Crypto traders flocked to memecoins again as the brand new yr began, sending memecoin market capitalization up over 23% within the last week after trading at a one-year low in the ultimate days of 2025.
According to cryptocurrency data platform CoinMarketCap, the memecoin market cap surpassed $47.7 billion on Monday, up from $38 billion on December 29.
The three largest memecoins by market capitalization posted double-digit gains last week. Dogecoin (DOGE) is up over 20%, Shibu Inu (SHIB) is up 19.9%, and Pepe (PEPE) is up over 65%.
At the identical time, Memecoin transaction volume has skyrocketed, rising from $2.17 billion on December 29 to $8.7 billion on Monday, a rise of 300%.
Memecoin transaction volume has increased in lockstep with market capitalization. Source: CoinMarketCap
Memecoins fell over 65% in 2025, reaching a market cap of $35 billion on December 19, their lowest level of the yr, as traders' risk-taking behavior waned. Memecoins are among the many riskiest bets in crypto, so their rise could indicate that investors are willing to take more risks again.
The altcoin rally could follow memcoins
Analysts at market research platform Santiment said the memecoin rally began “shortly after FUD peaked amongst retail traders, just days after Christmas.”
And also reiterated that the market often moves in the other way to expectations, adding: “As all the time, stay tuned and make the most of assets which have been probably the most depreciated by the retail industry.”
Source: Santiment
Meanwhile, a trader speculated
“When we see any such strength in meme coins, other altcoins normally follow. And historically, Sol is the altcoin that advantages probably the most from meme momentum,” they said.
Solana was a key memecoin ecosystem through the last trading boom, and its usage rose and fell according to memecoin-related activity.
Wider crypto market lags behind memecoins
While memecoins have soared over the past week, the remainder of the cryptocurrency has lagged behind, with total market capitalization rising greater than 5%, rising from $2.97 trillion to $3.13 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5% over the past week and is trading at around $92,335 on Monday, while Ether (ETH) is up 7.3% and is trading at around $3,168.
The general mood also improves. The CoinMarketCap Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a metric that tracks crypto investor sentiment, moved to neutral on Sunday for the primary time since October, reaching a reading of 40.
