Meme coins are rallying as Bitcoin grinds higher to start the year, outpacing the broader crypto market and reviving appetite for riskier tokens.
Bonk, Pepe, and Shiba Inu led the latest surge, with 24-hour gains of more than 20%, 14%, and 10% respectively, according to CoinGecko. Over the past week, Pepe has climbed about 70%, Bonk 48%, and Dogecoin 22%.
The move comes alongside a steadier Bitcoin. The largest cryptocurrency has closed higher for four straight days, finally breaking above the closely watched $90,000 level after several failed attempts in late 2025. Its rise is accompanied by a jump in derivatives activity: aggregated open interest has reached $31.44 billion, a six-week high, per CryptoQuant.
Macro conditions may be helping to support this renewed risk-taking, said Derek Lim, head of research at crypto market maker Caladan. He pointed to a sustained cycle of interest rate cuts, easing inflation, and expanded U.S. access to strategic resources such as Venezuelan oil as factors that could be bolstering risk assets.
“All the above when viewed in tandem may prelude to a shift towards a more risk-on sentiment in 2026,” Lim told Decrypt. “Perhaps the current price movements are attempting to price all these in.”
Lim warned, however, that the latest meme coin rally may not signal a lasting shift in market psychology.
“I will hesitate to read this as the market shifting into a more risk-on mode,” he said. “Meme coin pumps can be relatively easily manufactured by a multitude of factors, such as low liquidity, extremely low float, so it may not necessarily represent any larger shifts in momentum/attitudes with regard to the broader market.”
Retail traders appear cautiously optimistic. On prediction market platform Myriad, owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, users now assign an 82% probability that Bitcoin reaches $100,000 before falling back to $69,000, up from 62% at the start of the year.
The rebound extends beyond meme coins. Other major altcoins, including Hyperliquid, Hedera, Aster, and XRP, have gained around 5% over the past 24 hours.
Still, broader sentiment remains fragile. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index continues to sit in “Fear” territory, suggesting the psychological recovery from the 2025 downturn is incomplete despite the sector’s latest hot streak.