The meme coin market has added $11 billion in value as 2026 starts as trading volume jumped to $8.8 billion in the past day.
The meme sector has started 2026 with a sharp upward move. Total meme coin market cap has increased by $11 billion this week, currently around $47 billion. Daily trading activity has also reached $8.8 billion, up over 35% in the past day.
Top meme tokens posted strong weekly gains. Dogecoin DOGE $0.15 24h volatility: 1.5% Market cap: $24.48 B Vol. 24h: $1.50 B rose 18.25% over the past seven days. Shiba Inu SHIB $0.000009 24h volatility: 1.9% Market cap: $5.16 B Vol. 24h: $154.90 M gained 17.5% in the same time, while Pepe PEPE $0.000007 24h volatility: 3.0% Market cap: $2.74 B Vol. 24h: $900.35 M surged 64%.
PEPE led the sector growth and added about $1.14 billion in market cap over the past week. During this time, a trader turned $58.700 into $489,900 by holding a leveraged long position, on-chain data shared by Lookonchain shows.
Trader 0x419f turned $58.7K into $489.9K in just one week by going long on $PEPE — a 734% return.
7 days ago, he deposited $58.7K into Hyperliquid and opened a 10× long on $PEPE.
As $PEPE rallied, he continuously rolled profits into the position, building it up to 221.96M… pic.twitter.com/mQ4KlVbgIq
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 4, 2026
Shiba Inu’s 24 hour trading volume climbed more than 130% on Jan. 5 amid strong short term demand. At the time of writing, SHIB is trading near $0.00000872. If volume stays high, experts believe the second largest meme coin could soon remove a zero from its value.
Smaller meme coins like Floki Inu FLOKI $0.000054 24h volatility: 3.0% Market cap: $525.28 M Vol. 24h: $71.05 M also posted massive gains. FLOKI gained 37% over the past week, currently trading around $0.000055.
However, expert Ali Martinez noted that it is showing a TD Sequential sell signal on the 12-hour chart. He suggested a possible near term pullback risk.
TD Sequential just flashed a sell signal on $FLOKI.
A price correction may be ahead! pic.twitter.com/tR242CzPf9
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) January 5, 2026
Meme Dominance Ratio Turns Up
CryptoQuant data shows meme coin dominance in the altcoin market rebounding from extreme lows. After the meme run ended in November 2024, the meme share of total altcoin market cap kept falling and hit a low point in December 2025.
Memecoin dominance in altcoin markets | Source: CryptoQuant
In November 2024, meme coins made up about 11% of the altcoin market. By December 2025, that contribution dropped to 3.2%, the lowest level on record.
Market watcher Darkfost noted that the last time dominance hit similar levels, it came before a major meme market run. The ratio has started to move higher again, though it remains far below past peaks.
Memecoins Are Rising From The Dead
“The last time this level was reached, it preceded the launch of a massive memecoin season.” – By @Darkfost_Coc
Read More ⤵️https://t.co/e0mZn2oNX6 pic.twitter.com/NgwX0CW4Yf
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) January 5, 2026
Analyst Shah predicted on X that even a small BTC move higher in Q1 could result in aggressive upside in memes.
Memecoins are pumping again.
The total memecoin market cap is up $12 billion in 4 days.
Volume is up +$4.6 billion.
Memes will go nuclear if we get even a slight pump on BTC in Q1.
Once again people are realizing memes are superior to ALT coins.
This could be the beginning… pic.twitter.com/hwGAMcNok8
— shah (@shahh) January 4, 2026
Maxi Doge Raises $4.4M as Meme Demand Grows
Amid this meme market growth, Maxi Doge (MAXI) has started to draw market attention. The project is themed around fitness culture and aggressive trading behavior and has raised about $4.4 million so far in its active presale.
Dogecoin now trades as a mature asset with an ETF and long-standing market presence. MAXI positions itself as a high-risk, early-stage meme token targeting speculative demand. The project focuses on traders looking for short-term upside rather than long-term brand value.
MAXI Token Presale Details
MAXI uses a structure called the Maxi Fund, which is designed to support liquidity and external partnerships after launch. According to the project, early buyers can stake tokens with an annual return of 70%.
The presale offers tokens at a reduced rate compared to post-launch pricing. A major share of raised funds is allocated to marketing, while 25% is reserved for the Maxi Fund to support liquidity and promotion after listing.
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