Dogecoin Barks Up Huge Gains as Bitcoin Climbs and Meme Coins Show Signs of Life
Dogecoin (DOGE) surged over 17% this week, topping $0.155 before pulling back to $0.146, as Bitcoin neared $95,000 and the broader crypto market rebounded. DOGE’s rise coincided with positive inflows into DOGE ETFs, totaling $3.9 million in early January. The entire meme coin category gained more than 24%, with standout performances from Pepe (PEPE) up 56% and Shiba Inu (SHIB) up 27%, outperforming Bitcoin (4.8%) and Ethereum (9.2%). Solana-based tokens like Bonk (BONK) and PENGU also saw significant weekly gains. After a decline in token launches and trading volume on meme coin launchpads in late 2025, activity has rebounded in early 2026, with daily new token creations again surpassing 25,000 and launchpad volumes exceeding $100 million. Major meme coins like Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) and Dogwifhat (WIF) saw their volumes jump over 48% in the last day, each surpassing $1 billion. Social media data indicates growing interest in meme coins, with sentiment and online attention rebounding strongly in early 2026.
