Pepecoin Becomes Biggest Meme Coin Gainer as DOGE, SHIB Rally Eases

Pepecoin (PEPE) surged as much as 60% in the past 24 hours to extend weekly gains to over 370% amid a meme coin rally sparked by the likes of dogecoin (DOGE) and bonk (BONK).

Trading volumes for the frog-themed tokens jumped to lifetime highs of $3.6 billion, CoinGecko data shows, as a risk-on environment likely fueled outsized bets on riskier assets, such as altcoins and meme coins.

Gains of the frog-themed pepecoin were significantly higher than meme tokens shiba inu (SHIB) and dogecoin – even as developers of some of these tokens introduced ecosystem upgrades. DOGE gained 170% over the past week, while SHIB gained 200%. Meanwhile, the broader CoinDesk 20 index (CD20) has gained 14%.

Meme coins first appeared to come into focus in late February as bitcoin, ether and Solana’s SOL jumped more than 10%. Non-serious tokens are seen as a way to bet on the growth of a blockchain, as they are considered more retail-friendly and easier to understand for new investors.

Meanwhile, futures products tied to PEPE saw unusually large liquidations since Friday, suggesting short covering – or traders exiting bearish bets on the meme coin’s price – might be exaggerating the size of the gain.

“Traders and investors are pumping meme coins to satisfy a hunger for quick flips as bluechip tokens and coins take a breather in their recent surge in prices,” said Nick Ruck, COO of ContentFi Labs.

Futures contracts tracking PEPE had more than $50 million of liquidations. This may have contributed to the price spike as short positions – or bets that PEPE would fall – were settled.

Only bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and dogecoin futures liquidations have been greater in the past 24 hours, data shows.

As such, funding rates in perpetual futures tied to PEPE futures remain negative, indicating the dominance of bearish positions in the derivatives market. A negative funding rate indicates that shorts are dominant and are willing to pay longs to keep their bearish bets open.