PUPS the word! Is this memecoin the new WIF in the Bitcoin world?

• PUPS, a memecoin on the Bitcoin network, garnered massive attention
• Blue chip memecoins failed to see green as WIF, DOGE, and PEPE faced corrections

The memecoin sector has seen significant growth since the beginning of the year. In fact, chains such as Solana [SOL] have gained immensely from this rising interest in this subset of cryptocurrencies.

Memes coming to Bitcoin?

Even though memecoins are primarily being traded on alt chains, new developments suggest that the Bitcoin [BTC] network could soon enter the memecoin sector in the future.

Recently, a Bitcoin native memecoin called “PUPS” has been making waves on social media, attracting significant attention. One factor contributing to this buzz is the significant surge in the price of PUPS.

Over the last 24 hours, for instance, the price of PUPS skyrocketed by 234.3%. At the time of writing, PUPS was trading at $19.97.

Source: Coingecko

What is PUPS?

PUPS stands as a testament to the burgeoning memecoin culture within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Launched in March 2023, it predates the official Bitcoin Puppets collection, establishing itself as the OG memecoin. The free mint airdropped to the “OPIUM ordinal community” quickly gained traction, becoming a massive in-joke within the community. This airdrop was the first-ever BRC-20 airdrop on Bitcoin, a unique technical feat that further cemented PUPS’s place in the Bitcoin Ordinal meme landscape.

Source: X

The role of Runes

Traditionally, memecoins have thrived on alternative blockchains like Solana due to their faster transaction speeds and lower fees. Bitcoin, with its slower pace and higher transaction costs, wasn’t exactly a hospitable environment for these fast-moving, often humor-driven tokens. PUPS, existing on Bitcoin through the BRC-20 standard, is a bit of an anomaly.

This is where Runes enters the scene. Developed by Casey Rodarmor, the brain behind Ordinals, Runes is a brand new protocol that allows fungible tokens like memecoins to function natively on the Bitcoin network.

Runes will be arriving on the Bitcoin network after the much-anticipated halving.

New “WIF” in town?

Due to the hype around PUPS and the Rune network, PUPS is being touted as the “WIF” of Bitcoin. Only time will tell whether PUPS can live up to the hype or whether it’s all bark and no bite for the memecoin.

Source: X

Mainstream memecoins such as DOGE, PEPE, and WIF did not have the same luck as PUPS in recent days. In fact, the price for all of these tokens declined over the past week.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Niche memecoins such as BODEN on the Solana network did relatively well though, appreciating by 85% over the last 7 days.

Source: DEXscreener