Shiba Inu, Pepe, Dogwifhat soar amid meme coin ‘supercycle’

Shiba Inu, Pepe and Dogwifhat were among the top gainers in the weekly market, as the total meme coin market capitalization increased by 25% to exceed $55 billion.

Leading the weekly gains, Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose 39% to $0.00001968 as demand for meme coins helped it break through a key resistance level at $0.00001940. Its market value increased from $8.53 billion to $11.63 billion during the week.

Next on the list is Ethereum-based Pepe (PEPE), trading at $0.00001112 at press time, up 36.5% last week. The market cap of the meme coin has risen to $4.67 billion at press time, reaching the highest levels last seen in early August.

Solana-based Dogwifhat (WIF) was also among the top gainers with a 35.4% gain, trading at $2.30 at the time of writing as its market capitalization rose to over $2 billion.

Even Dogecoin (DOGE), the first and most liquid meme coin with a market value of $18 billion, joined the rally. Over the last seven days, Dogecoin is up more than 16%.

As reflected on CoinMarketCap, social sentiment surrounding these tokens has remained largely bullish.

Market reactions

Market watchers at X.com predict that a meme coin season will begin as Bitcoin’s market dominance fades.

Pseudonymous trader Bluntz observed that multiple memecoins were gaining strong upward momentum, signaling the beginning of what he called a “memecoin supercycle” and advising his followers not to “sell too early.”

The memecoin super cycle is real, the problem was that most people’s timing was very wrong.

Pick your fighters, get into position and calm down, don’t sell too early.

— Bluntz (@Bluntz_Capital) September 27, 2024

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes also joined this excitement and said, “It’s time for the Mem coin boom.”

In subsequent posts, he actively engaged with the community, asking for recommendations and dishing out a few meme coins as he worked to build his portfolio for the anticipated “UPtober” rally.

My family, I need some help. It’s about to be UPtober and I need a PORTFOLIO of memecoins. I bought $MOTHER, $MOG, $PEPE. Tell me your best memecoin.

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) September 28, 2024

Lookonchain data reveals that Hayes recently withdrew 24.39 billion Pepes (PEPE) from Binance, worth $252,680. See below.

Not all market analysts share this optimistic outlook. A contrasting perspective comes from analyst Saint Pump, who warns of potential pitfalls in the meme coin craze.

Analyst Saint Pump issued a clear warning, saying the “endless flood” of meme coins could drain liquidity from other sectors as traders chase the “new cute dog of the month.”

He warned that new entrants may have difficulty matching the gains of early investors.

In his words, trading meme coins is like “playing slots” where “the house always wins.”

This won’t be a popular approach, but be careful what you wish for.

I think the proliferation of meme coins will negatively impact future returns of other sectors as new entrants siphon liquidity to chase the new cute dog of the month getting scolded by your favorite KOLs.

— Aziz Pompa (@Saint_Pump) September 26, 2024