Memecoin

Pepe

Dogecoin

Shiba Inu

Memecoins like Dogecoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/doge-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">DOGE</a>), Shiba Inu (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/shiba-inu-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">SHIB</a>) and Dogwifhat (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/dogwifhat-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">WIF</a>) were among the worst-performing cryptocurrencies on Dec. 10, wiping out a significant part of the gains made during the Donald Trump-fueled rally a few weeks ago.
<h2 id="strong-memecoin-market-cap-takes-a-hit-strong">Memecoin market cap takes a hit</h2>
The latest drop in <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/price-indexes/memecoins" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">memecoin</a> prices has seen the total market capitalization of the sector shrink to reach a three-week low of $119.6 billion as of Dec. 10.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-most-liquidations-since-2021-crazy-reset-wipes-1-6-b" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-most-liquidations-since-2021-crazy-reset-wipes-1-6-b">Bitcoin sees most liquidations since 2021 as ‘crazy’ reset wipes $1.6B</a>
The last time the memecoin market cap was below $120 billion was on Nov. 27 when it rested at $118 billion. The aggregate market value of cryptocurrencies in this sector is down 21% over the last 24 hours.
<figure><img alt="Dogecoin, WIF and other memecoins crash hardest amid $1.7B crypto liquidations" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193b01a-7825-7ef3-bb19-759a478b1761" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Memecoin market capitalization and daily trading volume. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/memes/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/memes/">CoinMarketCap</a>
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The total daily trading volume across the memecoin sector has nearly doubled over the same period, indicating the intensity of the selling pressure over the past 24 hours.
<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-is-dogecoin-a-beginners-guide-to-doge-cryptocurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">Dogecoin</a>, the largest memecoin by market capitalization, led the losses, dropping 5.6% over the last 24 hours. DOGE’s rival SHIB was down as well, recording 10.4% daily losses, while Ethereum-based Pepe (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/pepe-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">PEPE</a>) was the only top-cap memecoin posting gains, up 1.7%.
<figure><img alt="Dogecoin, WIF and other memecoins crash hardest amid $1.7B crypto liquidations" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193b01b-4137-79e0-aae7-b0a8233ed357" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Top memecoins’ price performance. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/memes/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/memes/">CoinMarketCap</a>
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<h2 id="strong-memecoins-oi-drops-sharply-strong">Memecoins OI drops sharply</h2>
The drop in memecoins on Dec. 10 was preceded by a decrease in open interest (OI), with Pnut (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/viral-squirrel-peanut-triggers-solana-memecoin-frenzy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">PNUT</a>) leading the retreat with a 30% decline in OI over the last 24 hours.
<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-open-interest-in-the-crypto-futures-market" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">Open interest</a> refers to the total amount of pending derivative contracts that have not yet been settled. In a futures contract, for every seller, a buyer is required to settle the contract.
DOGE saw its IO drop by over 20% on the day to $3.1 billion, nearly six times WIF’s $519 million in OI, which had decreased by 27% over the same period. PEPE’s OI was standing at $302.4 million, down approximately 11%.
<figure><img alt="Dogecoin, WIF and other memecoins crash hardest amid $1.7B crypto liquidations" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193b01e-0796-7c6f-b90f-8745ca081119" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Memecoin OI chart. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.coinglass.com/view/memes" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.coinglass.com/view/memes">CoinGlass</a>
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The drop in OI for memecoins indicates bearish momentum in the market as leverage traders close more contracts in anticipation of further decreases in price.
<h2 id="strong-massive-crypto-liquidations-accompany-memecoin-crash-strong">Massive crypto liquidations accompany memecoin crash</h2>
The crypto market drawdown has wiped out more than $1.7 billion in leveraged positions within the past 24 hours, with over $1.3 billion being wiped out over the last 12 hours alone.
“The biggest long liquidation of this bull cycle so far,” CoinGlass <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/coinglass_com/status/1866270470619926966" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> in a Dec. 10 post on X.
<figure><img alt="Dogecoin, Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Market Analysis, Altcoin Watch, Shiba Inu, Memecoin, Pepe" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193b051-75f5-70cb-be50-e6456e21b640" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/coinglass_com/status/1866270470619926966" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://x.com/coinglass_com/status/1866270470619926966">CoinGlass</a>
 </figcaption>
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Futures tracking smaller altcoins and meme tokens recorded higher losses than BTC or ETH futures in an unusual move, according to data from CoinGlass.
Over $72.6 million in DOGE longs and more than $22.35 million in SHIB longs accounted for the majority of liquidations across memecoins in the past half-a-day.
Similarly, more than $7.9 million PEPE longs and $3.6 million WIF longs were liquidated over the same period.
<figure><img alt="Dogecoin, Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Market Analysis, Altcoin Watch, Shiba Inu, Memecoin, Pepe" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-12/0193b053-9bee-72b9-a5b4-b018107a40d8" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Total crypto liquidations. Source: CoinGlass
 </figcaption>
</figure>
This marked the biggest liquidation event since 2021, accompanying the start of the 2022 bear market. More recently, a similar liquidation event accompanied the Dec. 5 flash crash that saw more than $816 million longs wiped out of the derivatives market against $280 million short.
During this event, BTC price dropped as much as 11% to $92,00, triggering a sell-off in altcoins, including memecoins. DOGE dropped 12% on the same day, while memecoins lost $1 billion in market capitalization.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Dogecoin, WIF and other memecoins crash hardest amid $1.7B crypto liquidations

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