Memes Market Cap Adds $10B in Days: Fresh Capital or Dead-Cat-Bounce?

The meme coin industry has pumped over 20% since the beginning of 2026. (PEPE) led the wider meme industry rebound in the past few days, whereby the total meme market cap gained $10 billion.

Source:

The memecoin industry is involved with the wider altcoin space in 2025. Since the launch of Official Trump (TRUMP), backed by US President Donald Trump, memecoins have obtained the attention of institutional investors.

According to a popular crypto analyst, Lark Davis, the recent meme rebound is well-positioned to continue the parabolic rally. The analyst downplayed the idea of a dead-cat bounce due to the cumulative strong altcoin fundamentals amid anticipated capital rotation to crypto from the precious metals industry.

“Memes are going to explode if we get even a slight risk-on move in Q1,” Davis .

The memecoins that gained the attention of institutional investors in 2025 are well-positioned to outperform in 2026. With regulatory clarity approaching in the U.S., including the CLARITY Act markup expected before the end of January, investors are beginning to distinguish between purely speculative tokens and memecoins that have achieved sufficient liquidity, structure, and visibility to attract institutional capital.

As a result, it is increasingly relevant to focus on memecoins that have either secured or are pursuing spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval.

The highly potent memes are those that have high liquidity, through listings on major crypto exchanges – led by Binance, Coinbase Global, Bybit, and Robinhood. In this category, some of the memes to consider include: Base-based Brett (BRET), Moo Deng (MOODENG), Toncoin (TON)-based Notcoin (NOT), and Milady Mem Coin (LADAYS).