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Memecoins similar Pepe (PEPE), Bonk (BONK), and Dogecoin (DOGE) were among the best-performing cryptocurrencies connected Friday, posting important gains arsenic the marketplace geared up for 2026.
Key takeaways:
Memecoin marketplace headdress surged 8% to $39.45 billion, a two-week high, signalling beardown demand.
PEPE led gains with 23.6%, BONK +10%, DOGE +8%; fueled by influencer hype and bold 2026 predictions.
Spike successful memecoin unfastened involvement implicit the past 24 hours reflects increasing bullish bets.
Memecoin marketplace headdress adds $3 billion
The latest emergence in memecoin prices has seen the full marketplace capitalization scope a two-week precocious of $39.45 cardinal connected Friday arsenic Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin switched his illustration representation to a meme NFT.
🚨 LATEST: Vitalik Buterin switching his illustration representation to a Milady NFT reportedly sent the collection’s level terms up astir 50%. pic.twitter.com/o2jLYlSDPW
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 2, 2026The past clip the memecoin marketplace headdress was supra $39 cardinal was connected Dec. 20. The aggregate marketplace worth of cryptocurrencies successful this assemblage is up 8% implicit the past 24 hours.
Memecoin marketplace capitalization and regular trading volume. Source: CoinMarketCapPEPE, the Ethereum-based memecoin, led the gains, rising 23.6% implicit the past 24 hours. Pepe’s rival connected Solana, BONK, recorded 10% regular gains, portion DOGE, the largest memecoin by marketplace cap, jumped 8% implicit the aforesaid clip frame.
Top memecoins’ terms performance. Source: CoinMarketCapWhile not a full-blown rally, this show hints astatine a imaginable "meme season" driven by a premix of factors, including the buzz astir MemeMax_Fi, a perp DEX for memecoins, allowing users to commercialized with 100x leverage.
“What I similar astir @MemeMax_Fi is however it understands attraction arsenic capital,” trader @ken_w3b3 said successful a caller X post, adding:
“Memes aren’t conscionable civilization here, they’re liquidity, momentum, and assemblage vigor rolled into 1 system.”Memecoins OI and trading measurement emergence sharply
The emergence successful memecoins connected Friday was preceded by an summation successful open interest (OI), with PEPE gaining 77% successful OI implicit the past 24 hours to $441 million.
Open interest refers to the full magnitude of pending derivative contracts that person not yet been settled. In a futures contract, for each seller, a purchaser is required to settee the contract.
Related: Can Solana shed its memecoin representation successful 2026?
PENGU saw its OI leap by implicit 27% connected the time to $90.73 million, portion DOGE’s OI was lasting astatine $1.71 billion, up astir 4.5%.
Memecoin OI chart. Source: CoinGlassThe illustration supra besides revealed a notable summation successful the regular trading measurement of memecoins successful the derivatives market, with PEPE starring the leap by 402%. Overall, the regular trading measurement of memecoins has risen 35% successful the past 24 hours to $4.75 billion.
The emergence successful OI and trading measurement for memecoins usually indicates bullish momentum successful the marketplace arsenic leverage traders unfastened much contracts successful anticipation of terms increases.
Technical rally for memecoins
The existent bullishness successful memecoin prices is preceded by a beardown method operation by TOTAL3, oregon the full marketplace headdress of each cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which has experienced a important emergence implicit the past 2 days.
The illustration beneath shows that TOTAL3 has accrued by 22% since Wednesday, to an intra-day precocious of $848 cardinal connected Friday. This emergence happened wrong an ascending parallel transmission connected the four-hour chart, arsenic shown below.
Traders bought the dips arsenic the comparative spot scale (RSI) fell to oversold levels of 25 successful mid-December. The RSI’s speechmaking is presently 65, suggesting that trader involvement successful altcoins is expanding arsenic momentum picks up.
Total crypto marketplace headdress excluding BTC and ETH. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewIf TOTAL3 manages to flooded the beardown absorption astatine $848 billion, embraced by the triangle’s precocious trendline and the 200 SMA, it volition emergence toward the measured people of the triangle astatine $900 billion. If this happens, altcoins, including large memecoins, whitethorn proceed rallying implicit the adjacent fewer weeks.
As Cointelegraph reported, crypto sentiment has yet moved retired of the “extreme fear” territory, suggesting that the marketplace is primed for a recovery.
This nonfiction does not incorporate concern proposal oregon recommendations. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, and readers should behaviour their ain probe erstwhile making a decision. While we strive to supply close and timely information, Cointelegraph does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, oregon reliability of immoderate accusation successful this article. This nonfiction whitethorn incorporate forward-looking statements that are taxable to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph volition not beryllium liable for immoderate nonaccomplishment oregon harm arising from your reliance connected this information.
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