Waiting Game: Meme Coins Still Testing Critical Support as Crypto Year-End Winds Down

The memecoin sector remains locked in a holding pattern. Dogecoin has retreated to $0.14 with a -4.46% pullback, while Shiba Inu continues trading near $0.000007165, both tokens struggling to establish upside momentum as Bitcoin’s bounce attempts falter and Ethereum stays bogged down. Traders are still waiting for a fresh catalyst, but what they’re getting instead is a technical grind along established support-and-resistance zones.

Market Backdrop: Broad Risk-Off Pushing Memes Lower

Memecoins are behaving as barometers for speculative risk appetite, and with the broader crypto market choppy into year-end, that’s meant consistent selling pressure on high-volatility plays. Bitcoin hasn’t delivered sustained follow-through on its attempted recoveries during American trading hours, and Ethereum’s sluggish price action has made matters worse for the higher-risk corners of the market.

Position unwinding and thin year-end liquidity have exaggerated moves around key technical levels. Even without major headline catalysts, memes like DOGE and SHIB are getting flushed whenever traders sense weakness—a pattern that’s likely to persist until Bitcoin or Ethereum show more decisive directional conviction.

Dogecoin at a Crossroads: Holding the Line or Rolling Over?

DOGE has compressed into a tight consolidation range, but the bias is skewed bearish after multiple rejections at the $0.1260–$0.1264 ceiling. This zone represents the most critical near-term supply barrier, validated by high-volume selling attempts.

Below that, $0.1208–$0.1220 acts as the demand foundation keeping the structure intact. As long as this support holds, traders can expect sideways grinding. But breach $0.122 and downside accelerates fast toward $0.1280 and $0.1250 as leveraged stops trigger in quick succession.

For bulls to regain control, DOGE needs to reclaim $0.1264 first, then push through $0.133 to genuinely flip the short-term trend. Until then, the token remains trapped between two technical anchors.

Shiba Inu’s Breakdown: The Floor Has Already Given Way

SHIB’s situation is more precarious. The token has already broken through the $0.00000717–$0.00000718 support floor, confirming a descending-channel pattern and shifting the focus lower to $0.000007145 as the next critical marker.

If that level cracks, the next meaningful demand pocket sits near $0.00000707. Rebounds are capped around $0.00000722–$0.00000725 unless volume picks up in a sustained manner—unlikely given the broader headwinds.

The key distinction: DOGE is still range-trading near the bottom of its band, while SHIB has already surrendered a major level and is now in search mode for the next floor. That divergence typically signals sector-wide vulnerability rather than selective buying accumulation.

What’s Actually Driving Price Action

Over the last 24 hours, DOGE fell from $0.1258 to the current $0.14 level (revised data), with volume running 11.5% above its seven-day average. High-volume rejections near $0.1264 confirmed that sellers are active on any bounce attempt. SHIB slipped through its floor and has been unable to defend the $0.00000722–$0.00000725 zone as selling accelerated downward.

The reading is clear: this is fundamentally a technical market, not a narrative-driven one. Headline catalysts matter less than clean levels do right now.

The Trade: Watch Two Levels and Act

For DOGE traders, $0.122 is the make-or-break threshold. Hold it and the market can continue grinding sideways; lose it and downside acceleration kicks in as stops trigger. Real upside relief only begins if price reclaims $0.1264, with $0.133 as the level that would genuinely reverse the bias.

SHIB bulls face a tougher spot. They need to reclaim that broken $0.00000717–$0.00000718 floor to stop the bleeding. If they can’t, $0.000007145 becomes the final “must hold” level, and failure there almost certainly targets $0.00000707.

Until Bitcoin demonstrates sustained rebound strength and Ether shakes off its heaviness, memecoins will likely keep leaking lower—not in a straight plunge, but through repeated failed bounces that invite fresh selling waves. The patience game continues; traders are still waiting for either a break above resistance or a capitulation flush that could set up the next entry point.