,” he added.

Investor beware

Akin to gambling or buying a lottery ticket, memecoins are attractive as their possible returns are asymmetric, said Dr Lee Yen Teik, a senior lecturer at the NUS Business School. “You put in a little, but the potential gain is rapid and outsized.”

The pervasiveness of cryptocurrency success stories online has also contributed to their appeal.

Mr Tan, the business management student, said: “I see a lot of people around the same age as me – very young, 16 to 22 years old – making a lot of money online. And I’m like, ‘This is a real industry! It’s not just a scam’.”

But Dr Lee warns that online narratives on cryptocurrency may be biased, as those who lose money may not be inclined to divulge their losses. Memecoins are largely unregulated, which makes it easy for them to be manipulated.

Dr Lee said: “Memecoins are very much a Wild Wild West, so things that are illegal in equity, like insider trading – or trading before news is released – may occur.”

Pump and dump – a phenomenon where investors coordinate the buying of a coin to “pump” up its prices, and later “dump” their coins at inflated prices – may also happen. For regulated assets such as stocks, pump-and-dump schemes are illegal.

“This is to protect all the investors, as markets should not just be a playground for a group of people to manipulate prices to benefit themselves,” said Dr Lee.

Investors also have to be prepared for wild swings in their portfolio values.

Mr Tan said he invested US$2,800 in memecoins, split between the Brett and Wolf coins, which he felt were well-marketed. At the time of this interview, his portfolio was valued at around US$1,800. “In December, it did really well and went up to around US$8,000, but I didn’t sell anything. So here I am, but it’s okay.”

Proceed with caution

Dr Lee said investors may still consider memecoins, but should proceed with caution.

“It’s a high-risk, high-return asset that can be used to diversify one’s investment portfolio, but should not be their first and only investment,” he said.

He emphasised that investors should first focus on building a core portfolio consisting of traditional asset classes such as stocks and bonds, which are less speculative in nature and have potential to generate cash flow and grow in value sustainably.

Memecoins and other high-risk assets may fall under one’s satellite portfolio, said Dr Lee.

“The satellite portfolio may disappear or become really big overnight – and how much one puts into it depends on their personal risk tolerance,” he said.

Dr Lee added that he personally opted to stay away from memecoins, as “they are supposed to be for fun, and not for serious investing”. “Rationally speaking, just take the money you invest into memecoins as an amount that you can waste or burn.”

And for parents whose children are interested in dabbling in memecoins, Dr Lee said in the spirit of learning, they can let the youngsters have a go while managing the risks.

“The lesson to be learnt here is not about cryptocurrency or memecoins per se, but instead, how to navigate uncertainty,” he added.