Memecoins rally to start 2026, with Dogecoin and PEPE jumping as much as 25%.

The meme coin sector is heating up early in 2026, with strong gains across major tokens and rising activity signaling a renewed appetite for speculative risk.

Dogecoin and PEPE led the rebound on Friday, reviving “meme season” chatter among traders. Dogecoin climbed roughly 11% over the past 24 hours, while PEPE jumped about 17% following a sharp intraday move.

Broader data suggests the rally extends beyond a single token. CoinGecko’s GMCI Meme Index showed the category’s total market value at around $33.8 billion, with approximately $5.9 billion in 24-hour trading volume, pointing to increased participation across the meme coin space.

Dog-themed tokens were broadly higher. Alongside Dogecoin, Shiba Inu gained about 8%, Solana-based Bonk advanced nearly 11%, and Floki rose close to 10%.

Smaller-cap meme coins posted even sharper moves. Mog Coin climbed around 14% on the day and roughly 37% over the past week, while Popcat gained nearly 9% and is up more than 17% over seven days.

Traders on X highlighted PEPE’s breakout as a key driver, with technical charts suggesting momentum traders are once again rotating into meme coins as liquidity improves. Similar setups in the past have seen speculative flows move from larger-cap assets into higher-beta meme tokens.

The rally comes as bitcoin remains rangebound and liquidity remains uneven following the holiday period. In that environment, traders often turn to meme coins as a high-beta way to express risk without waiting for a clear macro catalyst. Memes benefit from fast price action, deep derivatives markets, and strong momentum-driven participation that does not rely on fundamental narratives.

That said, the move does not yet confirm a sustained meme cycle. These rallies are often self-reinforcing in the short term but fragile. Crowded positioning, thinning spot demand, or weakness in bitcoin can quickly reverse gains, as leverage that fuels upside can also accelerate downside moves.

In that sense, meme coins are acting as a gauge of speculative appetite. A “meme season index” approach tracks how many large meme tokens are outperforming bitcoin over a given window. A rising count typically signals rotation into higher-risk segments rather than simple accumulation of large caps.

For now, price action suggests traders are selectively embracing risk. The next signal will be whether momentum broadens beyond a handful of liquid meme tokens or fades as quickly as it appeared.