Shiba Inu, Pepe, and Dogwifhat led the top weekly market gainers as the total meme coin market cap rose 25%, surpassing $55 billion.
Leading the weekly gainers, Shiba Inu (SHIB) surged 39% to $0.00001968 as the demand for meme coins helped it break past a key resistance level at $0.00001940. Its market cap rose from $8.53 billion to $11.63 billion within the week.
Ethereum-based Pepe (PEPE) followed next on the list as it rose 36.5% over the past week, trading at $0.00001112 at press time. The meme coin’s market cap rose to $4.67 billion at press time, reaching highs last seen at the beginning of August.
Dogwifhat (WIF), which resides on Solana, also joined the top gainers with a 35.4% gain, trading at $2.30 when writing, with its market cap flying past the $2 billion mark.
Even Dogecoin (DOGE), the first and most liquid meme coin with a market cap of $18 billion, joined the rally. Over the past seven days, Dogecoin was up more than 16%.
The social sentiment surrounding these tokens remained overwhelmingly bullish, as reflected on CoinMarketCap.
Market reactions
On X.com, market observers anticipate the start of a meme coin season as Bitcoin’s market dominance waned.
Pseudonymous trader Bluntz observed that multiple meme coins are gaining strong upward momentum, signaling what he describes as the start of a “memecoin supercycle” and advising his followers not to “sell too early.”
BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes also chimed in on the hype, claiming, “It’s time for a meme coin breakout.”
In subsequent posts, he actively engaged with the community, asking for recommendations and shilling several meme coins as he sought to build his portfolio for the anticipated “UPtober” rally.
Lookonchain data reveals Hayes’ recent withdrawal of 24.39 billion Pepe (PEPE), valued at $252,680, from Binance. See below.
Not all market analysts share this optimistic outlook. A contrasting perspective comes from analyst Saint Pump, who warns of potential pitfalls within the meme coin craze.
Analyst Saint Pump offered a blunt warning, saying the “endless flood” of meme coins could drain liquidity from other sectors as traders chase “the new cute dog of the month.”
New entrants might struggle to match the gains of early investors, he cautioned.
In his words, trading meme coins is like “playing slots,” where “the house always wins.”
