Doge and Meme Assets Resurge with Early Signs of Crypto Market Recovery

After the turbulent Q4 of 2025, which plunged many assets into double-digit declines, the cryptocurrency market is beginning to show signs of recovery. Intriguingly, the main drivers of this rebound are not from traditional segments but from the meme coin niche, which could indicate a significant shift in investor strategy toward higher-risk assets.

According to CoinGecko data as of March 23, 2026, the recovery landscape is led by these alternative assets, showing mixed performance that reflects the segment’s characteristic volatility.

BONK Leads the Movement: The Resurgence of Meme-Type Assets

BONK has emerged as the most prominent player in recent sessions, recording a 4.33% increase in the last 24 hours, though it shows an 8.34% decline over the weekly period. This asset has managed to regain competitive positions within the altcoin ranking after being severely punished during the previous bear cycle.

PEPE, SHIB, and Dogecoin: Classic Memes Return to the Spotlight

PEPE maintains its bullish momentum with a 5.93% daily rise and an 11.36% weekly retracement. Shiba Inu, known for its characteristic volatility, posts a 6.00% gain over 24 hours, though with a more moderate 1.15% drop in the past seven days.

Dogecoin, the original pioneer of the meme phenomenon in cryptocurrencies, shows a 3.98% daily advance and a 6.37% weekly contraction. Despite these recent movements, the Doge token remains well below its all-time high of $0.73, still reflecting previous bearish cycles.

The TRUMP token, associated with recent political events, shows a more moderate performance with just a 1.91% gain in 24 hours.

Strategic Shift or Technical Rebound: Analysts’ Perspectives

Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen, offers a crucial interpretation of this phenomenon. According to his analysis, this capital rotation into meme assets at the start of the year could suggest that “traders are positioning themselves for an upward move after months of market consolidation.”

Kennis explains that these speculative assets were among the most affected during the October decline in terms of severe bearish volatility. “Markets may have developed an extremely pessimistic bias toward these assets based on price action and risk aversion prevalent during that period,” the expert adds.

Caution in the Face of Historic Highs

However, the analyst maintains a cautious outlook. He notes that these meme coins continue to show a relative downward trend compared to Bitcoin, and these small rebounds “would require confirmation on higher timeframes to be considered significant.”

Crucially, both PEPE and Doge remain substantially far from their respective all-time highs, with declines close to 80%. This gap suggests that although sentiment has recently improved, the meme asset market still faces significant structural challenges before a sustained recovery can be considered.

The current resurgence could be seen as an initial step in reigniting appetite for higher-risk assets, but confirmation of a solid bullish trend will depend on movements across broader time horizons.