in the digital asset market shows no signs of stopping, with trading volumes now at levels last seen just before the burst of the lastConsidered as some of the most speculative and volatile cryptocurrencies, memecoins such as dogwifhat and pepe are far outstripping the gains registered by market bellwether bitcoin that has dominated the headlines.
Trading volume for the top memecoins, which often trade for a fraction of a cent, reached nearly US$80-billion in the past week, according to data compiled by blockchain data firm Kaiko. That’s the highest since October 2021.“Historically, a surge in meme tokens has often signalled a market top,” Dessislava Aubert, research analyst at Kaiko, said. “However, it is difficult to predict whether this will continue to be the case now as new capital is entering the crypto markets.
Pepe, a frog-themed coin, and dogwifhat — a dog pictured wearing a hat — continued racking up fresh highs in the past week, according to tracker CoinGecko. The total market value of the memecoin sector has reached more than $60-billion on Wednesday. Memecoins have been a long-existing phenomenon in crypto, as small investors and promoters see the microscopic prices of memecoins as an opportunity to post huge returns quickly despite the lack of traditional fundamentals.“It’s not a great reflection of the actual realisable price,” said Thomas Perfumo, head of strategy at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange.