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Meme coin Pepe (PEPE) has reached new heights, breaking past a market cap of $11.37 billion and overtaking Uniswap (UNI) and Litecoin (LTC).
The feat comes as Bitcoin (BTC) crossed the $100,000 threshold for the first time, marking a renewed wave of optimism across the crypto market.
PEPE has witnessed a 4.5% surge in the past 24 hours, achieving an all-time high price of $0.00002708, per CoinGecko data. The asset is now ranked 23rd overall by market cap.
Meme coins are thriving this year, especially since the launch of the controversial Solana-based meme coin launchpad Pump.fun which allows anyone to create a token for free.
This year’s rally has made PEPE one of the market's most-watched tokens, with a 150% increase over the last 30 days and a 1,900% year-to-date gain.
Analysts credit a combination of whale activity and increased accessibility through platforms like MoonPay for the meme coin’s continued success.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported whales increased their PEPE holdings by $1.14 billion over the weekend, nodding to strong institutional interest. Historically, such accumulation has preceded price rallies, as whales lay the foundation for bullish momentum.
The whale activity surge comes alongside PEPE integration into MoonPay, as the crypto payment service now allows over 20 million users across 180 countries to purchase the token via platforms like Apple Pay and Venmo.
As Bitcoin leads the charge and meme coins ride the wave of investor enthusiasm, the market is seeing a reshuffling of top-ranking digital assets.
Launched in April 2023, PEPE is based on the iconic “Pepe the Frog” internet meme created by artist Matt Furie in 2005.
The token initially gained traction as a community-driven project, rallying supporters who embraced its lighthearted nod to internet culture.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair