Memecoins jump 23% post-holidays as traders return
Crypto traders returned to memecoins as the new year turned, with memecoin market capitalization increasing by more than 23% last week after an annual low in the last days of 2025.
The market value of memecoin crossed $47.7 billion on Monday, from $38 billion on December 29, according to cryptocurrency data platform CoinMarketCap.
The top three memecoins by market capitalization posted double-digit gains in the past week. Dogecoin (DOGE) is up more than 20%, Shibu Inu (SHIB) is up 19.9%, and Pepe (PEPE) is up more than 65%.
At the same time, memecoin's trading volume increased, jumping from $2.17 billion to $8.7 billion on December 29, representing a 300% increase.
Memecoins fell more than 65% in 2025, with a market capitalization of $35 billion on December 19, the lowest level of the year, as risk-taking among traders declined. Memecoins are among the riskiest bets in crypto, so their rally could indicate that investors are willing to take on more risk.
Altcoin Rally May Follow Memcoins.
Analysts at market intelligence platform Sentiment said MemCoin's rally began shortly after Christmas when FUD peaked among retail traders.
And he also reiterated that the market often moves in the opposite direction to expectations, “As always, stay in the moment and take advantage of the assets that the retail crowd has overwritten.
Meanwhile, a trader at X, posting under the handle Wealthhmanger, speculated that altcoins could soon see a rally as traders spread capital to other areas.
“When we see this kind of strength in meme coins, other altcoins often follow. And historically, it's the altcoin that has benefited more from meme momentum,” he said.
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Solana was a key ecosystem for memecoins during the recent trading turmoil, and its use rose and fell with memecoin-related activity.
The broader crypto market lags behind memecoins.
While memecoins were on a tear last week, the rest of crypto lagged behind, with the total market cap growing more than 5% from $2.97 trillion to $3.13 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5% over the past week, and is trading around $92,335 as of Monday, while Ether (ETH) is up 7.3% to trade at $3,168.
The general mood is also improving. The CoinMarketCap Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a metric tracking crypto investor sentiment, turned neutral on Sunday for the first time since October, gaining 40 points.
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