Dogecoin price has been in a strong freefall this year, erasing over 63% of its value and underperforming other blue-chip tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum. DOGE was trading at $0.123 today, Dec. 28, down by ~72% from its highest point this year.
Why Dogecoin Price Crashed This Year
There are a few reasons why the DOGE price plummeted this year. First, the decline was due to the crypto market crash, which brought the valuation of all tokens from over $4.2 trillion to $2.9 trillion today. Bitcoin and most altcoins are all ending the year in the red.
Second, as we wrote on Shiba Inu Coin, the decline was due to ongoing performance in the meme coin industry. While most tokens tumbled, meme coins were among the worst affected. Indeed, the market cap of all meme coins tracked by CoinGecko dropped from over $100 billion earlier this year to $39 billion today.
Third, the token plunged when Elon Musk had no impact on it while he served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He resigned from the role earlier this year to focus on his companies, including Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX.
Additionally, the recently launched spot DOGE ETFs have not become successful. These funds, launched by Grayscale and Bitwise, have seen no inflows for weeks.
They have also accumulated just $5 million in assets, a tiny sum given that Dogecoin is one of the largest cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of over $20 billion.
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Dogecoin price also plunged as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index tumbled to the fear zone after the huge liquidation event in October this year. Indeed, recent data shows that the futures open interest has dropped to $1.5 billion, down sharply from the year-to-date high of nearly $6 billion.
What Next for DOGE Price in 2026?
Unfortunately, there are signs that the Dogecoin price will continue falling in 2026. The logarithmic weekly chart shows the coin recently moved below the ascending trendline connecting the lowest swings since October 2023. Moving below that level confirmed the bearish outlook.
Most importantly, the token has formed a head-and-shoulders pattern, which is characterized by a head, two shoulders, and a neckline. The ascending trendline described above was part of the pattern’s neckline.
DOGE price has dropped below the 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA). It also moved below the 78.6% Fibonacci Retracement level. Therefore, the most likely DOGE price prediction for 2026 is bearish, with the initial target being the year-to-date low of $0.090.
A crash below that level will point to more downside, potentially to the important support level at $0.0493, its lowest level in 2023, and 60% below the current level.
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