Decline of Memecoin Minting Frenzy: PEPE Prices Retreat

2023-05-23, 07:47

The price of PEPE coin decreased by 60% from its all time-high of $0.00000431 on 5 May to $0.00000172 on 11 May.

The memecoin hype seems to have faded away considering that most of these tokens were in red on the day of writing.

Elon Musk is a crypto influencer who has consistently helped to create hype around memecoins.

The Bitcoin transaction fees reverted to an average of $3.76 within the third week of May 2023.

Keywords: PEPE coins, PEPE crypto, PEPE memecoin, PEPE Price, buy PEPE, PEPE meme

Introduction

The cryptocurrency market experienced correction leading to losses among memecoin traders. Fortunately, that has also exposed how unpredictable the crypto market is. The losses have pushed the memecoin hype and momentum to decline. This article explores how the recent market correction affected the value of the PEPE coin and other crypto dynamics.

PEPE Coins Lost 60% of their value

The PEPE coins that gained much attention of the crypto market in the past month seem to have lost the tempo considering the decrease in their value. Specifically, on 5 May the value of the PEPE coin reached an all-time high of $0.00000431 as indicated in The Graph below. In fact, $0.00000431 was the high on 5 May despite closing the day at $0.00000420.

PEPE Price – CoinGecko

As The Graph shows, the price of PEPE memecoin started falling on 6 May when it closed the day at $0.00000372. On 11 May PEPE crypto had lost about 60% of its all-time-high value as it was trading at $0.00000172. Sadl, its value has continued to drop to its current level of $0.00000150 at the time of writing. Significantly, it is ranging within a depressed market.

At the time when it attained its all-time-high of $0.00000431 it had a market capitalization of $1.6 billion. Nevertheless, it has a current market cap of slightly over $662 million.

Memecoin speculation fading

The current PEPE crypto scenario is similar to what occurred in the past with other memecoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. When Dogecoin led the memecoin hype of May 2021 there was a Bitcoin sell-off that lasted two months.

The current memecoin based boom has followed a similar pattern. When the hype started some speculators sold off their BTC and ETH to purchase PEPE coins. This has led to the fallback of their gains achieved since the start of the year. This memecoin craze, therefore, may be a sign of a local market top which can be followed by several months of drawdowns for Bitcoin and ETH.

It is important to understand why the memecoin hype can last for a short period. The key reason is that memecoins do not have intrinsic value as their prices are driven by social media hype and community enthusiasm. For example, several celebrities promote or endorse memecoins. That creates the Fear of missing out (FOMO) mentality which pushes its price up.

Normally, the short term rises in their prices result in huge gains for the early adopters which attracts many investors. Therefore, once the frenzy about a memecoin decreases its price may fall astronomically. In this respect, the current indication is that the hype surrounding the PEPE coin is fading.

The early signs of fading memecoin hype were evident around May 20 when most of them lost much value. In fact, they were in red on both their daily and weekly performance levels. In addition, the total trading volume of memecoins decreased as well.

At the time of writing, 20 May, most memecoins have recorded losses for the past 7 days. For example, Shiba Inu lost 0.42% of its previous high, PEPE lost 19.45%, Floki 10.31%, BONE 5.90% and BabyDoge 2.25%. Overall, the total memecoin market capitalization has decreased by 0.3% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin fees fall back

During the last few weeks the memecoin frenzy drove the transaction costs on the Bitcoin blockchain up due to the rise in minting of Bitcoin NFTs and BRC-20 tokens. In fact, there was a high demand for block space. As an example, the average transaction fee ranged between $9 and $16 on 9 May. At one time during the same week the gas cost on the Bitcoin network fluctuated between $19 and $31.

However, during the third week of May the transaction fee on the Bitcoin blockchain decreased to around $3.76. The reason for the decrease in the fees is the fall in minting and demand of BRC-20 tokens. Also, as the fees stabilized there was a reduction in pending transactions in the mempool to around 242,837.

Musk’s Tweet on PEPE coin led to its price surge

As we mentioned earlier, part of the memecoin frenzy comes from celebrities who popularize them. One of them is Elon Musk who often tweets about memecoins and other cryptocurrencies.

Recently, Musk tweeted about the PEPE coin, influencing its price to surge. In fact, Musk shared a meme featuring Pepe the Frog. In response to the tweet, many members of the meme community posted PEPE images within the comment thread, creating much hype. As a result, the price of the PEPE coin rose by over 60%.

Elon Musk’s meme - Twitter

It is important to note that the surge in the PEPE coin is a result of the hype that followed the initial tweet. The frenzy of the cryptocurrency attracted the attention of whales that purchased the coin in large quantities, increasing its demand and resultantly its price.

The PEPE coin was not on the market for a long time since it was launched in April this year. Recently, Musk also influenced the price of another memecoin called Milady Meme Coin (LADYS). After he posted a tweet about that crypto its value rose by 12,500%. There is no doubt that Musk is one of the most respectable crypto influencers.

Conclusion

The memecoin frenzy is fizzling since most of their values decreased or remained constant during the past week. Presently, the prices of many memecoins are in red. In the meantime, the transaction fees on the Bitcoin blockchain have stabilized and are fluctuating around $3.76.

FAQs about PEPE Coin price Retreat

What is PEPE?

PEPE is a memecoin which is based on Pepe the Frog meme created by Matt Furie. However, it has no connection to Matt Furie or the Pepe Frog meme. You may interested in Optimism PEPE NFT

What was the lowest and highest price of PEPE Coin?

The highest price of the PEPE coin was $0.00000431 recorded on 5 May while its lowest value after reaching the all-time high value was an all-time low (ATL) of $0.000000055142 attained on Apr 18, 2023.

Can Pepe coin flip memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu?

There is a possibility that PEPE coin can flip both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu memecoins considering that it is ranked third in their category. However, PEPE coin is still far behind Dogecoin and Shiba Inu in terms of market capitalization.

How much is 1 PEPE coin worth?

The current value of the PEPE coin is $0.000001832. However, this value keeps on changing from time to time.

How to buy PEPE Coin?

You can buy PEPE coins on Gate.io exchange by visiting the spot trade section. You can convert any of the major cryptocurrencies you own to PEPE coins.

Author: Mashell C., Gate.io Researcher

*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.

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