Cheap cryptocurrencies often become the most talked-about assets during market resets, especially when investors start scanning for low-priced tokens with the potential to move fast. As Q1 2026 approaches, three sub-$0.05 coins are drawing major interest — but only one is already 98% sold out at $0.035, creating a wave of urgency as buyers try to secure the last remaining supply. With both meme tokens losing momentum and a rising DeFi project gaining traction, the gap between these three choices is becoming clearer by the day.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu remains one of the most recognizable meme tokens in the market, but its price action has struggled recently. SHIB trades around $0.0000085, supported by a market cap near $5B, yet it continues to face strong selling pressure.

The first major resistance zone sits at $0.0000095 to $0.0000100, where SHIB has failed several breakout attempts. A higher barrier around $0.0000115 also remains untouched, signaling weak demand and fading community energy. With trading volume declining, SHIB risks drifting toward $0.0000075 or even lower, according to multiple market commentators.

SHIB’s main challenge is its massive supply. It becomes harder for the token to deliver sharp upside moves, especially without significant catalysts or big liquidity inflows. This limitation is pushing early SHIB holders to explore alternatives that still offer early-stage growth potential.

Pepecoin (PEPE)

Pepecoin (PEPE) was one of the fastest-moving meme coins of the previous cycle, but its momentum has slowed sharply. PEPE trades near $0.0000045, with a market cap around $3B, and continues to hit resistance around $0.0000050 to $0.0000075.

A second barrier appears near $0.0000090, where sellers have blocked every upward push. Analysts warn that if PEPE continues to lose traction, the price could fall toward $0.0000030, dragging the token deeper into a bearish zone.

Like SHIB, Pepecoin suffers from a large circulating supply and hype-based cycles. When attention fades, the token struggles to recover. Without strong utility or long-term fundamentals, PEPE’s movement depends almost entirely on sentiment — which has weakened significantly. Investors looking for the best crypto under $0.05 are now focusing on projects where demand is rising for reasons other than memes or virality.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) has quickly become one of the most anticipated new crypto opportunities under $0.05. Unlike meme tokens, MUTM is building a decentralized lending protocol with real functionality and consistent user incentives.

The offering began in early 2025 at $0.01, and the token has since climbed to $0.035, marking a 250% increase. The project has raised $19M and is now backed by 18,200 holders. Out of the 4B total MUTM supply, 1.82B tokens were allocated to the presale. More than 800M have already been purchased.

Phase 6 is now 98% sold out, leaving only a very small portion of tokens available at the $0.035 price. This rapid allocation pace reflects rising confidence in the project’s structure and its upcoming product releases.

According to the official Mutuum Finance X account, V1 will launch on the Sepolia Testnet in Q4 2025, including the lending pool, mtTokens, the liquidation bot and support for ETH and USDT. Many investors consider this one of the strongest early milestones for any DeFi token under $0.05. Demand continues to rise as buyers monitor the shrinking supply.

Utility strength

Mutuum Finance offers features that set it apart from SHIB and PEPE. The platform uses mtTokens, which increase in value as borrowers repay interest. Instead of artificial APY, mtTokens provide yield based on real lending activity inside the protocol. This gives users predictable returns tied to actual usage.

Another major strength is the buy-and-distribute model. A portion of protocol revenue is used to buy MUTM on the open market. MUTM purchased on the open market with protocol fees is redistributed to users who stake mtTokens in the safety module. This creates constant buy pressure and rewards long-term participation, something neither SHIB nor PEPE can offer.

Accurate pricing is essential for any lending protocol. Mutuum Finance is integrating Chainlink oracles with fallback feeds and on-chain data to ensure liquidation precision. This protects user positions and keeps borrowing conditions safe during volatility. Because of these utility features, some analysts forecast MUTM rising into the $0.25 to $0.40 range after its $0.06 listing, depending on platform activity and user adoption.

Long-term value

Mutuum Finance is also developing a native stablecoin that will be minted and burned on demand and kept pegged to USD. Layer-2 expansion is another critical part of the roadmap. Deploying the lending protocol on L2 networks will reduce fees, speed up transactions and help Mutuum Finance scale its user base. As more DeFi activity moves to L2, projects with clear scaling plans tend to grow faster. These future components add depth to the protocol, making Mutuum Finance one of the top cryptocurrencies under $0.05 for long-term positioning.

SHIB and PEPE once dominated the meme coin scene, but both now face heavy resistance, weak momentum and limited upside due to their huge supplies and hype-dependent movement.
Mutuum Finance, meanwhile, is rapidly approaching a complete Phase 6 sellout at $0.035 after raising nearly $20M and gaining more than 18,000 holders. With mtTokens, a buy-and-distribute model, strong oracles, layer-2 expansion and a confirmed V1 launch in Q4 2025, MUTM is quickly becoming the best new crypto under $0.05. With 98% of Phase 6 already sold, the remaining supply is disappearing fast, making this one of the most urgent opportunities of the quarter.

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

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

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