Pepe (PEPE) leads altcoin rebound after the holidays… meme coins rise across the board

After the holiday break, a rebound centered on altcoins and meme coins has emerged in the cryptocurrency market. While large-cap altcoins saw relatively limited gains, meme coins—which have exhibited higher volatility—and some new protocol tokens showed marked strength.

On the 2nd (local time), according to crypto-focused media The Block, the frog-character-based meme coin Pepe (PEPE) rose more than 32% in a single day, recording the highest gain among meme coins. Its market capitalization is around $2.5 billion. Solana-based Popcat (POPCAT) and Ethereum-based Mog (MOG) also rose nearly 20% each.

Other tokens such as Floki (FLOKI), Dogwihat (WIF), and Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) posted double-digit gains. Major meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE) rose about 12%, while Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Bonk (BONK) each climbed around 13%.

Matt Siegel, head of research at VanEck Research, explained, "Assets that underperformed at year-end, especially small, low-liquidity assets, tend to rebound in January." In fact, meme coins experienced large corrections from their highs after the large-scale liquidations in October last year.

Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen, analyzed, "PEPE and DOGE had each fallen roughly 80% from their highs," adding, "The return to large meme coins at the start of the year can be seen as positioning in anticipation of a potential rise after a prolonged period of sideways movement." He also noted, "The uptrend needs to be confirmed over the medium to long term."

Meanwhile, AI-themed tokens also showed strength. The ElizaOS token surged more than 50% in a day, and major AI tokens such as Render, Virtuals, and Bittensor rose between 8% and 13%. Bitcoin (BTC) only gained in the 2% range and Ethereum (ETH) in the 4% range, showing relatively mild movements.

Stocks related to cryptocurrencies also rose. Bitcoin miners CleanSpark, IREN, and Riot gained more than 10%, and Cipher Mining, Marathon Holdings, and TerraWulf also showed upward trends. The market is paying attention to the possibility that the early-year rebound could serve as an indicator of sentiment for the coming months.