Dogecoin is starting to attract attention again. DOGE gained about 17% in the week ending September 24, while several other meme coins have also shown renewed activity. That has brought an old crypto question back: are traders beginning to rotate toward meme coins again?

DOGE remains the biggest name in the sector. Earlier this month, the total meme-coin market was estimated at roughly $31 billion, with Dogecoin holding a much larger market value than its closest meme-coin rivals.

The recent move also appears to be part of a broader increase in risk appetite. Earlier in the week, DOGE jumped alongside a wider altcoin rally, with rising social attention and derivatives activity contributing to the move.

There is another interesting development: regulated DOGE investment products are now part of the market. U.S. Dogecoin ETFs recorded about $2.89 million in net inflows during the week ending September 25, reportedly their strongest week so far.

However, the bigger picture is mixed. DOGE investment products have attracted far less capital than comparable XRP and Solana products. CoinDesk reported that three tracked U.S. Dogecoin funds had collected only a little over $12 million in cumulative net inflows through September 10, while XRP and SOL funds had attracted substantially more.

One DOGE product is even leaving the market. Bitwise disclosed to the SEC that it plans to close and liquidate its Dogecoin ETF, with trading scheduled to stop before the market opens on October 15.

That creates an interesting contrast. Retail interest and DOGE price momentum are improving, but institutional demand through ETFs remains relatively small.

Meme coins are also highly sensitive to overall market sentiment. When traders become more comfortable taking risk, DOGE, SHIB, PEPE and similar assets can move quickly. When sentiment turns defensive, these speculative assets can also fall much faster than larger cryptocurrencies.

So DOGE moving again doesn't automatically mean a full meme-coin season has started. A stronger signal would be sustained momentum spreading from DOGE into other major meme coins while trading activity remains elevated.

For now, Dogecoin is giving the meme-coin sector some life again. The next question is whether this remains a DOGE rally or develops into a much broader rotation across the sector.