Meme coins start 2026 hot as traders look for high-return markets

Meme coins surged from a $38 billion market capitalization on December 29 to $47.7 billion on Monday, representing an approximately 23% increase.

The surge in market capitalization, according to some analysts, is a sign that investors are prepared to take on more risk after a relatively dull holiday period. Nonetheless, the current data still represents a typical meme cycle, and with volatility levels still elevated, the assets could still see a drawdown.

The interest comes as Base creator Jesse Pollak has sparked a fresh debate in the crypto ecosystem after predicting that memes may make a significant comeback in 2026, positioning them as more than a passing gimmick, but a fundamental aspect of on-chain culture.

Pollak’s comment, posted to social media publicly, follows in Pollak’s long-held belief that memes and meme coins are integral to stimulating user adoption.

Meme coins started to gain after FUD peaked around Christmas

The popular and leading meme coins have made a significant comeback. Dogecoin surged more than 20%, Shiba Inu had added 19.9%, and Pepe has jumped over 65%. The broader cryptocurrency market, meanwhile, rose just 5%, with Bitcoin gaining 5% to $92,300 and Ethereum climbing 7.3% to $3,168.

Traders see the meme coin rally spilling over into altcoins, with Solana—home to much of the meme coin activity—seen as the strongest potential winner. An X user speculated, “When we see this kind of strength in meme coins, other altcoins usually follow. And historically, the altcoin that benefits the most from meme momentum is $SOL.”

Following the holiday calm, stagnation among leading cryptocurrencies prompted traders to search for opportunities in riskier assets. Meme coins filled that void, spurring a swelled trading volume and, by extension, a wider market capitalization surge.

The meme coin rally began just days after retail traders’ fears reached their highest levels, a few days after Christmas. The platform said, “As always, stay timely and capitalize on assets that the retail crowd has written off the most.”

Moreover, crypto traders — along with analysts — had started making daring predictions of memecoins before the rally, which encouraged traders.

One famous crypto trader, James Wynn, had previously stated that the meme coin PEPE had the potential to reach a $69 billion market capitalization. He believed capital would shift back toward top meme coins and strong altcoins, with PEPE poised to benefit. He claimed that PEPE is unique due to its strong social presence, and several exchanges utilize the token as part of their promotional content to attract users.

Keith A. Grossman, the payment infrastructure director at MoonPay, had also predicted a comeback of meme coins, but in a different way. He noted that what makes meme coins truly innovative is that attention can be tokenized easily and at low cost through blockchain technology.

He explained: “Before crypto, attention could only be monetized by platforms, brands, and a small group of influencers. Everyone else generated value and gave it away for free. Likes, trends, inside jokes, and communities created massive economic value.”

Ethereum stablecoin transfers exceeded $8 trillion last quarter

There is also a rise in stablecoins. According to Token Terminal, stablecoin transfers hit a record high level of over $8 trillion on Ethereum during Q4 2025. Q4’s $8 trillion in transfers is nearly twice the $4 trillion from Q2.

BlockWorks also reported that total stablecoin issuance of Ethereum surged 43% in 2025 from $127 billion to $181 billion.

BMNR Bullz wrote on X about the stablecoin performance, “The rails are already built. Adoption is catching up.”

According to RWA.xyz, Ethereum continues to serve as the main settlement layer for stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, holding roughly 65% of the total on-chain RWA value, or about $19 billion.

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