Meme Season Ignites: Dogecoin Whales Buy $49M as ‘Golden Cross’ Flashes

January 4, 2026. Dogecoin (DOGE) spearheaded a sector-wide liquidity rotation Sunday, surging 11% to $0.1516 after on-chain trackers identified a massive accumulation event. A singular whale entity purchased 325 million DOGE (approx. $49.2 million) in a 12-hour window, forcing the token through key resistance at $0.130 and triggering a broader risk-on rally across the meme coin vertical.

The Receipt: Whale Aggression Meets Technical Breakout

Market data confirms the move was volume-backed, not just slippage. Dogecoin’s 24-hour volume spiked 40.1% above its 30-day average, validating the price action. This inflows coincided with a textbook hourly ‘Golden Cross’, where the 9-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) crossed above the 26-period SMA, signaling immediate buy-side momentum to algorithmic trading desks.

The rally came with volume running stronger than trend… a key confirmation signal for assessing whether a breakout is being supported by real participation.

The 325 million DOGE purchase effectively absorbed sell-side liquidity, creating a vacuum that pushed the asset to an intraday high of $0.1516. With the $0.130 level now flipped from resistance to support, market makers are pricing in sustained volatility.

Sector Contagion: PEPE and BONK Outperform

The capital rotation didn’t stop at Dogecoin. The total meme coin sector capitalization expanded 10.8% to $48.4 billion in 24 hours, outpacing major L1s. Traders aggressively levered into high-beta plays:

• Pepe (PEPE): Surged 17%, leading the mid-cap pack.
• Bonk (BONK): Climbed 11% on renewed Solana ecosystem activity.
• Floki (FLOKI) & Shiba Inu (SHIB): Posted gains of 10% and 8% respectively.

This coordinated lift suggests a “meme season” narrative is taking hold, likely driven by profit-taking from major caps cycling into speculative assets. If DOGE holds above the $0.15 psychological floor, the technical structure points to a retest of Q4 2025 highs.