Meme coins rebound first, risk appetite recovery may signal a shift in altcoin market trends

Odaily Planet Daily News: After entering 2026, capital has flowed back into the Meme coin sector, driving the market capitalization of related tokens to increase by over 23% in the past week. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the total market cap of Meme coins has rebounded from approximately $38 billion on December 29 to over $47.7 billion. During the same period, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu each rose by over 20% and 19.9%, respectively, while Pepe surged by over 65%. Trading volume also expanded from about $2.17 billion to $8.7 billion, an increase of approximately 300%. Analysts believe that Meme coins are usually considered high-risk assets, and their early strength often reflects a warming of market risk appetite. Santiment pointed out that this rebound occurred after the most pessimistic phase of retail investor sentiment, aligning with the market’s “contrarian” historical pattern. Some traders further suggest that if Meme coins continue their strong momentum, capital may gradually spill over into other altcoin sectors, with the Solana ecosystem potentially becoming the main beneficiary direction. (Cointelegraph)