BONK, SHIB, PEPE, and more – Are memecoins really back in business?

Journalist

After weeks of silence, memecoins are starting to move again. Capital is quietly finding its way back. In fact, it can be argued that the memecoin market has been seeing a clear shift in momentum over the last 30 days.

Market capitalization fell steadily through mid-December, sliding from above $42 billion to nearly $36 billion.

However, sentiment flipped in early January. Capital rushed back in. As a result, market cap surged sharply from around $38 billion to a peak near $48 billion, before cooling to $44.69 billion.

At the same time, the volume expanded aggressively. Trading activity climbed by 17.42% to $4.75 billion, confirming that the move was driven by participation, not thin liquidity.

Importantly, the acceleration coincided with Solana [SOL] memecoins leading flows – Indicative of renewed risk appetite within the Solana ecosystem.

The aforementioned rebound suggested that speculative capital might be rotating back into high-beta assets. Moreover, holding Bitcoin [BTC] above $90,000 has been lending a supportive macro backdrop too.

Together, these factors have been contributing to a hike in confidence across crypto markets, with memecoins acting as an early risk-on indicators rather than isolated hype.

Top memecoins gain, smaller tokens chase momentum

CoinMarketCap data revealed gains concentrated among the market’s largest memecoins, reinforcing the sector’s broader rebound. Bonk [BONK] seemed to be leading this move, at press time. It jumped by 27.78% over seven days while recording $131 million in daily volume.

Such a pairing alludes to conviction, not thin liquidity pumps. In this particular case, traders showed up and stayed active.

For its part, Shiba Inu [SHIB] climbed by 15.31% over the same period. Its $5.1 billion market cap lent weight to the move. Capital rotated in steadily too, pointing to accumulation rather than short-term speculation.

Meanwhile, Pepe [PEPE] gained by 17.10%, supported by a heavy $621 million in daily volume. That level of activity seemed to confirm strong trader engagement.

Elsewhere, memecoin momentum spilled into smaller names. Dogwifhat [WIF] rose by 28.86%, Fartcoin [FARTCOIN] surged by 38.64%, and Pudgy Penguins [PENGU] added 19.84% to its value.

Their rallies came on the back of a broader market rebound too. Bitcoin [BTC] stayed above $90,000, lifting risk appetite and fueling flows into high-beta assets. After 2025’s slump, retail investors have returned, driven by post-holiday optimism, tax-loss effects, social media hype, and Solana’s low-fee ecosystem.

However, their lower market caps also imply higher volatility. To put it simply, while top memecoins have been exhibiting conviction-led strength, mid-tier tokens have been seeing short-lived hype driven by momentum chasing.

Final Thoughts

• Top memecoins led a conviction-driven rebound, supported by strong trader activity and rising volumes.

• Smaller tokens spiked on the back of short-term momentum, highlighting volatility and speculative flows in the market.