Dogecoin (DOGE) recently hit a three-year high, fueled by the election results and news of Elon Musk’s role in co-leading a Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) under Donald Trump.
However, after capturing headlines with its impressive surge, DOGE has experienced a pullback, and several other meme coins have outperformed it in percentage gains over the past week.
Among the top 100 meme coins by market cap, Dogecoin ranks 57th for weekly price growth, rising 14.7%. Interestingly, a Solana-based token inspired by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has outpaced the original DOGE, climbing 82.5%.
Other notable meme coins have also shown stronger growth. For instance, Pepe (PEPE) soared by 65.8%—more than four times DOGE’s gain during the same period. Despite Pepe’s impressive performance, it operates at a much smaller market cap. DOGE’s recent rally brought its valuation close to $55 trillion, while Pepe remains under $9 trillion.
The Base network’s BRETT and Solana’s BONK also outperformed DOGE, with weekly increases of 41.4% and 80.8%, respectively.
These gains, however, pale in comparison to the week’s biggest winners.
The artificial intelligence meme coin ai16z (AI16Z) skyrocketed 693.9%, while Comedian (BAN), newly listed on Binance for futures trading, surged 356.5%. Additionally, a token inspired by Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), a TikTok-famous pet, jumped 310%.
One standout performer is Hasbulla’s Cat (BARSIK), a Solana meme coin launched six days ago. Since its debut on decentralized exchanges via Pump.fun, it has skyrocketed by a staggering 255,465%. For example, an initial $1,000 investment at launch would now be worth $2.55 million. However, such gains are theoretical, as the token’s liquidity is too low to support large sell-offs without significant slippage.
Investing in low-liquidity tokens, particularly volatile meme coins, comes with risks. Slippage occurs when a trader sells an asset for less than its listed market price. While common assets may experience up to 1% slippage, low-liquidity meme coins can see much higher rates, posing challenges for investors attempting to cash out.
