The recovery in cryptocurrency prices has seen the largest memecoins by market capitalization, with Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) recording double-digit gains over the past week.

Cat in Dogs World (MEW), a Solana-based memecoin, rallied the most, gaining over 47.5% over the last seven days and 9.3% over the past 24 hours. It has added 112% to its value over the last 30 days. Mog Coin (MOG) followed with 39.6% weekly gains, and  Brett (BRETT), came in third after climbing 25% in the same period.

The rally in memecoins continued on Oct. 18, with DOGE, SHIB and PEPE rising 10.2%, 4% and 2.8% over the last 24 hours, while Dogwifhat (WIF) climbed 63%. 

Let’s look at the factors driving memecoins up today.

Is the “memecoin supercycle” here?

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent rally above $68,000 has led many analysts to believe that “Uptober” could eventually pave the way for the memecoin supercycle. 

Related: Why is Dogecoin price up today?

The memecoin supercycle theory, fronted by memecoin analyst Murad Mahmudov, states that a confluence of factors will create market conditions that could see meme-centric cryptocurrencies experience parabolic growth. 

Mahmudov further explains that memecoins have continued to gain traction among investors as they rely more on community, emotion and the promise of wealth rather than the utility of other altcoins with complex technical explanations and mechanics. 

One of the factors that could trigger a memecoin supercycle is the continued growth in the price of Bitcoin. A recent report by BDC Consulting reveals that the memecoin market is “very sensitive” to movements in BTC price with a correction of 0.87. 

Such a strong correction implies that as Bitcoin price continues to gain traction, it is highly likely that the prices of other cryptocurrencies will not only follow, but could even outperform BTC in the shorter term.

Expanding memecoin market cap

The market capitalization of meme tokens has surged by 48.6% over the past four weeks and 4% in the last 24 hours to $57.4 billion, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the sector.

The daily trading volume increased by 140% from $3.8 billion on Sept. 18 to a monthly high of $9.1 billion on Oct. 16 before retracing to the current $7.4 billion. The increase in trading volume among memecoins indicates the intensity of the demand-side pressure experienced within the sector over the past month.

Corroborating this, data from Dune reveals that memecoin weekly transaction flows for memecoins across all blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana and Tron, have surged collectively by 161.7% from its recent low of roughly $110.5 million during the first week of September to $289.2 million the week ending Oct. 6.

The cumulative trading volume for all memecoins had crossed the $52 million mark to rest at $52.26 billion.

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.