Memecoins Are Rising From the Dead After Hitting Historic Lows, Says CryptoQuant
Memecoins have surged again to life following a historic collapse that pushed their market share to unprecedented lows in December 2025.
The sector has added over $8 billion in market capitalization since the begin of 2026, with main tokens posting double-digit features that caught merchants off guard.
This sudden reversal comes after a 12 months marked by declining curiosity and contracting valuations.
CryptoQuant data exhibits that memecoin dominance in the altcoin market hit a historic low in December 2025, dropping to three.2% from 11% in November 2024.
The final time this metric reached such depths preceded a large memecoin rally, suggesting the present rebound may mark the starting of one other speculative cycle.
Market Rebounds With Force After Holiday Slump
PEPE led the cost with a 65% acquire year-to-date, climbing 34% in a single 24-hour interval. BONK additionally surged 49% whereas FLOKI jumped 40%.
Trading volumes reached $9 billion as brief liquidations amplified worth actions.
The rally started instantly after the vacation interval, when merchants sometimes preserve cautious positions.
Lower volatility in Bitcoin created area for speculative belongings to draw capital.
In truth, throughout the identical interval, Bitcoin has turned a brand new leaf, beginning the 12 months by breaking the $90K resistance and at present buying and selling round $93,000.
Dogecoin broke by way of a multi-year downtrend with over 20% acquire whereas Shiba Inu added 18.9% on the week.
On-chain knowledge confirmed renewed accumulation in PUMP, BONK, and FLOKI as pockets interactions elevated sharply.
Social sentiment shifted dramatically as PEPE added roughly $3 billion to its market capitalization in a single day.
The token’s buying and selling quantity exceeded the broader market common by greater than 3 times, reflecting intense speculative curiosity.
Fear of lacking out unfold quickly throughout crypto platforms as sidelined merchants rushed to seize momentum.
Platform Dominance Shapes Sector Recovery
According to Messari’s report, Pump.enjoyable continues to dominate Solana’s token ecosystem, accounting for 70-77% of latest launches and as much as 25% of each day community transactions.
Over 13 million tokens have been created by way of the platform since early 2024, representing greater than one-third of all tokens on Solana.
The platform has generated over $866 million in lifetime income whereas directing practically all each day charges towards buybacks which have eliminated roughly 8% of PUMP’s circulating provide.
Despite the emergence of competing launchpads, impartial memecoins nonetheless management 86.2% of whole market capitalization, in accordance with CoinGecko’s State of Memecoins 2025 Report.
Launchpad-based tokens peaked at 20.5% market share in January 2025 earlier than declining, suggesting grassroots launches retain stronger neighborhood assist.
Dog-themed memecoins preserve dominance at 39.5% of the sector excluding Dogecoin, although frog and cat tokens like PEPE, POPCAT, and MEW have additionally captured consideration.
Geographic curiosity stays concentrated in the United States, which accounted for 30% of memecoin-related web page views in November 2025, up from 20% at the begin of the 12 months.
Seven of the high ten most nations are from rising markets, collectively representing 38% of whole curiosity, reflecting robust retail participation in areas with mobile-first entry.
Analysts Eye Historical Patterns for Guidance
The present setup mirrors the situations in late 2020 that preceded the 2021 memecoin explosion.
A quiet December marked by low volumes gave solution to sharp January features fueled by post-tax-loss harvesting and renewed speculative urge for food.
That cycle ultimately pushed the sector’s market cap from beneath $10 billion to greater than $100 billion.
Some analysts challenge the sector may attain $69 billion in market capitalization throughout Q1 2026 if present momentum holds.
Sustained Bitcoin stability may present the basis for an prolonged rally as merchants rotate capital into high-beta belongings.
Bitcoin climbed again above $92k on Monday as Asian shares superior and oil turned uneven after a US transfer in Venezuela reshaped international threat sentiment.#AsiaMarketOpen #CryptoMarket https://t.co/WJBohJCTQo
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 5, 2026
However, warning stays warranted. The transfer may show to be a bull lure if buying and selling volumes fade or macroeconomic pressures intensify.
Currently, key metrics to look at embody open curiosity progress and shifts in capital towards higher-risk belongings.
If retail participation strengthens, 2026 may play out equally to 2021’s memecoin surge, although heightened volatility will possible persist regardless.
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