Pepecoin (PEPE) – a trending memecoin – witnessed a sharp decline of over 55% in the last four days, erasing overnight millionaire status for several investors. Despite its remarkable performance that propelled it to the 45th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization within three weeks of its launch, PEPE began a downward trend on Friday, May 5 after it was listed for trading on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
PEPE Drops 55% From ATH
PEPE was worth $0.000002023 at the time of Binance’s listing announcement, triggering the hype around the coin and causing it to skyrocket to an all-time high (ATH) of $0.000004354. However, PEPE has since suffered a plunge of about 56%, with early investors likely withdrawing their profits. Currently trading at $0.000001948, PEPE has witnessed a 14% drop in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
PEPE’s decline in value also affected its market capitalization, which initially stood at less than a million dollars but swelled to more than $1.2 billion on Friday. While the asset’s market cap currently stands at just over $764 million, PEPE has lost over $400 million in value in recent days.
The drop in PEPE’s price can be attributed to traders taking profit from their positions and opting for alternative trading strategies after the release of various PEPE perpetual futures contracts last week. A tweet by Santiment – an on-chain analytics platform – suggests that the increasing number of ETH deposits could be a result of PEPE traders converting their profits to the digital asset, with exchange addresses interacting on the Ethereum network now at a peak seen since November 2021.
Is the Hype Over?
PEPE’s steep decline has led to speculations about the coin’s future. Previous memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) saw their ATH value plummet significantly after the hype around them waned. Moreover, PEPE’s lack of utility and intrinsic value has fueled doubts among investors about the sustainability of its soaring price.
