While Bitcoin Consolidates, Dogecoin and Other Joke Cryptos See Massive Gains
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has been holding relatively steady this week, trading in a tight range around $70,000. However, the real action has been happening in the wild world of meme coins and tokens, with several joke cryptocurrencies seeing astronomical price surges over the past seven days.
Leading the meme coin frenzy is Dogwifhat, a Solana-based token that has nearly doubled in value, skyrocketing by almost 100% week-over-week. As of Saturday morning, Dogwifhat was changing hands at $4.52 per coin, up from just $2.28 a week ago.
The canine-themed Dogecoin also stole the spotlight, jumping over 45% in price action. The ninth largest crypto by market cap is now worth around $0.208 after starting the week below $0.15. Dogecoin’s rise makes it one of the top performers among major cryptocurrencies over the last seven days.
Not to be outdone, fellow dog meme coin Shiba Inu has also fetched sizeable gains of over 10% this week. The self-described “Dogecoin killer” now trades for around $0.00003, having bounced off recent lows.
Beyond the Shiba and Doge themes, several other meme tokens are enjoying a resurgence. The Solana-based projects Bonk and Pepe have climbed 23% and 6% respectively over the past week as money poured into the risky, speculative assets.
So why are joke cryptocurrencies abruptly so popular again? Likely because major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen positive price movements, giving the overall crypto market a bullish tone. Historically, when Bitcoin rises, ultra-speculative meme coins often get a sympathy boost as traders look to amplify their gains.
Indeed, Bitcoin itself has advanced over 10% against the U.S. dollar in the past week. The flagship cryptocurrency briefly punched above $70,000 on Friday after a weeks-long period of consolidation and sideways trading. Bitcoin is still down from its recent peak around $74,000 set earlier this month.
While not nearly as explosive as Dogecoin and Dogwifhat’s rallies, Ethereum has also logged a respectable 4%+ gain over the past seven days. The second-largest crypto now goes for around $3,494 per ETH token.
The Solana blockchain, home to several of the red-hot meme coin projects, has seen its native SOL token appreciate by over 12% week-over-week to change hands just under $200.
Zooming out, the broader cryptocurrency market has been relatively placid early in the new week, with most major assets trading flat on Wednesday. All of the top 10 cryptos by market cap were up or down less than 3% over the past 24 hours, with one key exception – Dogecoin’s resurgence continued unabated.
While it remains to be seen if the meme coin frenzy can maintain its blistering momentum, the current market dynamics of a steadily advancing Bitcoin and solid gains across major altcoins suggest joke tokens could have more room to run in the short-term. However, crypto traders would be wise to exercise extreme caution when speculating on highly volatile meme coins that have zero inherent utility.
