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Meme coins are back in the spotlight after spending much of the year struggling to keep pace with the broader crypto market. The sector rallied sharply this week as Bitcoin (BTC) moved above $82,000, oil prices fell, and global risk assets bounced on signs of progress toward a U.S.-Iran peace agreement.
According to CoinMarketCap data, total meme coin market capitalization rose roughly 15% week-over-week (WoW), outpacing core crypto assets such as BTC and Ethereum (ETH) as traders rotated back into higher-risk tokens.
Gainers ranged from large-cap meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) to meme-adjacent artificial intelligence and platform tokens, including SkyAI (SKYAI) and Toncoin (TON).
DOGE gained roughly 7% this week as risk assets rallied. Dogecoin, Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) all climbed this week as Bitcoin’s rebound lifted risk appetite across the market. DOGE rose about 7% WoW, while SHIB gained 2.5% and PEPE added 6%, according to CoinMarketCap data.
SkyAI (SKYAI) emerged as the latest small-cap token to break into the upper tier of the meme market, rising roughly 250% WoW to a market capitalization near $800 million. As of May 6, SkyAI ranked as the fifth-largest meme coin by market capitalization, ahead of longer-running tokens including BONK, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), and Official Trump (TRUMP), CoinMarketCap data shows.
The project describes itself on X as an “all-in-one AI ecosystem powered by MCP,” built to integrate intelligent tools across industries.
SkyAI’s rally followed earlier blowoff runs in RaveDAO’s RAVE token and Siren’s SIREN token, both of which climbed from market caps below $100 million into much larger territory before retreating. RAVE surged more than 6,000% last month, rising from roughly $0.25 to over $14 in a matter of days. In March, SIREN—marketed as BNB Chain’s first AI agent—surged to a $1.7 billion market capitalization before falling back toward the $100 million range and then rallying again in April. It currently trades at a market capitalization of roughly $550 million.
Despite the rebound, industry insiders including a longtime Bonk (BONK) contributor cautioned that the move may not be sustainable.
Nom, a BONK core contributor, warned during a Consensus Miami panel that new meme coin trading increasingly resembles long-shot sports parlays. Nom said most meme coin teams lack staying power to embed projects into regulated distribution and trading channels, citing exchange listings, ETF filings, and public-company structures as markers that separate longer-lived tokens from those that “rinse retail.”
Nom pointed to BONK as an exception, noting it has pursued links to traditional finance. He said Nasdaq-listed Bonk Holdings, which rebranded from Safety Shot in October 2025, holds roughly 2.7% of BONK’s circulating supply and is targeting $115 million in token holdings by the end of 2026. Nom also cited Tuttle Capital’s filing for a 2x leveraged BONK ETF with the SEC and TenX Protocols, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, which made a public BONK treasury allocation in January.
BONK launched in 2022 and was distributed through an airdrop to NFT holders, developers, and active wallets.
Toncoin (TON) also gained momentum, surging more than 36% in 24 hours on Tuesday after Telegram’s CEO announced a pivot for the network.
Durov said Telegram would become the network’s largest validator and roll out new developer tools, performance upgrades, and a redesigned Ton.org site within two to three weeks. TON currently trades at a market capitalization of nearly $6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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