PEPE Drops 7% as Memecoin Market Experiences Broad Retreat
Meme-inspired cryptocurrency PEPE fell 7% over the last 24 hours, with trading volumes soaring past 2.29 trillion tokens, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis.
The token declined from $0.00000995 to a low near $0.00000931, briefly finding support at that level. Earlier in the session, PEPE reached a high of $0.00001014 before significant profit-taking weighed on the price. Elevated trading activity suggests that the pullback was driven by active market participation rather than low liquidity.
The broader memecoin market also retraced, with the CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) down about 4.3% and the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) losing 3.35% over the same period.
Analysts point to profit-taking by whales and cautious positioning amid geopolitical and fiscal uncertainties, including Japan’s evolving economic policies. Insider control remains a concern, with blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps highlighting that 60% of the supply of YEPE, a PEPE-inspired token, is held by insiders.
On-chain data from Nansen shows that the top 100 PEPE addresses on Ethereum increased holdings by 0.26% over the past week, while exchange balances grew 0.35%, indicating selective accumulation even as the market faces broader pressure.
