Memecoins surpass bitcoin and ether as ‘barbell strategy’ proves effective.

Your day-ahead look for March 16, 2026

Crypto’s "barbell strategy" returns. (Benjamin Brunner/Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)

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BTCBTC$73.470,16◢2,36%

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

While bitcoin BTC$73,470.16 experiences an upward trend, less serious tokens like memecoins are becoming the most significant gainers.

Among the major cryptocurrencies, bitcoin increased by over 2% in a 24-hour period, briefly exceeding $74,300 early Monday, marking its highest point since early February. Other cryptocurrencies such as XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) rose by over 4%, while ether (ETH) climbed by 7%. The CoinDesk 20 Index saw a nearly 4% increase.

However, the highest-performing token within the top 100 in the last 24 hours is the memecoin PEPE, which has surged by 19%. Its peers, BONK and PENGU, have risen more than 10%, and SHIB has also outperformed ether’s 7% increase. In total, five of the day’s top-performing coins are meme tokens.

This reflects a trend identified since 2023–24, termed the “barbell strategy,” which involves holding a significant token like bitcoin, noted for its increasing institutional adoption, on one end, while speculating on smaller, less serious coins like memecoins on the other.

This pattern differs from the previous bullish market, where BTC increases typically boosted more productive segments of the market, such as DeFi and play-to-earn initiatives.

One potential explanation for the lack of a “meaningful alt season” is the influx of new altcoins, which has distributed demand across thousands of projects. Data from CoinMarketCap indicates that the total number of tokens has exceeded 37.8 million in just three years, underscoring the considerable arrival of new initiatives.

Some analysts are placing their hopes on the Clarity Act in the U.S. to revitalize the broader market, while others warn that the window for decisive regulatory actions is narrowing.

In traditional markets, S&P 500 futures showed an uptick, despite oil prices nearing the $100 mark. Nvidia’s GTC conference starts on Monday, where CEO Jensen Huang may present the company’s AI strategy, an event anticipated by the crypto sector for insights on data center demand. Stay vigilant!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today

What to Watch

For a detailed schedule of events this week, refer to CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• Crypto
  • No events scheduled
• Macro
  • March 16, 8:30 a.m.: Canada consumer price index (CPI) YoY for February (Prev. 2.3%)
• Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
  • March 16: Bakkt Holdings (BKKT), post-market, -$0.47
  • March 16: Bitcoin Depot (BTM), pre-market, -$0.47
  • March 16: Cango (CANG), post-market, -$0.34

Token Events

For a detailed schedule of events this week, refer to CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• Governance votes & calls
  • Decentraland DAO is conducting a vote on allowing registered users to change the color of their avatar name tag and to introduce a more user-friendly volume slider in the UI sidebar. Voting concludes on March 16 and 17.
• Unlocks
  • March 16: Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock 1.78% of its circulating supply valued at $9.65 million.
• Token Launches
  • March 16: HTX DAO (HTX) staking public beta commences.

Conferences

For a detailed schedule of events this week, refer to CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• No events scheduled.

Market Movements

• BTC has increased by 2.22% since 4 p.m. ET Sunday, now at $73,300.29 (24hrs: +2.02%)
• ETH has risen by 5.98% to $2,259.15 (24hrs: +6.57%)
• CoinDesk 20 is up 3.81% at 2,130.70 (24hrs: +3.79%)
• Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate remains steady at 2.74%
• BTC funding rate stands at 0.0041% (4.4435% annualized) on Binance

• DXY remains stable at 100.29
• Gold futures have decreased by 1.36% to $4,983.70
• Silver futures are down 2.80% at $78.65
• Nikkei 225 closed lower by 0.13% at 53,751.15
• Hang Seng ended up 1.45% at 25,834.02
• FTSE 100 remains unchanged at 10,261.99
• Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.67% at 5,678.08
• DJIA closed on Friday down 0.26% at 46,558.47
• S&P 500 closed down 0.61% at 6,632.19
• Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.93% at 22,105.36
• S&P/TSX Composite closed down 0.91% at 32,541.93
• S&P 40 Latin America closed down 0.16% at 3,584.57
• U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 1 bps at 4.28%
• E-mini S&P 500 futures have increased by 0.37% at 6,660.50