The past 24 hours (and several days) have been difficult for the cryptocurrency market, with many top tokens posting notable losses.
Even the largest and oldest meme coin has felt the pressure, slipping to just above $0.10 for the first time since April 30. Its momentum faded after reaching roughly $0.12 last week, and it has fallen about 10% over the past week — the steepest decline among the larger-cap altcoins.
Whales Are Accumulating
Despite the recent price decline, overall investor behavior among larger holders has been encouraging. Reports emerging in early May noted that Dogecoin whales were quietly buying, with the combined holdings of wallets holding at least 100 million DOGE reaching a record high of more than 108.5 billion coins.
A subsequent update indicated that these large holders had picked up 470,000,000 DOGE within three days. Those purchases coincided with a short-lived rebound to about $0.118. Following the retracement, whale accumulation has reportedly continued.
Analyst data shared by Ali Martinez showed that big investors bought over 525,000,000 DOGE in a four-day span. Such concentrated buying can reduce immediate selling pressure and often encourages smaller investors who track so-called “smart money” activity.
Whales bought over 525 million Dogecoin $DOGE in the last 96 hours. pic.twitter.com/qrz36pIalX
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 22, 2026
Pattern Resembling Previous Moves
Even amid the current pullback, a number of crypto analysts remain optimistic that the meme coin could still stage a significant rally. One analyst observed that DOGE appears to be repeating the pattern seen after the August 2024 low, when the token printed four strong weekly green candles followed by two red consolidation weeks, and then launched into a major breakout.
That analyst noted Dogecoin recorded four consecutive green weekly candles after the February 2026 bottom and is now in its second consolidation week. If the historical pattern holds, DOGE may either finish the week near its open before climbing higher or turn green immediately and accelerate faster than expected.
Another trader pointed out that the recent apparent breakdown mirrors two prior false breakdowns in DOGE’s history, both of which were followed by extremely large rallies — in some cases reaching extraordinary multiples compared to the pre-break levels.
“The pattern is identical. Support has been reclaimed,” the trader concluded.
While past patterns and whale accumulation can be encouraging signals, they are not guarantees of future performance. Investors should weigh on-chain activity alongside broader market dynamics and their own risk tolerance when assessing potential opportunities in the meme coin space.