Dog-themed memecoins are ending the year on the back foot. A new CoinDesk market update says Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) continued to lag broader crypto performance this week, extending a multi-month trend of memecoins losing ground to Bitcoin as investors favor larger, more liquid assets.
By the numbers
As of late Thursday in New York, CoinDesk’s price dashboards showed DOGE near $0.12 and SHIB around 0.000073, both little changed on the day but nursing underperformance versus bitcoin (BTC) over recent weeks. Those levels keep DOGE pinned beneath the mid-December breakdown zone and leave SHIB struggling to build momentum after multiple tests of lower support.
The relative weakness hasn’t appeared out of nowhere. Earlier in the week, CoinDesk flagged DOGE’s slip below $0.13, noting that short-term direction hinged on whether bulls could reclaim the $0.1290–$0.1300 area. A separate update the day before highlighted both DOGE and SHIB probing lower levels after key supports gave way—classic “sell the bounce” behavior inside a weakening trend.
Why memecoins are lagging
Three forces stand out.
1) Bitcoin’s share of the pie is elevated. With spot flows and risk budgets consolidating in the most liquid asset, BTC dominance—Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market value—has stayed high through 2025 relative to many prior cycles. Even earlier in the year, financial press tracked dominance at multi-year highs, a dynamic that tends to crowd out smaller tokens when volatility rises. While the exact percentage fluctuates day to day, the structural picture is the same: BTC is capturing a larger slice of attention and capital.
2) Liquidity has become selective. Kaiko’s 2025 research recap points to a year defined by record BTC runs, fleeting alt rallies and big liquidation waves—a backdrop that generally rewards depth and punishes thin books. In practice, that means bounces in memecoins fade faster and drawdowns overshoot when order-book support is light.
3) A tougher macro tape. Beyond crypto-specific flows, risk appetite has been uneven into the holidays. Market coverage in November already chronicled a sharp, broad crypto drawdown as traders pared speculative exposure; while conditions have stabilized at times, the damage left investors more selective—again favoring BTC over higher-beta names like DOGE and SHIB.
The technical picture: ranges, supports, and “failing rallies”
From a chart-reader’s lens, DOGE has been stuck in a narrow, choppy range for most of December, with intraday stabs toward $0.13 repeatedly sold and dips toward the high-$0.12s met with only modest bids. CoinDesk’s technicians framed $0.1290–$0.1300 as “line-in-the-sand” resistance; until bulls convert that back into support, momentum favors lower-highs churn. SHIB tells a similar story: after losing nearby support, rebounds have lacked follow-through as traders prioritize liquidity and quick exits.
Even when activity spikes, prices haven’t followed through. Earlier in December, CoinDesk noted DOGE network activity at a three-month high but “range-bound” price action—a reminder that on-chain buzz alone doesn’t overcome macro flows and thin liquidity when the market is cautious.
How Bitcoin’s dominance shapes the trade
Dominance isn’t just a trivia stat; it often tracks cycle regime. When dominance rises or stays elevated, altcoins—especially memecoins—tend to underperform because (a) fresh fiat inflows are channeled first into BTC, and (b) rotating capital looks for places to hide during volatility. Live dominance dashboards from TradingView and CoinMarketCap show the ratio ebbing and flowing day to day, but the 2025 theme has been persistent: BTC commands a larger share than in many recent alt-led phases.
That concentration has practical consequences. Dealers and funds keep more of their inventory in BTC, market depth remains healthier in the top pairings, and risk models require stronger catalysts before committing size to meme assets. Dogecoin’s and Shiba Inu’s year-end lag sits squarely inside that pattern.
What could flip the script for DOGE and SHIB?
- A durable BTC consolidation. Historically, memecoins perform best when Bitcoin stops trending and ranges for weeks, freeing up capital and attention for higher-beta bets. A calmer BTC tape—and a plateau in dominance—would be the first precondition to any extended DOGE/SHIB catch-up. Live BTC charts underscore that the coin has been volatile into December; a sustained quiet period could be constructive for alts.
- Fresh liquidity or listings. Kaiko’s year-in-review calls out liquidity concentration as a defining feature of 2025. Any venue-level change that deepens books for DOGE/SHIB—more active pairs, tighter spreads—can reduce slippage and make rallies “stickier.”
- Clear technical reclaim. For DOGE, traders are watching a clean recapture of $0.1290–$0.1300 and a daily close above prior lower highs; for SHIB, regaining lost supports with volume would help. Without those signals, failed rallies are more likely than not.
The takeaway
CoinDesk’s latest memo-to-market is straightforward: DOGE and SHIB are lagging, and not just for a day—this has been a weeks-long grind where Bitcoin soaks up flows, and memecoins fade on bounces. Prices around $0.12 (DOGE)and 0.000073 (SHIB) tell the tale, even as intraday pops entice fast money. Unless Bitcoin cools off long enough for risk to rotate—or liquidity meaningfully improves in meme pairs—expect the underperformance to persist into the holidays.