Meme coins have become a major sector this crypto cycle, with some traders insisting they will outperform strongly, and newer tokens aligning with AI development. While Coinbase does not feature a large range of spot meme coin listings, it is a go-to exchange with high user numbers and volume, and the established meme coins that it lists may be a magnet for traders returning to crypto in a bull market.
Meme coins have been center-stage all year, and older memes have been gaining traction this month, so let’s look in detail at the listed meme coins on Coinbase, and how you can start trading them.
What Is a Meme Coin?
Before we jump into Coinbase, let’s define exactly what a meme coin is, because the concept is a little strange. In short, it’s a token that–initially at least–has no utility and is simply based around a central meme that can in some cases gain popularity and spread.
That leads to the question of why people would buy a token with no uses, and the obvious answer is simply in expectation that the price goes up, causing the meme to spread further, so more people jump on board, price goes up again, and so on.
That can equate to enormous fluctuations in price to the downside when early buyers take profits, and to the upside if large buys meet limited supply.
The first meme coin was DOGE, launched in 2013 and running on its own blockchain, and the other major meme is SHIB, which is Ethereum-based, while there are huge numbers of meme coins on Solana, including WIF and BONK, and on many other chains too, such as BRETT on Base.
Why Are Meme Coins a Big Deal Right Now?
Although meme coins have been around since the launch of DOGE, the past year has seen them occupy greater crypto mindshare than ever before, and thousands of new meme tokens continue to be launched constantly.
This has led to a situation whereby meme coins occupy a crypto category of their own, and when traders intuit that a particular chain has the potential to grow, the immediate reaction is to ask which meme coins are available within that ecosystem, as memes can offer amplified returns.
Two notable recent developments to be aware of are: 1. Influential trader Murad putting forward a thesis that meme coins outperform wildly in 2025, and 2. The emergence of AI Agent meme coins that are linked to autonomous bots or the creation of such bots (the key ticker here is GOAT).
Also though, while these developments–which are focused on newer tokens–have been playing out, the granddaddy of all meme coins, DOGE, has gone on an eye-catching post-election run, and it’s with regard to the bigger, older meme coins that Coinbase comes in handy.
Is Coinbase the Best Platform to Trade Meme Coins?
Whether or not Coinbase is a good platform for trading meme coins depends on your requirements, so let’s look at both sides of the argument, starting with the negative.
Coinbase lists very few meme coins in its spot markets, and you’re not going to find the newest nanocap memes that have the potential for those 1,000x or more gains–the kind that can turn a hundred dollars into a hundred thousand. For those kinds of plays, you need to be in the meme coin trenches on-chain, which means using fast-moving, meme-specialized platforms such as pump.fun and DEX Screener.
However, that approach is time-consuming, extremely hit-and-miss, and risky–you’re at the most casino-like fringes of the crypto world if you do this. And so on the other hand, there’s the case in favor of using Coinbase.
Basically, in a bull market mania when retail floods into crypto and wants some meme coin action, the majority probably won’t be piling on to pump.fun, they’ll be dusting off their accounts at a centralized exchange–and Coinbase is the number one CEX in the US–and checking what’s happening with the big meme tickers that are already familiar, as in, the ones listed right there on Coinbase.
Also, if you stick with meme coins on Coinbase, then you avoid some of the worst risks associated with trading very new tokens on-chain, such as rug pulls, lack of liquidity, token supplies concentrated among too few holders, and the most extreme levels of volatility (although keep in mind that even big meme coins are still volatile, and it’s that volatility that creates outsized upside potential).
Which Meme Coins on Coinbase Can I Buy?
The list of available meme coins on Coinbase to trade spot only contains four tickers, so let’s run through each of them.
DOGE
As mentioned, this is the original meme coin, and by far the largest for market cap and mainstream mindshare. DOGE hit a market cap all-time high of $75 billion in 2021, and part of that run was thanks to some DOGE-referencing tweets from Elon Musk during that year’s crypto bull market.
In fact, Musk remains a fan–when he bought Twitter, he briefly switched the bird logo for the Doge dog instead, and he will be core to the incoming Trump administration as co-leader of a new Department of Government Efficiency, and yes, the acronym for that really is D.O.G.E.
