Are Shiba Inu, PEPE, and Dogecoin Dead in 2025? The Numbers Tell a Brutal Story

Bitcoin chart in USD over the past year – TradingView

$BTC also corrected in 2025, dropping from above $120,000 to roughly $89,000. Thats a loss of around −25% from the highs.

But heres the key difference:

• Bitcoin held its macro structure
• Bitcoin found buyers on dips
• Bitcoin did not collapse into a year long downtrend

While memecoins bled relentlessly, Bitcoin stayed within a broad consolidation range. Institutions rotated out of risk, but they didnt abandon Bitcoin.

That divergence matters.

Why Memecoins Always Look “Dead” Mid Cycle

This isn‘t new behavior. In fact, it’s classic cycle psychology.

Memecoins tend to:

• Underperform during uncertainty
• Get abandoned during risk off phases
• Look completely “dead” before bull runs resume

Historically, memecoins do not lead bull markets. They lag. Capital flows first into Bitcoin, then Ethereum, then large caps, and only later into high risk narratives like memecoins.

By the time memecoins start moving, sentiment has already flipped.

The Bull Run Effect: When Memecoins Explode

Heres the part many forget.

During true bull runs, memecoins often:

• Outperform Bitcoin by multiples
• Attract massive retail liquidity
• Go vertical in very short timeframes

DOGE in 2021.

SHIB in 2021.

PEPE in 2023.

None of those rallies started when charts looked healthy. They started when interest was gone, volume was dead, and price action looked hopeless.

Thats exactly what the 2025 charts resemble right now.

So… Are SHIB, PEPE, and DOGE Really Dead？

• From a short term trading perspective: Memecoins look weak. Very weak.
• From a cycle perspective: They look exactly how memecoins always look before the next liquidity wave.

Bitcoin losing 25% while memecoins lose 70–80% isn‘t a death sentence—it’s a reminder of how risk behaves in crypto.

Memecoins dont die quietly.

They disappear… and then suddenly return when nobody expects it.