As 2026 unfolds, Dogecoin has certainly made headlines with its surprising movements in price. After a period of fluctuation and bearish trends at the end of the previous year, the popular memecoin saw a sudden surge, quickly climbing above $0.15. Intriguingly, data indicates that the dominant players in the Dogecoin market, often referred to as whales, have not been significantly active in these developments, largely maintaining a watchful stance.

Whales Remain Unmoved Amid Price Swings

In early January, Dogecoin started its week with a robust spike, moving from below $0.12 to hover around the mid-$0.15 range. This period saw a notable increase in trading volume, nearly tripling compared to the final days of December. On January 2 alone, Dogecoin’s trading volume reached approximately $3.56 billion. Such heightened activity reflects a genuine interest from smaller investors in the market.

During this exciting phase, Dogecoin was momentarily able to break above the $0.15 mark on January 5, a key resistance level that had challenged its price action throughout the previous month. However, an intriguing insight from on-chain data shows that sizable holders were less responsive to the price increase.

According to recent analyses from market tracking resources, addresses with holdings between 100 million to 1 billion DOGE reported a slight uptick in their holdings to 35.8 billion DOGE by January 4, only to trim back their positions starting January 5.

By the morning of January 6, the quantity of DOGE held by this group had fallen to approximately 34.59 billion DOGE. Since then, their overall balances have stabilized, showing little change.

Source: Market Tracking Insights

Sharks Lead the Charge in Accumulation

Conversely, the so-called Dogecoin sharks—wallets containing between 10 million and 100 million DOGE—exhibiting a more aggressive approach, demonstrated strong accumulation habits during this bullish phase. After a short-lived decline from January 2 to January 4, this category of holders began noticeably increasing their positions as Dogecoin surged.

As of now, their collective holdings have risen to around 17.63 billion DOGE. Meanwhile, smaller holders, classified as possessing between 1 million and 10 million DOGE, showcased a somewhat similar behavior pattern, albeit with greater caution. They saw a rise in activity early in the week, dipped briefly around January 7, but rebounded sharply with their total holdings reaching approximately 10.9 billion DOGE.

Currently, Dogecoin appears to be consolidating after its recent rally, once again facing challenges at the $0.15 mark. As it stands, Dogecoin is trading at about $0.1424, and the hesitance displayed by large whales continues to create an air of uncertainty regarding future price movements.