The crypto market right now feels like everything people expected is happening in reverse. Bitcoin is stuck hovering around $67,000, barely able to make any real upward move. A lot of people were hoping for a big rally this time, but instead, BTC just keeps struggling. And in the middle of all this, the surprising truth is emerging —memecoins are actually the ones winning right now
Looking at the trends over the past few days, it’s clear: memecoins and some AI-related tokens are seriously outperforming. For example, a memecoin called PIPPIN surged as much as 46% in a single day. Worldcoin climbed about 3%, and the Virtuals protocol token rose 2.4%. Meanwhile, Ethereum (Ether) slipped a little and fell behind.
This contrast is really interesting. While the “serious” cryptocurrency — Bitcoin — can’t seem to get going, these completely hype-driven memecoins are stealing all the attention. Market sentiment is very negative right now. The Fear & Greed Index is sitting in the “extreme fear” zone (somewhere around 8–10), meaning most investors are scared. Yet even in this fear, some people are taking big risks on memecoins — and they’re getting rewarded with solid gains.
There’s some bad news too. Crypto startups are feeling the pressure hard. Take Merkle Trade as an example — it was the largest perpetual futures DEX on the Aptos blockchain, but recently they announced they’re shutting down operations. Declining TVL and the overall weakness in the market forced their hand. That’s a pretty loud warning sign for the entire sector.
Many analysts say this gap between Bitcoin and altcoins/memecoins is temporary. Bitcoin’s current struggle suggests the market hasn’t found stability yet. Data from the options market hints that long-term volatility might decrease, but in the short term, uncertainty is still very high.
So the big question becomes: Who is the real winner in crypto right now? The stable giant Bitcoin, or the wild world of memecoins? So far, it looks like the people willing to take risks are having the most fun (and making the most money) with memecoins. But how long this hype train will keep running is anyone’s guess.
What do you think? Are you jumping into the memecoin craze, or are you patiently waiting for Bitcoin to make its move? The market really feels like a rollercoaster these days!
