Crypto Rally Extends To Memecoins

The rally in cryptocurrencies has extended to memecoins, with the prices of some of the most speculative digital assets more than doubling in the past week. 

Dog and cat-themed memecoins have posted some of their biggest gains in years as investors' risk appetite grows. 

Cash Cat (CRYPTO: $CASHCAT) has led the rally in memecoins, rising 51% in 24 hours to trade at $0.218 U.S. per token. 

In the past week, Cash Cat's price has gained 113%, lifting its market value to $215 million U.S.

Other cat-themed tokens have also broken out. In the last week, Thinking Cat (CRYPTO: $HMM) has risen 131%, Purr (CRYPTO: $PURR) is up 93%, and Popcat (CRYPTO: $POPCAT) has jumped 54% higher. 

The same pattern is showing up among dog-themed memecoins, with Bonk (CRYPTO: $BONK) and Floki (CRYPTO: $FLOKI) each gaining more than 40% since Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) began rallying a week ago.

The largest memecoins are also gaining ground, with Dogecoin (CRYPTO: $DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: $SHIB) each up more than 30% in recent days.

Memecoins are cryptocurrencies built around internet jokes or communities rather than a traditional business. 

Prices for memecoins tend to react strongly when traders become willing to take risks, making the smaller tokens a useful gauge of investors' speculative appetite.

Analysts say the latest moves show that the rally in Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) is extending to memecoins and digital assets that have thinner liquidity.

The rally in memecoins comes as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index jumps to a level of 75, its highest since the digital asset market peaked last October.

A week ago, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index was sitting at a level of 30.