As the market cools off after months of sharp rallies, meme coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Pepecoin (PEPE) are showing signs of exhaustion. Their recent pullbacks have left many traders looking for projects with stronger fundamentals and long-term growth potential. At the same time, early-stage DeFi platforms are gaining traction — and one new project, Mutuum Finance (MUTM), is emerging as a top contender among investors seeking the best crypto to buy now for 2026.

While SHIB and PEPE captured huge attention during previous hype cycles, their momentum appears to be slowing. Analysts suggest that as these meme tokens consolidate, capital could shift toward projects with real utility and sustainable demand models.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu (SHIB) currently trades around $0.000009, giving it a market cap of roughly $13.6 billion. The token remains one of the most recognized meme coins in the crypto industry, often referred to as the Dogecoin killer. Its community remains large and active, but the market is showing clear signs of fatigue after SHIB’s impressive multi-year run.

Analysts note that SHIB faces major resistance between $0.0000010 and $0.0000015, a zone where sell pressure tends to build up quickly. Despite multiple attempts to break out, momentum has been weakening, and trading volumes have fallen compared to earlier months.

While the ecosystem continues to expand with products like ShibaSwap and SHIB: The Metaverse, the token’s massive supply of over 589 trillion makes meaningful price increases increasingly difficult. Most forecasts predict limited upside for 2025–2026, with analysts expecting mild gains of around 20–30%.

Pepecoin (PEPE)

Pepecoin (PEPE) has also lost steam following its sharp rise earlier in 2025. It’s currently priced at around $0.0000056, with a market cap close to $2 billion. Despite being one of the more recognizable meme tokens, PEPE is encountering persistent selling pressure and investor fatigue as new meme projects dilute overall attention.

While PEPE benefited heavily from community-driven hype earlier in the year, it lacks consistent demand mechanisms to maintain long-term growth. Analysts warn that without fundamental updates, its future performance could remain range-bound or face additional downside if meme-coin sentiment fades.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

In contrast to SHIB and PEPE, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is attracting attention for its developing DeFi utility and transparent development progress. It’s not a meme token or a hype-driven project, instead, it’s a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol built to make digital credit markets more efficient.

Mutuum Finance allows users to lend their assets to earn yield or borrow against their holdings, all powered by smart contracts that remove intermediaries. The platform’s design aims to balance risk and reward through on-chain automation, giving users full control and transparency.

The project’s presale has shown remarkable traction. Starting in early 2025 at $0.01 per token, MUTM is now priced at $0.035 in Phase 6, marking a 2.5x increase from its first stage. To date, the project has raised $18.6 million, onboarded 17,900 holders, and sold 796 million tokens. Phase 6 is now over 86% allocated, with investor interest continuing to grow as the token nears its $0.06 launch price.

Why MUTM could outperform SHIB and PEPE

1. Utility vs. Hype

Both SHIB and PEPE rely heavily on community hype and social sentiment. While that worked during early bull runs, long-term sustainability requires actual utility. MUTM’s appeal lies in its real use case — powering a decentralized credit market that rewards both lenders and borrowers through smart contract automation.

The project introduces mtTokens, which act as 1:1 interest-bearing receipts for deposited assets. These tokens automatically accrue value as borrowers repay interest, allowing depositors to earn passive income while maintaining ownership of their crypto.

2. Revenue-Driven Tokenomics

Mutuum Finance’s buy-and-distribute model sets it apart from meme coins. Platform revenue is used to buy MUTM on the open market and redistribute it to users staking mtTokens in the safety module. This creates consistent buying pressure linked to actual lending activity rather than speculation.

Neither SHIB nor PEPE have similar revenue-backed mechanisms, meaning their value largely depends on sentiment instead of organic ecosystem growth.

V1 launch and security strength

Mutuum Finance has confirmed via its official X account that the V1 protocol will launch on Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025. This early version will include the Liquidity Pool, mtTokens, Debt Tokens, and the Liquidator Bot, the foundation of its lending ecosystem.

ETH and USDT will serve as the initial supported assets, chosen for their strong liquidity and reliability. These components mark the project’s first major step toward full mainnet deployment.

Security has also been a key focus since day one. Mutuum Finance completed a CertiK audit with a 90/100 Token Scan score, confirming the strength of its smart contracts. The team has also launched a $50,000 bug bounty to encourage responsible vulnerability reporting before the mainnet goes live.

Additionally, the project operates a 24-hour leaderboard, rewarding the top daily presale contributor with $500 in MUTM tokens, an initiative that promotes transparency and keeps the community active and engaged.

Building for the long term

Unlike many short-lived meme coins, Mutuum Finance’s roadmap outlines a series of practical developments, including oracle integration for accurate pricing, a future USD-pegged stablecoin that channels interest revenue to its treasury, and plans for layer-2 expansion to improve scalability and lower transaction costs.

These elements, combined with its structured tokenomics and audited codebase, have made MUTM a standout among top crypto projects preparing for the next market cycle.

With Phase 6 nearing completion and the testnet launch on the horizon, Mutuum Finance’s progress reflects growing confidence from investors who value fundamentals over hype. While SHIB and PEPE consolidate, MUTM continues to gain momentum — positioning itself as a potential leader in the next wave of DeFi crypto growth heading into 2026.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

DISCLAIMER – “Views Expressed Disclaimer – The information provided in this content is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, legal, tax, or health advice, nor relied upon as a substitute for professional guidance tailored to your personal circumstances. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any other individual, organization, agency, employer, or company, including NEO CYMED PUBLISHING LIMITED (operating under the name Cyprus-Mail).