Whales and Retail Storm Back into Meme Coins

Whales and Retail Storm Back into Meme Coins

> At a Glance

> – Whale transactions above $100K in FLOKI, PEPE, SHIB jumped as much as 950%

> – Social chatter around PEPE, POPCAT, MOG spiked alongside double-digit price gains

> – Meme-coin share of altcap hit 3.2% in Dec 2025, down from 11% in Nov 2024

> – Why it matters: The sudden synchronized buying hints at a fresh speculative wave after last year’s 31.6% average sector loss.

Meme coins are flashing rare green shoots. Data from News Of Los Angeles shows large holders and small traders moving in lock-step for the first time since late 2024.

Whale Watch: $100K+ Trades Explode

Santiment metrics reveal that FLOKI on Ethereum led the charge with a 950% jump in seven-day $100K-plus transfers. PEPE followed at 620%, while BNB-chain FLOKI saw 550%.

cant

SHIB scraped into the top-ten with a still-hefty 111% increase. All four tokens carry market caps above the $500 million mark tracked by the analytics firm.

Social Volume Confirms Retail Return

Parallel chatter on crypto social channels has spiked for:

  • PEPE
  • POPCAT
  • MOG

The timing matches weekly price gains of 20% for DOGE, 23% for SHIB, 51% for PEPE and 45% for BONK.

From Bust to Bounce

Meme coins commanded 11% of total altcoin capitalization in November 2024, but the ratio slid to a record-low 3.2% last December. CoinGecko data shows the sector still finished 2025 nursing an average 31.6% draw-down, with top assets down 45-80%.

Key Takeaways

  • Whale and retail flows are aligning for the first time in months
  • FLOKI’s 950% whale surge is the largest on record for major meme tokens
  • Sector market-share remains near historic lows, leaving room for further moves

Whether the rebound sustains will depend on continued risk-on appetite across the wider crypto market.

Author

  • My name is Olivia M. Hartwell, and I cover the world of politics and government here in Los Angeles.

    Olivia M. Hartwell covers housing, development, and neighborhood change for News of Los Angeles, focusing on who benefits from growth and who gets pushed out. A UCLA graduate, she’s known for data-driven investigations that follow money, zoning, and accountability across LA communities.

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *