Dogecoin, the first meme coin launched in 2013, grew from humorous roots into brief surges driven by celebrity attention. Its all-time high of $0.74 in 2021 coincided with Elon Musk’s SNL appearance, after which the price retreated, dropping more than 80% from the peak. The meme-based nature and limited utility of Dogecoin illustrate why meme coins can be highly volatile and risky for retirement portfolios.
The Ethereum Classic split followed a 2016 hack that led to the theft of $50 million in tokens. The Ethereum Foundation reversed the hack, creating a new chain, while others chose to remain with the original, Ethereum Classic. Compared with Ethereum, Ethereum Classic has significantly underperformed; Ethereum is valued around $362 billion, while Ethereum Classic sits near $2 billion, with Ethereum’s gains far exceeding Classic’s. The total value locked into Ethereum protocols stands near $70 billion, accounting for roughly 64% of the TVL across blockchains; Ethereum Classic has only about $208,000 in TVL.
Worldcoin, developed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, aims to verify humans online via iris scans using a device called an Orb and reward verified users with WLD tokens. Privacy concerns have prompted regulatory scrutiny or bans in several countries, and Worldcoin has also performed poorly as an investment, down nearly 70% since its 2023 launch. The World ID target of 50 million verifications by 2025 has fallen short, with fewer than 18 million verified to date. For retirement savers, such projects should be considered only with careful due diligence and a search for genuine value.
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