By 2026, the crypto market is finally showing some warmth. But the most noteworthy phenomenon isn't the steady growth of mainstream coins like Bitcoin, but rather the uprising of meme coins that were once collectively dismissed as "shitcoins."

I've been in this space for seven years, and honestly: meme coins are no longer purely speculative assets. They actually serve as a front-line indicator of market "risk appetite." At the beginning of the year, PEPE surged 38% in a single day, while the broader market only gained 3 percentage points during the same period—this stark difference is not a coincidence but a signal that market psychology is shifting.

Many friends ask me if this is a sign of a bull market. Honestly, not necessarily, but it definitely indicates that market sentiment is heating up. Moreover, this pattern of "meme coins leading the charge, other tokens following" has been repeated throughout history. During the frenzy of DOGE in 2021, its market cap soared to $31.5 billion, coinciding with the period of highest retail enthusiasm and the loosest macro liquidity. After the meme coin wave led by BONK at the end of 2024, small and mid-cap tokens also began to recover gradually.

To put it simply, meme coins are like a thermometer for retail investor sentiment. When retail enthusiasm is ignited, confidence gradually spreads to more solid fundamental projects. This year's rally is less about a market reversal and more about the capital that was suppressed in the second half of 2025 being unleashed at the start of the year—money has been pent up for so long, it’s bound to find an outlet.