The cryptocurrency market has witnessed a significant surge in memecoin trading as the new year commences, with the memecoin market capitalization increasing by over 23% in the last week. This substantial growth follows a period of trading at a one-year low in the final days of 2025. According to data from CoinMarketCap, a leading cryptocurrency data platform, the memecoin market cap surpassed $47.7 billion on Monday, up from $38 billion on December 29.
The three largest memecoins by market capitalization have posted impressive double-digit gains last week. Notably, Dogecoin (DOGE) has seen an increase of over 20%, Shibu Inu (SHIB) is up 19.9%, and Pepe (PEPE) has surged by over 65%. This remarkable growth is a clear indication of the renewed interest in memecoins among crypto traders. 
Memecoin transaction volume has increased in lockstep with market capitalization, rising from $2.17 billion on December 29 to $8.7 billion on Monday, an increase of 300%. Source: CoinMarketCap
Memecoin Rally and Its Implications
Memecoins had previously fallen by over 65% in 2025, reaching a market cap of $35 billion on December 19, their lowest level of the year. This decline was largely attributed to a decrease in traders’ risk-taking behavior. However, the recent surge in memecoin trading suggests that investors are once again willing to take on more risk. This shift in sentiment could have significant implications for the broader cryptocurrency market.
Analysts at market research platform Santiment have noted that the memecoin rally began shortly after FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) peaked among retail traders, just days after Christmas. They also emphasized that the market often moves in the opposite direction to expectations, advising investors to stay tuned and take advantage of assets that have been the most depreciated by the retail industry. 
Source: Santiment
Altcoin Rally and Wider Crypto Market
A trader has speculated that when memecoins exhibit this type of strength, other altcoins usually follow. Historically, Solana has been the altcoin that benefits the most from meme momentum. Solana was a key memecoin ecosystem during the last trading boom, and its usage rose and fell in line with memecoin-related activity.
While memecoins have soared over the past week, the rest of the cryptocurrency market has lagged behind, with the total market capitalization rising by more than 5%, 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 in the cryptocurrency market has also improved, with the CoinMarketCap Crypto Fear and Greed Index moving to neutral on Sunday for the first time since October, reaching a reading of 40.
For more information on the memecoin rally and its implications for the cryptocurrency market, visit https://cointelegraph.com/news/memecoins-post-holiday-rally-23-percent?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss_tag_altcoin&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
