Meme Coins Lead the Rebound, Rising Risk Appetite May Signal Altcoin Season

Odaily News According to Odaily, after entering 2026, capital has flowed back into the Meme coin sector, driving the market cap of related tokens to rise by over 23% in the past week. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the total market capitalization of Meme coins has recovered from around $38 billion on December 29 to over $47.7 billion. During the same period, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu rose by over 20% and 19.9% respectively, while Pepe surged by more than 65%. Trading volume also expanded from approximately $2.17 billion to $8.7 billion, an increase of about 300%.

Analysis suggests that Meme coins are typically viewed as high-risk assets, and their leading strength often reflects a warming market risk appetite. Santiment points out that this round of rebound occurred after a period of peak pessimism among retail investors, aligning with the historical characteristic of markets "running counter to sentiment." Some traders further believe that if the strength in Meme coins persists, capital may gradually spill over into other altcoin sectors, with the Solana ecosystem potentially becoming a primary beneficiary. (Cointelegraph)