Meme coins are always a gamble. But sometimes, the data tilts the odds. We decided to ask AI which one is a better pick among biggest memes. If you’re looking to park $2,000 in either Pepe (PEPE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB) right now, one token clearly has stronger momentum, community backing, and potential upside. Spoiler: it’s the frog, not the dog.
What you'll learn 👉
Price Performance: PEPE Surges, SHIB Slumps
Let’s talk numbers. Shiba Inu entered 2024 with momentum but ended up dropping hard. After reaching around $0.000033 in December 2024, it plummeted by 68% in just four months, bottoming out near $0.00001082 in March 2025. Even after a slight bounce, SHIB is still down over 40% year-over-year and around 83% below its all-time high from 2021 (source).
| Price 💰 | 1W 🕒 | 1M 📆 | YTD 📊 | From ATH 🏔️ | From 52W Low 📉 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.000014 | +2.1% 🟢 | -9.5% 🔻 | -29.0% 🔻 | -83.0% 🔻 | +22.5% 🟢 |
Pepe, on the other hand, has exploded. It hit a new all-time high of $0.0000283 in December 2024, then cooled off- only to rally again by over 86% in a single month during Q2 2025. Despite wild swings, PEPE is up about 17% year-over-year and has shown the kind of raw momentum traders look for (source).
| Price 💰 | 1W 🕒 | 1M 📆 | YTD 📊 | From ATH 🏔️ | From 52W Low 📉 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.000014 | +12.8% 🟢 | +84.3% 🟢 | +17.0% 🟢 | -50.5% 🔻 | +326% 🟢 |
Market Cap & Liquidity: SHIB’s Size, PEPE’s Speed
SHIB still has the larger market cap, currently hovering around $8 billion. It’s listed everywhere- Binance, Coinbase, Robinhood – and enjoys deep liquidity. But that size is also a drag. It takes massive capital inflows to move it meaningfully.
PEPE is leaner, with a market cap near $5.5 billion. It’s newer, faster, and easier to pump. At its peak, it even pulled in over $8.5 billion in daily volume following its Coinbase listing, showing traders are hungry for it (source).
SHIB’s got the numbers- 1.5 million holders, a long median hold time of 230 days, and a 3.9M-strong X following. But that size can be a double-edged sword. It’s harder to ignite fresh hype, and its recent community sentiment has been lukewarm. Whale holdings are still significant, and new user growth has slowed.
PEPE’s holder count just passed 100,000, but it’s growing – and loud. On X, PEPE has more daily mentions than SHIB. In March 2025, PEPE had 14,590 daily mentions vs. SHIB’s 9,820 (source). Whale dominance has started to decline, and recent growth in sub-$1 transactions suggests growing grassroots adoption.
Utility & Ecosystem: Tech vs. Meme
SHIB is building. It has Shibarium, its own Layer-2 blockchain, with over 1 billion transactions processed, a metaverse in development, and supporting tokens like BONE and LEASH. There’s also a burn mechanism via Shibarium fees, and NFT/metaverse plans.
PEPE? No roadmap, no dev team updates – just meme. Its contract is renounced and tax-free. Yet despite zero utility, it has delivered more price action than most tokens with roadmaps. A few staking and liquidity farming opportunities have emerged, but fundamentally, it’s community-driven chaos – and it works.
Sentiment & Speculation: Who’s Hotter Now?
Shiba Inu has long-term believers, but right now, the buzz is muted. PEPE, on the other hand, is trending. On CoinMarketCap, 87% of voters feel bullish on PEPE, compared to far lower enthusiasm for SHIB.
PEPE’s meme status and viral appeal give it an edge in short-term FOMO cycles. Shiba Inu has infrastructure- but infrastructure takes time to influence price.
Verdict: PEPE Has the Edge
If you’re looking to put $2,000 into a meme coin today, PEPE looks like the better play. It’s on an upswing, it’s trending hard, and the upside is bigger if momentum continues. Sure, it’s riskier – but the reward profile is better, too.
SHIB isn’t dead. It’s just slower. It may shine again when its ecosystem matures or another bull wave hits. But right now, PEPE is where the energy is.
Winner: PEPE.
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