The PEPE price has jumped by around +62% over the past seven days, currently trading at $0.0000067, and has led the memecoin resurgence since 2026 began. According to CoinGecko data, the combined memecoin market cap is up +4.9% on the day, climbing to roughly $51.2Bn, its highest level in the past few months.
SHIB and DOGE
Dogecoin
0.26%
Dogecoin
DOGE
Price
$0.0837
0.26% /24h
Volume in 24h
$385.91M
Price 7d
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followed with solid gains, up +16% and +17% in the last seven days, respectively. Trading volume across the board has increased in January so far, with both spot and futures liquidity returning to the memecoin sector following a disastrous 2025, during which Pump.fun and its competitors drained billions of retail dollars from the market.
With this promising memecoin recovery kicking off 2026, investors are wondering whether it will be a sustainable rally or yet another dead cat bounce that ends in tears for traders, à la 2025.
78% vertical move on $PEPE.
Price has tagged the 0.5 Fib level (~7168). This is a decision point, not an entry point.
• Flip to support → Eyes on 0.618
• Reject here → Expect consolidationChasing after a +78% candle usually ends in pain. Let the level confirm first. 🧠… pic.twitter.com/dhC0AP5Z6V
— CryptoHersens (@CryptoHersens) January 4, 2026
What Just Happened With the PEPE Price, and the Wider Memecoin Market?
Memecoins added around $3Bn in value overnight, pushing the sector’s market cap back over $50Bn, up nearly 5% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. PEPE is leading the way with a +62% weekly jump, with the Solana-based PENGU close behind with a +35% weekly surge.
OG memecoin Dogecoin (DOGE) is up a respectable +17% in the same timeframe, trading at $0.148, leaving many in the DOGE community wondering whether 2026 could be the year the Elon-championed memecoin finally hits $1.
2025 was a challenging year for the memecoin sector, as liquidity and trust in the space evaporated amid Pump.fun, Bonk.fun, and a handful of other memecoin token launchpads that separated investors from their hard-earned cash.
It has led to a high-profile lawsuit filed against Pump.fun and its creators, following reports that users lost between $4 and $5Bn on the platform, with a 98.5% rugpull rate on Pump.fun in particular.
This new burst of attention also aligns with broader altcoin strength: the TOTAL3 index (all crypto except BTC and ETH) climbed over +10% since mid-December. That move indicates this isn’t just a single-coin story and that traders are becoming more comfortable taking risks across both high and low-value tokens.
We’ve seen multiple ‘PEPE resurgence’ narratives in the past. For a deeper background on previous comebacks and PEPE price trading behavior, you can read our recent coverage of the PEPE comeback on 99Bitcoins.
RELATED: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in June 2026
Why Are Traders Suddenly Betting Big on Memecoins Again?
Derivatives data shows the speculative side of the market stepping on the gas. PEPE’s open interest (OI), the value of outstanding futures contracts, has more than doubled since the turn of the year, jumping from $228M on January 1 to $540M as of today (January 5), while PENGU and DOGE also saw open interest push higher, per CoinGlass data.
When open interest and volume spike together, it usually indicates that many traders are placing leveraged bets on short‑term moves. Think of open interest as the number of active side bets on future prices. The more of these outstanding bets you see, the more explosive the moves can be in either direction, because forced liquidations can snowball once price swings start.
Leading economies like the US and the UK, which are slashing interest rates throughout 2025 and into 2026, are another factor driving up the returning appetite for the memecoin sector, as lower interest rates historically signal a risk-on approach from investors.
Should Beginners Chase This Memecoin Rally?
The short answer is that retail investors should treat the memcoin sector like a casino corner of their portfolio, not the foundation. Memecoins move fast in both directions. The same +65% weekly jump in PEPE can quickly turn into a -50% drawdown once the hype fades or large traders take profits.
Leverage adds another layer of danger. When traders use 50x or 100x leverage, even a small price move can trigger liquidations, which in turn push the price further. That feedback loop often turns a normal pullback into a larger crash, especially in low-liquidity tokens.
Most of memecoins on Dexscreener are SCAM!
Even experienced traders fall into scammers' traps and lose over $300k
Here’s how to identify a SCAM and a 100x GEM 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/8CI4xcVlMw
— HinkoK (@hinkok_) November 15, 2024
For seasoned traders, the following will be seen as obvious, but for new investors entering the crypto space for the first time in 2026, it is always smart to adhere to the following ruleset:
- Never use rent, bills, or emergency money on memecoins
- Cap memecoin exposure to a small slice of your total crypto stack (many beginners use 1–3% as a personal rule)
- Avoid high leverage completely and possibly avoid it altogether; beginners can lose a lot very quickly with leverage trading
- Size positions so a 70–80% drop hurts your ego, not your life
If you prefer to study the sector rather than ape in, our coverage of memecoin rallies can help you spot common patterns—such as spikes in open interest, influencer posts, and sudden token burn announcements, without risking real capital right away.
As memecoins appear to be resurfacing, they are benefiting from both renewed altcoin strength and a new wave of attention-driven trading tools. Whether you join the frenzy or watch from the sidelines, treat this as high‑risk entertainment and keep your long‑term wealth in safer, better‑researched assets.
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