DOGE Barks Back — Is Meme Coin Set for a Comeback?
Meme coin advocates remain optimistic, though some say a shakeup in the portfolio is inevitable.
Dogecoin (DOGE) has rallied 14.5% over the past week, reclaiming its place amid a broader meme coin rally. The rally has been fueled by investors’ increased appetite for risk assets.
Meme coins have helped push the portfolio up 11%, according to CoinGecko, with other major tokens like Pepe and Shiba Inu both up more than 10%, recouping some of their earlier losses. Newcomers like SPX6900 and FARTCOIN have been even stronger, up 70% and 104% respectively over the past seven days.
The rally has given the meme coin community renewed hope after a week of declines. However, some observers warn that the future of these tokens remains uncertain, and investors need to prepare for change. Meme coins are based on popular culture and current events, and their volatility has led many to believe that there will be major changes in the category.
"I don't think you can keep launching thousands of tokens every day and expect a vibrant community to follow each one," Joe McCann, founder of crypto fund Asymmetric, said on the Unchained podcast. "There will need to be new implementations, innovations, or changes in how meme coins work."
The total market capitalization of meme coins has fallen to $58.7 billion, according to CoinGecko. Dog-themed tokens like DOGE and Shiba Inu had a combined market cap of over $103 billion in December.
Still, meme coin analyst Murad Mahmudov believes the category has plenty of untapped potential.
“99.99% of the world has never heard of SPX6900,” Mahmudov wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter). “When it becomes popular, everyone will rush in. If you’re here now, consider yourself lucky.”
Mahmudov remains confident that meme coins with loyal communities will pay off big for patient holders.
Meanwhile, meme coin protocols are still innovating.
Last week, Solana-based token launch platform Pump.fun launched its own decentralized exchange (DEX) to improve the trading and movement experience of tokens issued on the platform.
New Dogecoin Reserve — Strengthening DOGE as a Global Payment Method
A new initiative by the House of Doge has created a Dogecoin (DOGE) reserve worth 10 million DOGE (approximately $1.83 million USD) to strengthen the meme coin’s status as a legitimate means of payment for businesses and consumers globally. Unlike other financial reserves like the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, this DOGE reserve will not be used to protect against economic instability but to increase the use of Dogecoin in everyday transactions.
Several other platforms like DEXs and DeFi platform Wasabi Protocol are also adding new features to enhance the user experience.
“We built Wasabi for times like this, when users need to protect their capital and make sustainable returns from it,” Eren, a core contributor to Wasabi, told Decrypt.
Eren predicts that meme coin sentiment will gradually recover from the LIBRA token scandal, and that in the long run, participants will adapt and continue to trade what they find attractive.
Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump.fun, emphasized that his company has built a product with a vision to last at least a decade and believes that meme coins will continue to grow.
“Despite the market sell-off, meme coins remain an integral part of the crypto space. When major tokens stop falling, meme coin activity quickly stabilizes and shows signs of growth again,” he said.