Why DOGE Falls 10%? SEC's Meme Coins Stance Failed to Save the Market

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally admitted yesterday (Thursday) that meme coins do not fall under its purview as they cannot be categorised as securities. Despite this, most of the top meme coins dropped by over 10 per cent in the past 24 hours, following the broader industry trend.

Meme Coins Have “Limited or No Use”

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce earlier commented in an interview about the stance of the newly created Crypto Task Force under her leadership towards meme coins. Now, the agency has formalised it.

“A ‘meme coin’ is a type of crypto asset inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends, for which the promoter seeks to attract an enthusiastic online community to purchase the meme coin and engage in its trading,” a staff statement published on the SEC’s website noted.

“Meme coins typically are purchased for entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes, and their value is driven primarily by market demand and speculation. In this regard, meme coins are akin to collectables.”

The statement further confirmed that meme coins “typically have limited or no use or functionality” and do not meet the definition of a security under the Howey Test.

This confirmation came as the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase and ended its probe into Gemini.

Meme Coins Follow the Market

Despite the regulatory boost, the value of top meme coins has continued to fall over the past few days. Market leader Dogecoin (DOGE), with a market cap of over $27.5 billion, has lost about 10 per cent of its value in the past 24 hours and almost 28 per cent in seven days.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Pepe (PEPE) are also following a similar trend, losing 15 per cent and over 23 per cent, respectively, in the past week.

TRUMP coin, which US President Donald Trump backs, remained at the forefront of the declining meme coins. It lost 14.3 per cent in the past 24 hours and 32.2 per cent in seven days.

According to CoinGecko, the overall meme coin market is down by 8.6 per cent. This occurred as Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 mark, losing almost all of its gains since President Trump assumed office. Ethereum and XRP, two other top cryptocurrencies by market cap, also lost over 20 per cent of their value in the past week.

It should be noted that meme coins received a massive boost following Trump's victory as the 47th President of the US. Dogecoin surged to $0.47 after Trump’s 2024 win, primarily driven by Elon Musk’s endorsement and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in early 2025. However, investor enthusiasm has since faded.

“The offer and sale of meme coins do not involve an investment in an enterprise, nor is it undertaken with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others,” the SEC’s latest statement added.