The trading volume of MEME coins soared in tandem with the market capitalization, jumping from $2.2 billion to $8.7 billion, an increase of 300%.
With the arrival of the New Year, cryptocurrency traders are flocking back to MEME coins, driving the total market capitalization of MEME coins up more than 23% over the past week, after hitting an annual low in the last days of 2025.
According to data from the cryptocurrency data platform CoinMarketCap, the total market capitalization of MEME surpassed $47.7 billion on Monday (January 5), up from $38 billion on December 29.
In terms of market capitalization, among the top three MEME coins, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose more than 20% in the past seven days, followed by Shibu Inu (SHIB) with a gain of 19.9%, while Pepe (PEPE) surged over 65%.
At the same time, the trading volume of MEME coin has also surged in tandem with its market capitalization, jumping from $2.17 billion on December 29 to $8.7 billion on Monday, an increase of 300%.
In 2025, MEME coin fell over 65%, with its market capitalization dropping to $35 billion on December 19, marking the lowest level of the year, when traders' risk appetite had clearly declined. MEME coin is considered one of the highest-risk varieties in cryptocurrency, and its rebound also indicates that investors are willing to take on higher risks again.
Altcoin rallies may follow MEME coin
Analysts from the market intelligence platform Santiment stated that the rebound of MEME coin "began a few days after Christmas when panic among retail traders reached its peak."
Analysts have reiterated that markets often move contrary to expectations, adding: "As always, timing is crucial; profits can be made from assets that retail investors are most bearish on."
Meanwhile, a trader using the account Wealthhmanger on X speculated that as traders diversify their funds into other areas, altcoins might soon experience a rally.
The trader stated: "When we see MEME coin demonstrating such strength, other altcoins typically follow suit. Historically, the altcoin that has benefited the most from MEME coin momentum is SOL."
During the last trading frenzy, Solana was an important ecosystem for MEME coin, with its usage correlating with fluctuations in MEME coin-related activity.
The broader cryptocurrency market is lagging behind MEME coin
Despite MEME coin's significant rise over the past week, the overall cryptocurrency market has lagged with a total market cap increase of just over 5%, rising from $2.97 trillion to $3.13 trillion.
Bitcoin (BTC) has risen 5% over the past week, trading around $92,335 on Monday; Ethereum (ETH) is up 7.3%, trading around $3,168.
However, overall market sentiment is also improving. The CoinMarketCap cryptocurrency fear and greed index, which tracks cryptocurrency investor sentiment, turned neutral for the first time since October on Sunday, scoring 40.
