Pepe Soars to Record Highs as Whales Embrace the Meme Coin
In just under 24 hours, Pepe (PEPE) has surged to unprecedented heights, propelled by a surge of support from crypto whales.
Launched in April 2023 as a homage to the iconic Pepe the Frog internet meme, PEPE has rapidly gained traction within the cryptocurrency community. Its value has since soared by an astonishing 40,000%.
The meme coin achieved an all-time high (ATH) of $0.000020 after trading platform Robinhood announced its listing. Following a brief correction, PEPE resumed its upward trajectory, reaching a new ATH of $0.000025.
Pepe's upward momentum can be traced back to Donald Trump's victory in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which fueled significant growth in the broader crypto market, including meme coins.
Currently trading at $0.000022, PEPE remains 80% higher than 24 hours ago. With a market capitalization of $9.8 billion, it ranks as the 14th-largest crypto token.
PEPE's daily trading volume has also surged by 313%, reaching an impressive $21.5 billion.
Whales Drive the Surge
Following Robinhood's announcement, whale activity around PEPE increased dramatically. On November 13th, large transactions worth over $100,000 in PEPE rose from $405 million to a staggering $1.66 billion, according to on-chain analysis platform IntoTheBlock.
Whales executed over 3,000 such transactions on that single day. However, they also engaged in a significant selloff, with whales registering a net outflow of 1.11 trillion PEPE on Wednesday.
Historical data suggests that selloffs from large holders can lead to sudden price drops in crypto assets, particularly in volatile meme coins. However, in this case, retail accumulation appears to be absorbing the whale sales.
Given the surge in trading volume and whale activity, PEPE may experience a price correction before embarking on another bull run.