• Shiba Inu was the most traded coin on WazirX, the largest crypto exchange in India, beating out Bitcoin, which took second place.
• Bitcoin was the only non-meme coin in the top five, with the others being Pepe, Floki and Doge, showcasing just how big meme coins have been in this bull market.

Shiba Inu was the most traded crypto on WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, in the first quarter, beating Bitcoin and other meme coins.

Meme coins have always been the ideal entry point for new crypto traders, with their fun-focused approach appealing to novices. Dogecoin starred in the 2021 bull run, where its market cap shot as high as $90 billion. New-age meme coins have grabbed the spotlight in recent years and have recorded the highest gains in the market.

In India, it’s Shiba Inu that has cornered the market. As WazirX revealed recently, SHIB was the most traded coin in the country in the first quarter. In that time, its price shot up from $0.00001034 to $0.00003592, a 247% increase for a $21.16 billion market cap.

It has since shed some of the gains, and at press time, it was trading at $0.00002725, gaining 1.7 in the past day but shedding close to 10% in the past week.

While it’s a surprise that SHIB beat all other cryptos on the Indian exchange, its continued adoption comes as little surprise. The token has been making strategic moves to expand beyond being a mere meme coin, and they are paying off. As Crypto News Flash reported, Shibarium exceeded three million transactions in February and has over 1.5 million wallet addresses.

These moves have seen even the most staunch Bitcoin maxis get into the Ethereum-based meme coin, with institutional purchases surging over 400% in recent days, as Crypto News Flash reported.

Shiba Inu Leads in a Meme Coin-Dominated Market

Bitcoin was the second-most traded coin on WazirX. The top crypto has had an impressive quarter, hitting a new record high at over $73,000. The first quarter also saw significant milestones in the crypto’s journey to mainstream adoption, with spot ETFs launching in January.

BlackRock and Fidelity, two of the world’s largest asset managers, have taken the lead in Bitcoin ETFs, signaling a future where Bitcoin will be owned by some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people.

However, after Bitcoin, the other three spots were also held by meme coins.

Pepe was third on the charts, with Floki and Doge rounding the top five. WazirX’s list proves that the days when meme coins were dismissed as a passing fad are firmly behind us.

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, is among those who have publicly acknowledged the significance of the meme coin segment to crypto. Recently, he noted that he could never have predicted their success five years ago. However, as CNF reported, he pointed out that he is hopeful meme coins can be used to make more positive changes in society.