Complete Guide to Memecoin Social Buzz Grows As Traders Return To Risk Assets 2026

Memecoins fell 65% over 2025 as risk-taking behavior dropped among traders, but the tokens are seeing gains as positive sentiment returns to crypto.

Social media buzz around memecoins has jumped since the start of the year, matching the rise in market capitalization, which analysts say could mean risk appetite has returned to crypto.

Several memecoins have recently posted strong gains, and a speculative rally pushed the market value of memecoins up, which caught traders’ attention and sparked a rise in crowd interest, the market intelligence platform Santiment said on Wednesday.

Vincent Liu, the chief investment officer at trading firm Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph that traders are rotating back into liquidity-rich assets where reflexivity works fastest.

“Memecoins offer tight narratives, deep social coordination, and immediate upside asymmetry, making them a natural vehicle for risk re-engagement as sentiment turns,” he said.

Memecoins fell more than 65% over 2025, bottoming at a market cap of $35 billion on Dec. 19, the lowest level for last year, as risk-taking behavior dropped among traders and capital found more stable investments.

The memecoin market cap has since rebounded, crossing $47.7 billion on Monday, up from $38 billion on Dec. 29, according to CoinMarketCap. As of Thursday, it has settled at around $45 billion.

Memecoin transaction volumes also spiked, jumping from $2.17 billion on Dec. 29 to $8.7 billion on Monday, representing a 300% increase, before settling to around $5.22 billion on Thursday.

Liu said the rebound from previous lows is being driven by positioning resets and renewed retail participation rather than fundamental repricing, and momentum can extend in the near term if social traction and liquidity persist.

However, he warns that “memecoin rallies remain highly reflexive and vulnerable to sharp reversals once flow slows.”

Source: CoinTelegraph