Advertisement
Meme Coins Surge: Market Correction Incoming?
- Meme coins are outperforming in the market, with weekly gains of several hundred percent.
- The skyrocketing values of meme coins such as PEPE, SHIB, Floki, and dogwifhat indicate a broad interest in high-risk assets beyond traditional cryptocurrencies.
- The early surge in meme coin values contradicts previous market cycles where Bitcoin led the rally and meme coin interest indicated a correction.
While Bitcoin and the rest of the market are rallying, one category of coins stands out as top performers. You only need to look at the top ten by market cap and numbers 9 and 10, Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have both made extraordinary weekly gains of 104% and 271% respectively.
Related: PEPE Skyrockets by Over 115%: The Return of the Memecoins?
Both are seasoned meme coins that have been around long enough to amass a combined market cap of nearly USD $50bn (AUD $76.8bn)—naturally, they don’t have as much room for explosive growth as projects with a lower market cap.
Looking at the 7-day growth PEPE is leading the charge with an impressive 300% gain, while SHIB has the second highest gains, followed by Floki with 249% and dogwifhat (WIF) with 219%.
Bonk ranks in fifth spot with 186% gains, while meme coin godfather Dogecoin gained 111%. That makes six of the fastest gaining cryptos meme coins.
Other high weekly gainers are eCash (XEC) with 101% gains, Arweave (AR) with 75%, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with 68% and BitTorrent (New) (BTT) with 74% in the past week.
Meme Coins: End of Cycle?
The early pump in meme coins may come as a surprise because in past cycles it was Bitcoin that pumped first. Going by past performance this was when money rotated into Ethereum, then into other altcoins and eventually into high-risk assets such as meme coins.
So why are meme coins pumping already?
In past cycles investors moved into meme coins when there was a sense of a correction in Bitcoin. However, with ETFs and institutional investors here, retail seems to be only starting to get interested in crypto again.
Also, purely from a psychological standpoint, it may be that people think it’s easier to achieve large gains with meme coins rather than with BTC.
Related: Analyst Sheds Light: Are Retail Investors Returning to the Game?
One other reason is that the Fear & Greed Index is standing at 90, which indicates Extreme Greed—a value not seen since 2021.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that in the current market it’s not only meme coins that are rallying, as we have seen. Indeed, they lead the pack, but 60% of all coins have seen double-digit gains.
Coupled with the fact that Spot Bitcoin ETFs are driving Bitcoin and the entire market, it’s clear that there is significant excitement in the space.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
