Meme Market Under Pressure as DOGE and SHIB Struggle to Break Free From Technical Walls

The memecoin complex is showing signs of fatigue as year-end trading winds down. Dogecoin has retreated to $0.123 levels while Shiba Inu finds itself hovering around $0.000007165, with both assets failing to sustain any meaningful upside momentum. The broader culprit is clear: Bitcoin’s bounce attempts are fizzling out and Ethereum remains sluggish, leaving the high-beta memecoin sector exposed to sell-offs whenever traders book profits near obvious technical barriers.

What’s Driving the Weakness

Meme tokens are behaving exactly as they should in a choppy risk-off environment—as proxies for speculative appetite. With Bitcoin struggling to hold gains during U.S. trading sessions and Ethereum trading without conviction, capital is rotating away from the riskiest corners of crypto. December’s thin liquidity hasn’t helped either; position squaring combined with year-end portfolio adjustments have made even small moves feel exaggerated around key technical thresholds.

The Shiba Inu forum community has been buzzing about these exact dynamics, and for good reason. When both BTC and ETH lack directional clarity, meme coins become victims of the rotation rather than beneficiaries of any narrative catalyst.

The DOGE Picture: Range-Bound but Fragile

Dogecoin is currently trapped in a tightening consolidation pattern, though the bias has turned decidedly bearish after sellers repeatedly rejected attempts to reclaim the $0.1260–$0.1264 zone. This supply cluster represents the most critical near-term ceiling, backed by high-volume rejections that show sellers are still dominant on any bounce.

The demand floor holding this structure intact sits at $0.1208–$0.1220. As long as buyers defend that zone, the market can shuffle sideways. However, a breakdown below $0.122 opens the door to cascade selling toward $0.128 and potentially $0.125, triggering stop losses as the structure unravels.

For bulls to regain control, DOGE needs to reclaim $0.1264 first as a tactical win. Only a sustained push above $0.133 would actually reverse the short-term downtrend and force shorts to cover in size.

SHIB: Already Breaking Down

Shiba Inu’s technicals are notably weaker. The coin has already sliced through the $0.00000717–$0.00000718 support level, confirming a descending-channel dynamic that shifts bears into the driver’s seat. The next meaningful demand pocket sits at $0.000007145, making that the critical “must-hold” level for anyone concerned about further deterioration.

If bulls fail to defend $0.000007145, the next support floor is much lower at $0.00000707. Rebounds, meanwhile, are likely capped in the $0.00000722–$0.00000725 zone unless volume surges sustainably—an unlikely scenario given current market conditions.

Price Movement Snapshot

Over the past 24 hours, DOGE declined from $0.1258 to $0.1230, with trading volume running 11.5% above its seven-day average. The high-volume rejection near $0.1264 confirmed sellers remain active on every bounce attempt. Support activity near $0.1208–$0.1220 kept the market from capitulating completely.

SHIB experienced a sharper slide to $0.000007165 after breaking its key floor. Selling pressure intensified during the drop from resistance at $0.00000722–$0.00000725 down toward the $0.00000707 support zone, signaling conviction among sellers.

What This Means for Traders

The setup here is straightforward: this is a technical battle playing out on a chart, not a narrative-driven market. DOGE’s critical line is $0.122. If it holds, sideways grinding continues. If it breaks, a quick downside acceleration follows as cascading stops trigger.

For SHIB holders, the math is less forgiving. The breakdown has already occurred, so bulls face a steeper climb to neutralize the slide. Reclaiming $0.00000717–$0.00000718 is essential to halt the decline; failure at $0.000007145 would likely drag price toward $0.00000707 and beyond.

The broader message is simple: as long as Bitcoin remains unable to sustain rallies and Ethereum stays under pressure, meme coins will continue to bleed—not in one catastrophic flush, but through repeated failed bounce attempts that progressively invite fresh selling.

The trade monitor: Keep watch on whether DOGE can defend $0.122 and whether SHIB recaptures its broken floor. Those two levels will tell you if the market is building a base or setting up for another leg down.