Memecoins Lose $4.7 Billion in a Day as Dogecoin Leads the Slide — PEPE Stands Alone in Green
The memecoin market just had one of its worst days of the year. The sector's total market capitalisation fell 17.60% in 24 hours — a loss of $4.70 billion — dropping to $21.99 billion as the broader crypto sell-off hit the market's most speculative corner hardest.
Only 1 of the 31 largest memecoins in the top 500 was rising on Friday morning, November 6, 2026. The rest were deep in the red, led by Dogecoin, the sector's biggest name.
Dogecoin leads the slide
Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 6.46% in 24 hours to $0.0719, wiping about $851 million off its market capitalisation, which now stands near $12.33 billion. Trading volume surged 48% to $601 million — a sign that holders were rushing for the exits rather than sitting still.
The drop extends a rough week for DOGE. Earlier in the week the coin touched a 74-day low near $0.076, and Thursday's session pushed it lower still. Whale selling has been a running theme: large holders have been offloading into the weakness, and the volume spike on Friday suggests that selling has not stopped yet.
Shiba Inu (SHIB), the second-largest memecoin, fell 3.24% to $0.00000459, with a market capitalisation of about $2.70 billion. Its 24-hour volume rose 34% to $49.41 million — again, selling volume, not buying.
PEPE: the only top coin in green
The one exception proves how broad the rout was. Pepe (PEPE) actually rose 0.61% to $0.00000502, holding a market capitalisation of about $2.11 billion on $331.68 million of 24-hour volume — a turnover rate of nearly 16%, the highest among the top three.
PEPE's resilience is notable because it comes after a strong run: the coin climbed about 14% in the week to November 2, while Dogecoin fell to its 74-day low in the same stretch. PEPE is trading above its 50-day average near $0.0000042, with resistance at roughly $0.0000057 — about 16% higher. Whether it can hold its gains while the rest of the sector falls is the question traders are asking today.
Why memecoins fell harder than everything else
Memecoins are the highest-beta corner of crypto: when Bitcoin falls, they fall further. Thursday's trigger was the same one that hit the whole market — the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.52% as AI and semiconductor stocks sold off, Bitcoin dropped about 5.8% toward $76,000, and more than $1.26 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated.
The numbers tell the story of the hierarchy of pain:
- Bitcoin: down about 5.8% in 24 hours
- Ethereum: down about 8.5%
- Memecoin sector: down 17.6% — roughly triple Bitcoin's fall
- Dogecoin: down 6.46%, volume up 48%
- Shiba Inu: down 3.24%
- Pepe: up 0.61% — the only top memecoin in green
Memecoins have no earnings, no cash flow and no central bank to cushion them. Their value is community attention plus liquidity — and when liquidity dries up in a risk-off market, attention follows the money out the door. The sector's 24-hour trading volume of $1.39 billion shows there is still plenty of activity, but on Friday that activity was mostly selling.
The risk nobody should ignore
The memecoin boom has always come with a warning label, and the data backs it up: research cited across the sector puts the failure rate of new memecoin projects at around 97% within their first year. The established names — Dogecoin and Shiba Inu — survive because of deep liquidity, major exchange listings and multi-cycle communities. Most of the 1,500-plus tagged memecoins do not have any of those things.
That is also why the survivors matter. Shiba Inu has built real infrastructure around itself, including the Shibarium Layer 2 network, which passed 1 billion transactions in December 2025, and the ShibaSwap decentralised exchange. Dogecoin remains the most liquid memecoin by a wide margin. PEPE's edge is raw trading volume and community momentum. Coins without any of those moats are the ones that go to zero in a sell-off like this one.
What to watch next
Three things decide whether Friday's memecoin rout is a one-day flush or the start of a deeper slide:
- Bitcoin's $75,000 level. If Bitcoin holds above its prior low of $75,625, the forced selling eases and memecoins can stabilise. A break below opens the door to another leg down.
- Today's US jobs report (13:30 GMT). A weak number could soften rate-hike expectations and bring risk appetite back; a hot number does the opposite.
- PEPE's $0.0000057 resistance. If the one green coin in the sector breaks higher while everything else falls, it signals that speculative money is rotating, not leaving.
Until one of those turns, the memecoin market remains what it has always been in a sell-off: the fastest way down in crypto. Follow the Zimbuck News page and join the discussion in the Zimbuck Market News group. Related reading on Zimbuck: Dogecoin Falls 7% as Whales Sell Into the Rout and How Memecoin Launchpads Work: Pump.fun, Bonding Curves and Fair Launches Explained.
FAQ
Why did memecoins fall so much on November 6, 2026?
A tech-led stock sell-off (Nasdaq -5.52%) hit crypto, Bitcoin fell toward $76,000, and leveraged liquidations topped $1.26 billion. Memecoins, the most speculative crypto assets, fell roughly three times as far as Bitcoin.
How much did the memecoin market lose?
The sector lost $4.70 billion in 24 hours — a 17.6% drop — falling to a $21.99 billion total market capitalisation.
Which memecoin held up best?
Pepe (PEPE) was the only top memecoin in green, up 0.61% to $0.00000502, after a 14% gain in the week to November 2.
Are memecoins safe to buy during a sell-off?
Memecoins are among the highest-risk assets in crypto — about 97% of new projects fail within a year. Only the established names with deep liquidity and exchange listings tend to survive sell-offs.
The memecoin market lost $4.7 billion in a day. The coins with real communities and real liquidity will be the ones still standing when the dust settles. Join the conversation on Zimbuck — the finance social platform for traders and investors: https://zimbuck.com
This article is market news and general information only, not financial advice.
