Memecoin rally kicks off 2026 as Dogecoin jumps and PEPE gains

Dogecoin jumped about 11% over 24 hours and PEPE rose roughly 17% as memecoins rallied at the start of 2026, with traders trading talk of a renewed "meme season." CoinGecko's GMCI Meme Index showed the broader meme coin market at roughly $33.8 billion in market value and about $5.9 billion in 24-hour trading volume, suggesting the move extended beyond a single token.

The "dog-themed" basket was broadly higher: Shiba Inu climbed about 8%, Solana's Bonk added nearly 11% and Floki rose close to 10%. Smaller caps also moved faster, with Mog Coin up about 14% on the day and roughly 37% over seven days, while Popcat gained nearly 9% and more than 17% on the week.

Traders on X pointed to PEPE's sharp breakout and charts showing momentum flows where speculative activity can spill from large caps into meme coins once liquidity returns. Analysts said the rally comes as Bitcoin remains range bound and liquidity is uneven after the holidays, leading traders to seek the highest-beta way to express risk.

Memecoins often benefit in that environment because they move quickly, have deep derivatives on major venues and attract momentum flows that do not rely on fundamental narratives. However, these bursts can be fragile: crowded positioning, thinner spot demand or a pullback in Bitcoin can force rapid unwinds because leverage that boosts upside can also accelerate downside de-risking.

Key Topics

Crypto, Dogecoin, Pepe, Coingecko, Gmci Meme Index, Meme Coins