Cryptocurrency traders flocked to meme coins as the new year began, and the market capitalization of meme coins, which traded at yearly lows at the end of 2025, has risen more than 23% in the last week.
Memecoin’s market capitalization exceeded $47.7 billion on Monday, up from $38 billion on Dec. 29, according to crypto data platform CoinMarketCap.
The top three meme coins by market capitalization have posted double-digit gains over the past week. Dogecoin (DOGE) rose more than 20%, Shiba Inu (SHIB) soared 19.9%, and Pepe (PEPE) soared more than 65%.
At the same time, meme coin trading volume has skyrocketed, jumping from $2.17 billion on December 29 to $8.7 billion on Monday, an increase of 300%.
Memecoin has fallen more than 65% since 2025, hitting its lowest level this year with a market cap of $35 billion on December 19, as risk-taking behavior declined among traders. Memecoin is one of the riskiest bets in cryptocurrencies, so the rally in Memecoin could indicate investors are once again willing to take on more risk.
Altcoin rise could follow meme coins
Analysts at market intelligence platform Santiment said the memecoin rally “started just days after Christmas, when FUD reached its all-time high among retail traders.”
They added that markets often move in the opposite direction to expectations, and “as always, act in a timely manner and take advantage of the retail industry’s most written-off assets.”
Meanwhile, a trader at X, posting under the handle Wealthmanger, speculated that altcoins could also rise soon as traders diversify their funds into other areas.
“When we see this kind of strength in a memecoin, other altcoins typically follow suit. And historically, the altcoin that benefits most from meme momentum is Sol,” they said.
Related: PEPE and BONK record double-digit gains: are meme coins back?
Solana was an important ecosystem for memecoins during the last trading frenzy, and its usage waxed and waned in line with memecoin-related activity.
Broad crypto market lags behind meme coins
While meme coins tumbled last week, the rest of the cryptocurrencies have lagged behind, with their overall market capitalization rising more than 5%, from $2.97 trillion to $3.13 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) has risen 5% over the past week and is trading at around $92,335 as of Monday, while Ether (ETH) is up 7.3% and trading at around $3,168.
Overall sentiment has also improved. CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index, an index that tracks crypto investor sentiment, turned neutral on Sunday for the first time since October, with a score of 40.
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