Memecoins rip into 2026 with 23% market cap pump

Memecoin transaction volume has also spiked, jumping from $2.2 billion to $8.7 billion, a 300% increase.

Crypto traders flooded back to memecoins as the new year turned, driving memecoin market capitalization up by over 23% in the last week after trading at a yearly low in the final days of 2025.

The memecoin market cap crossed $47.7 billion on Monday, up from $38 billion on Dec. 29, according to cryptocurrency data platform CoinMarketCap.

The top three memecoins by market capitalization have posted double-digit gains in the past week. Dogecoin (DOGE) has gained over 20%, Shibu Inu (SHIB) has risen 19.9%, and Pepe (PEPE) has soared by over 65%.

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