The meme coin sector has shed more than two-thirds of its value over the past year, with the MarketVector Meme Coin Index (MEMECOIN) down 67.65% in 365 days, and Dogecoin (DOGE) — the segment's largest token — slipping below $0.10 with no clear signs of a turnaround.
What Happened: Meme Coin Decline
The MEMECOIN index, which tracks the six largest meme coins by market capitalization, has been posting lower highs and lower lows since Jul. 2025. It sits at a one-year low of -66.80% and has lost 75.81% since its inception on Oct. 31, 2021.
Year-to-date losses already stand at 22.44%, just two months into 2026.
The early decline signals that traders and investors remain reluctant to allocate capital to meme tokens, setting a negative precedent for the rest of the year.
Dogecoin, which carries the heaviest weighting in the market-cap-weighted index, has been trading around $0.093 after losing the $0.10 level. While large-cap assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and XRP (XRP) have also pulled back, meme coins have underperformed the broader market by a wide margin.
Also Read: XRP Drops 33% But Nine-Year Trendline Holds Strong
Why It Matters: Recovery Unlikely
Dogecoin remains the only meme coin with spot ETFs tied to it, and its brand recognition far exceeds that of any competitor in the niche. Yet that structural advantage has not translated into sustained price strength.
The token's current trajectory shows no sign of the kind of momentum needed to single-handedly lift the broader meme coin market.
Much of the weakness, however, tracks with bearish sentiment across the entire cryptocurrency industry, leaving Dogecoin's ability to lead a recovery dependent on conditions well beyond its own fundamentals.
Read Next: Ethereum Loses $2,000 Level Amid Bearish Momentum