The meme coin rally of 2021 saw Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Floki Inu (FLOKI) break all barriers before being brought to halt by the bearish market influenced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, among other factors.

DOGE and SHIB were worth next to nothing, but then celebrities and social media introduced two major utilities to these meme coins that caused their prices to skyrocket: entertainment and drama.

Following the 2020 COVID market crash, investors turned to the crypto market for relief, and it was Elon Musk, chief executive officer and founder of Tesla and SpaceX, who first came out in support of Dogecoin, a meme coin that was created as a joke.

Musk supported the world's largest meme coin on several occasions and was eventually given the title of "Dogefather." Currently the tenth biggest cryptocurrency, the DOGE token rose 692% in January 2021 and then by 527% in April 2021. However, after hitting an all-time high on May 8, 2022, at a price of $0.7376, the "Elon Musk Effect" turned cold, failing to miss the much-anticipated target of $1.

Taking advantage of a sluggish movement in DOGE, Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose, and it was then dubbed the "Dogecoin Killer."

Currently ranked as the 15th biggest crypto in the industry, SHIB's price action was boosted by a rivalry between the DOGE Army and the SHIB Army, as the latter's goal was to replace DOGE from its position in the top 10 cryptocurrencies.

At the peak of the Shiba Inu Movement, the meme coin touched $0.00008845 on Oct. 28, 2021, and was finally placed above DOGE in terms of market capitalization.

Interestingly, the attention attracted by the meme coin rivalry died as both meme coins held their position among the top 20 tokens.

But the creators of Floki Inu knew that those who missed the SHIB and DOGE rallies wanted more. As a result, creators of "the people's cryptocurrency" adopted an aggressive marketing strategy, under which billboards of the meme coin were plastered on London Underground trains and buses with the caption: "Missed DOGE? Get Floki!"

Floki reached an all-time high of $0.0003437 on Nov. 4, 2021, following the aggressive ad campaign and the controversy involving the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority.

Following the crash of the Terra ecosystem, the bankruptcies of multiple crypto firms and fears of recession, however, the entertainment value and drama associated with these meme coins continue to dip. As a result, trading volumes also drop with prices.

All the price data were obtained from CoinMarketCap.

A photo of Elon Musk is displayed on a smartphone placed on representations of cryptocurrency Dogecoin in this illustration taken June 16, 2022.
A photo of Elon Musk is displayed on a smartphone placed on representations of cryptocurrency Dogecoin in this illustration taken June 16, 2022. Reuters / DADO RUVIC