PEPE and BONK explode: Are memecoins back?

There are days when the crypto market feels less like a stock market and more like a playground. On Friday, memecoins brought fire to the cheeks of traders: in 24 hours, the sector regained around $3 billion in capitalization. So, same season or just a spark? The answer is rarely contained in a single number. Rather, it is hidden in a mixture of attention, leverage and timing.

A mood rally, but not by chance

The demand came back suddenly. The total capitalization of memecoins increased by around 8%, to $39.45 billion, a two-week high. This type of rebound never happens in silence. It gets attention first, then followers. And sometimes it ends up calling for excess. For some, it is a bubble mainly profitable for the platforms, and much less for the users.

In detail, on the crypto side, PEPE leads the way with +23.6% over 24 hours, BONK follows with +10%, and DOGE advances by around +8%. This trio is almost a barometer: when it comes together, it's not just a token that pumps, it's a market mood that changes.

And then there is the cultural dimension in the crypto ecosystem. Vitalik Buterin changing his profile photo for an image linked to an NFT meme is anecdotal until it is no longer so. This type of signal acts like a public wink: memecoins feed on attention, and attention quickly turns into flow. If attention opens the door, the lever pushes everyone inside. Sometimes a little too quickly.

The real crypto fuel: leverage and open interest

The market didn't just buy memecoins. He also bet on it, with derivative contracts. On PEPE, open interest jumped around 77% in 24 hours, to $441 million. When OI climbs quickly, it is often a sign that leveraged positions are piling up.

Same atmosphere on the volume side. Memecoin derivative volumes are said to have increased by around 35% over 24 hours, to reach $4.75 billion, with a spectacular jump on PEPE. In other words: it's not just a quiet rebound spot. It’s a market that accepts paying more and risking more.

Where it gets tricky is the emergence of tools designed for this kind of frenzy. The noise around MemeMax_Fi, presented as a memecoin-oriented perp DEX with up to 100x leverage, feeds precisely this dynamic. A product designed to monetize attention with pure speed. The problem ? At 100x, one breath in price is enough to trigger a cascade of liquidations. And a waterfall, in memecoin, rarely feels like a soft landing.

To know if we are talking about a real return or a simple episode, we have to look up above the frogs and dogs. Head to the entire altcoin market.

The Litmus Test: TOTAL3 Altcoin Traction

A technical element stands out. TOTAL3, the crypto capitalization excluding Bitcoin and Ether, would have gained around 22% in two days, to an area close to $848 billion. It's not a detail. A sustainable meme season needs fertile ground, and this ground is often the rotation towards altcoins.

The mentioned RSI, which rose after very low levels in mid-December, tells the same story: traders are returning to risk, but gradually, like turning on an old neon sign again. If the resistance around 848 billion frankly gives way, the idea of ​​an extension towards 900 billion becomes a credible scenario, and in this case, memecoins love to play the noisy passengers of the altcoin bus.

But there is a nuance that the market often forgets when it laughs: memecoins do not come back, they alternate. They disappear, then they resurface when liquidity eases and sentiment clears. And when the lever gets involved, the question is no longer just does it go up, it's how long before it shakes.