Meme Coin Market Soars in Early 2026: What’s Driving the Surge?

Jakarta, Pintu News – The meme coin market started 2026 with a significant surge and sparked widespread optimism. Since the start of the new year, the industry has recorded a massive 30% increase, marking an impressive resurgence after a tumultuous 2025.

With Bitcoin (BTC) price trading above $90,000 and targeting the crucial $100,000 level, meme coins are in a position to rally big time. Some of the top meme coins are already recording impressive gains, and experts and analysts remain confident that the market will explode in the first quarter of 2026.

Meme Coin Market in the Spotlight in 2026

In line with the overall upward trend in the crypto industry, the meme coin market showed a marked recovery this year.

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According to a post by an analyst named Shah on the X platform, the total market capitalization of meme tokens increased by $12 billion in just four days. Trading volume also jumped by $4.6 billion, signaling increased community interest and investment in the sector.

Predicting a potential meme coin market rally this quarter, the analyst wrote in X:

“Meme coin will explode if BTC goes up just a little bit in Q1. People are starting to realize again that memes are superior to ALT coins. This could be the start of a crazy rally.”

Currently, the meme coin’s market capitalization has reached $47.3 billion, experiencing a daily increase of 2.03%. The 24-hour trading volume also jumped sharply to $8.83 billion, up about 40%. This shows that the meme coin sector is increasingly attracting investor interest, and is slowly evolving from a speculative asset to a more mature and active participation-based asset class.

Top meme tokens such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) have recorded significant gains in recent days. In the past seven days, the price of DOGE increased by 18.55%, while SHIB and PEPE increased by 17% and 65% respectively.

Besides these major players, a number of other meme-based tokens have also shown positive trends since the beginning of 2026. Some smaller tokens have even been able to outperform altcoins in this rally.

Revealing the Key Reasons Behind Meme Coin Market Recovery

Interestingly, the resurgence of the meme coin market in 2026 comes after a weak performance in the previous year. According to experts, the return of this positive trend signals that retail investors are starting to re-enter the market.

Read also: Dogecoin Price Corrected Slightly Today: Is DOGE’s Bearish Pressure Starting to Weaken?

After a period of caution, retail investors seem to be showing renewed interest with a fresh approach.

Data from Santiment supports this notion, suggesting that market growth follows a December surge in fear, uncertainty, and doubt(FUD) among retail investors. This is also reinforced by the increased search volume for meme tokens since January 1.

Additionally, analysts like Tervelix are of the opinion that tax-related developments are also driving the meme coin’s huge rally. Since crypto assets are classified as property instead of securities, the crypto community can sell and buy back their assets directly without being hit by wash sale rules.

Experts consider this phenomenon to be the main trigger for market momentum in January. The analyst writes:

“That’s why in the first week of every new year (except the 2022 bear market), we witness a massive price reset. The whales and big funds clear their positions for tax purposes, then re-enter the market to chase the first quarter narrative.”

As such, the strong spike in early 2026 is a signal that meme coins are starting to show their dominance in the crypto market, even though they are still considered speculative. If this trend continues, meme tokens have the potential to experience a huge rise in the first quarter of this year and could become a serious competitor to altcoins.

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*Disclaimer

This content aims to enrich readers’ information. Pintu collects this information from various relevant sources and is not influenced by outside parties. Note that an asset’s past performance does not determine its projected future performance. Crypto trading activities have high risk and volatility, always do your own research and use cold cash before investing. All activities of buying and selling bitcoin and other crypto asset investments are the responsibility of the reader.

Reference:

• Coingape. Meme Coin Market Sees Massive Comeback in 2026 – Here’s Why. Accessed on January 6, 2026