Why Is Dogecoin Down So Much Worse Than Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Following last week’s flash crash, major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum are still down—but not nearly as bad as DOGE. 

Dogecoin, the ninth-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, is the worst performing cryptocurrency over the last week out of the top 20 digital coins and tokens. The O.G. meme coin was recently trading 23% lower over a seven-day period, with CoinGecko data showing that DOGE was priced under $0.19. 

DOGE has recovered slightly from a low of $0.18 after Friday’s wipeout—but why has it struggled to make real gains lately?

Bitcoin and Ethereum are both down approximately 10% over the past week, respectively. BTC was recently priced at $108,042; ETH was trading hands for $3,878. Meme coins are often fueled by sentiment, and right now, the crypto vibes have turned broadly bearish. Dogecoin may be taking that hit harder than other major assets.

“DOGE isn’t bouncing as hard because meme tokens are more vulnerable to sentiment whipsaws. When fear is in the air, they’re often the first to lose momentum,” said Maja Vujinovic, co-founder and digital assets CEO of Ethereum treasury firm FG Nexus. “Over time, I think DOGE is showing less shock-resilience: With weaker on-chain demand and more speculative holders, it’s getting hit harder when the broader market contracts.”

The coin, one expert told Decrypt, might also be suffering from an identity crisis as the crypto industry becomes increasingly dominated by corporate players.

“[DOGE] is not the speculative asset it used to be in crypto,” Jonathan Morgan, the lead crypto analyst at Stocktwits, told Decrypt. “Hell, it’s got its own digital asset treasury in the stock market. It is in a crisis of identity, and yes, it’s a meme coin—but is it part of the current meme coin culture?”

He added that those wanting a part of the meme coin action now—despite DOGE’s big market cap—see better returns elsewhere. Dogecoin still tends to swing more wildly than other large-cap coins, but there’s always some hot new meme coin popping up and surging to blistering heights (and often plunging very soon after).

“Degen” traders in the meme coin trenches may be looking to those tokens for potential quick-flip gains, rather than the comparatively tame DOGE.

“There are platforms where traders can park and bark in a single ecosystem and pump out meme coins, or try their luck on the fountain of meme coins being pumped out (i.e., Pump.fun) for a win,” he said. 

Dogecoin has lagged behind other altcoins in 2025. Despite making a bit of a comeback at the end of 2024 and the start of this year, largely thanks to DOGE fan Elon Musk and his short-lived alliance with President Donald Trump, the coin remains well off its 2021 record of $0.7316. 

Market observers told Decrypt in September that the coin lacks real use cases—something that investors are increasingly looking for in the crypto industry. That is still the case, according to Vladislav Ginzburg, founder and CEO of software company OneSource.

“There were always rumors and speculation that Elon Musk could make DOGE a payment option on X, for example,” he said. “Given that companies are feeling more empowered to launch a token in the new regulatory environment, such a narrative seems absent.”

DOGE was created as a joke to poke fun at the crypto space. It then largely gained a cult following when Musk started posting memes about the coin, with his social media activity fueling past pumps for the coin.

The world’s richest man claimed that he liked the asset because it was “for the people,” unlike Bitcoin, and even pushed it as a serious coin that could be used for payments. That, so far, has failed to materialize. 

Until DOGE finds its real raison d’être, it may struggle to make big gains.