Memecoins shed $108.7B in 14 days – The bleed is not over yet
Memecoins have borne the brunt of recent crypto outflows, shrinking sharply over the past year: Dogecoin (DOGE) -57.92%, Pepe (PEPE) -39.15% and Shiba Inu (SHIB) -49.37%. CryptoQuant shows memecoins are now valued at $25.76 billion, about 3% of total altcoin market capitalization. The Cumulative Buy/Sell Volume Difference flipped from a roughly $14.56 million buying lead on Oct 16, 2025 to about -$1.4 billion as of Oct 16, 2026, signaling increased selling pressure. Altcoins lost over $108.7 billion in the past 14 days, cutting market cap to $791.5 billion (TradingView). The Altcoin Season Index has declined to around 55, while the Fear & Greed Index reads 59. About $35.92 billion flowed back into the market between Oct 18–19. Memecoins could face further declines as investors favor altcoins with higher utility over culturally driven tokens.
Memecoins have seen sustained selling pressure, with net buy/sell volume flipping to -$1.4B and market cap shrinking sharply; investors are rotating toward utility-focused altcoins, weakening memecoin demand. This points to further downside for memecoins, so the sector is short-term bearish (strong), while overall altcoin flows remain mixed.