As for price action, DOGE has broken out hugely since Bitcoin exploded into price discovery mode post-election, with the original dog coin more than doubling its market cap, from below $30 billion, to a local high of almost $64 billion.
This demonstrates the pulling power of the most well-established and famous meme token, and bodes well for the rest of the meme coin space too, adding legitimacy to the idea that memes will continue to play a major role this cycle.
SHIB
The second biggest meme coin around after DOGE, SHIB launched in 2020 as an ERC-20 on Ethereum, and subsequently, in 2023, launched its own Layer-2 blockchain called Shibarium. This sets SHIB apart from many later meme coins in that it has actually built and developed beyond just memes and now has its own ecosystem, although it’s still considered a meme token.
SHIB hit an ATH in late 2021, when its market cap grew to $41.5 billion, and this year it has also surged post-election, from a market cap of around $10 billion to a local high over $17 billion.
A meme coin portfolio that only contained DOGE and SHIB would–by the standards of meme coins–be a conservative bag, but then again, recent price action demonstrates how these two very widely-listed coins attract speculation when crypto goes on the kind of bull run that generates mainstream FOMO.
Interesting read: we compared Dogecoin vs Shiba Inu
BONK
The third of the listed meme coins on Coinbase is BONK, and this one is an SPL token on the Solana blockchain. Solana has become a meme coin hub this year–launchpad pump.fun is Solana-based, and the chain’s low fees make it ideal for quick flips–and BONK is the second biggest Solana meme token by market cap, at $2.88 billion (the largest is WIF, at $3 billion, but despite its size it isn’t listed for spot trading on Coinbase).
BONK was originally airdropped to parts of the Solana community in December 2022–right after the FTX collapse had driven the whole crypto space, and Solana in particular, to deep, bear market lows–and after launch, BONK brought some positive vibes back to Solana, climbing eventually to a previous ATH in May 2024 of $2.77 billion, although that peak has this week been smashed through.
Like SHIB, BONK actually has more to it than just the token itself, as it has established other products including a DEX called BONK Swap, while BONK holders can also lock up tokens for rewards in the BONK Rewards program.
And when it comes to trading, it’s apparent that if DOGE and SHIB are catching bids, then BONK–as the other meme coin available on Coinbase–will soon follow, with gains this month of around 75%.
PEPE
The most recent Coinbase meme addition, the exchange this week announced the listing of Ethereum-based meme coin PEPE, which unofficially pays homage to the character created by artist Matt Furie.
This token was launched in April 2023, and after the listing announcement from Coinbase–which happened at the same time as the Robinhood exchange also added PEPE to its spot markets–the coin’s price surged by more than 50%, taking it to a market cap ATH above $8 billion.
Note: since this article was first posted, Coinbase has announced that it will list Solana-based meme coin WIF for spot trading, showing that crypto moves fast and there is a lot of demand for meme coins!
How to Buy Meme Coins on Coinbase
To buy any of the meme coins on Coinbase mentioned above, you’ll need to make an account there, and to find out about that process in detail, please check this guide: Getting Started With Coinbase.
When you have an account set up and funded, if you’re in the exchange’s simple mode you can just search for the coin you want, select it, and place an immediate buy order.
If you’re in Advanced Trading mode, than you need to click on the Spot tab, search for the trading pair you need, and then you can place either a Market order or a Limit order. For more details and tips about trading in Advanced Mode, please take a look at this guide: Advanced Trading on Coinbase.
Also, the information above is about Coinbase spot trading, while in its derivatives section, the exchange has contracts based on several other meme coins, but note that Coinbase derivatives trading is not available to all customers, and in some regions is not accessible at all.
Mastering Altcoin Investing – by Lark Davis
Want to take your trading skills in meme coins up a notch? Check out the Mastering Altcoin Investing, created by Lark Davis himself. Inside, you’ll find practical, step-by-step guidance on how to buy alt coins, how to take profit, when to sell, taxes and more! Plus, he talks about setting up your Ledger and keeping your crypto safe—perfect for anyone aiming to become a confident, skilled trader. Whether you’re new to trading or looking to sharpen your strategies, this course has everything you need to trade smarter and with real confidence.
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