While Dogecoin (DOGE -0.75%) is still the world's top meme coin by market capitalization, that's not really saying too much. Dogecoin is down nearly 90% since it hit its high back in May 2021 and now faces significant competition from many other dog-themed meme coins, including Shiba Inu. Right now, it's hard to recommend Dogecoin as a long-term investment play.
However, that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of other fun, unique cryptos out there for your investment portfolio. These cryptos, unlike Dogecoin, provide real utility. Moreover, they have superior long-run growth prospects and capitalize on emerging trends within the blockchain and crypto world. Here's a closer look at three unique cryptos that are better buys than Dogecoin right now.
Move-to-earn coins
STEPN (GMT -0.76%) has been one of the few cryptos to post huge positive returns in 2022. Launched in March, STEPN is now up more than 300% for the year. The reason for STEPN's success is simple: It pioneered an entirely new category of game called "move-to-earn."
Image source: Getty Images.
In a move-to-earn game, players can earn crypto simply by moving around with their mobile phones. In the case of STEPN, you earn crypto by jogging or running. After you first purchase a pair of digital non-fungible token (NFT) sneakers, you're free to start earning.
Obviously, the success of STEPN has spawned many look-alike move-to-earn games, each of which has an in-game governance token. The hunt is definitely now on to find the next STEPN. If you like investing in dog-themed meme coins and like playing move-to-earn games, the obvious choice is a pet-themed move-to-earn game. Why not get paid crypto, for example, every time you take your dog for a walk?
Fan tokens
Another hot category in 2022 has been the crypto fan token. The crypto that pioneered this trend is Chiliz (CHZ 1.35%), which really burst onto the scene this summer, when it was one of the top-performing altcoins (basically, anything aside from Bitcoin and Ethereum). Chiliz is the utility token of the Socios fan engagement platform, which issues fan tokens for pro sports teams and leagues around the world.
The idea here is simple but genius: The more you invest in these fan tokens, the greater the opportunity to participate in the future of your favorite team. This might include the right to vote on upcoming proposals or to receive invites to VIP events.
The most popular fan tokens right now are those issued by soccer clubs. Chiliz has partnered with some of the most popular soccer clubs around the world, including the likes of FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, to create fan tokens. These soccer club fan tokens could really explode ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022 this year. Given that Japan is the ancestral home of the Shiba Inu dog, one option for Dogecoin diehards might be to search out Japanese football club fan tokens and then root for Japan in the World Cup next month.
Metaverse coins
Finally, one option for crypto investors looking for a unique, long-term investment play is the metaverse coin. Simply stated, a metaverse coin is a coin that is the primary governance token of a specific metaverse world or a specific metaverse game.
While the most popular metaverse coins haven't been turning in great performances in 2022 -- Decentraland (MANA -0.03%) is down 80% for the year while The Sandbox (SAND -0.33%) is down 85% -- there are still some metaverse coins that have managed to buck the trend. If you go to CoinMarketCap, for example, and sort listings by "metaverse coins," you can find plenty of coins that are posting double-digit gains over the past 30 days.
But what if I told you that you could invest in a Dogecoin-inspired metaverse coin right now? The meme coin that everyone is talking about right now is Tamadoge (TAMA). It just started trading at the end of September, and it has a very low market capitalization compared to Dogecoin (less than $100 million compared to $8.5 billion), but it is an intriguing example of what a meme coin can be in 2022.
Tamadoge combines a play-to-earn metaverse game with Shiba Inu-themed NFTs. Tamadoge started trading at $0.03 and is now up to $0.09 in the span of less than two weeks. It's tremendously speculative, of course, but Tamadoge is certainly showing more price momentum than Dogecoin.
Better than Dogecoin, but still risky
So there you have it -- a handful of unique cryptos that are better buys than Dogecoin. Just keep in mind that all of these cryptos are significantly more volatile, speculative, and risky than investing in more conventional cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC 1.08%) and Ethereum (ETH 0.92%)--which are risky in their own right. But if you are looking to juice your portfolio returns and have a little bit of fun along the way, these cryptos could be worth a closer look.
