2026-01-04 17:21:26

PEPE skyrocketed from a few hundred million dollars to a market cap of 69 billion. There is a very interesting phenomenon in this surge—every time it rises, there is extreme polarization in public opinion. Supporters shout "buy at the bottom," while skeptics call it "whales manipulating the market." The two groups dislike each other, but trading volume just keeps going up.

What is behind this? Many believe that the prices of crypto assets are driven by fundamentals, but this logic holds for mainstream coins; it completely reverses when it comes to meme coins. Meme coins have no traditional fundamentals—no cash flow, no business model, no technological moat. So what makes them valuable? The answer is simple and blunt: **emotion**.

Retail investors' greed and fear, community consensus and division, the overall market optimism—these intangible factors are the true determinants of meme coin prices. The two cycles PEPE experienced in 2024 are a full demonstration of this logic.

The first wave reached a valuation of $12 billion, and the market fell into a typical greed cycle. At that time, the crypto market was just recovering from a downturn, and funds were eager to find new outlets. The meme coin sector suddenly became a new hotspot. PEPE, with its frog IP's high memorability and viral community spread, attracted a large number of retail investors to follow suit. The community atmosphere at that time was only one tone—"ten-bagger rally."

PEPE-1,39%

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0xTherapist

· 01-04 17:51

Basically, it's an emotional market—those with high emotions make money, and whoever takes the last baton loses money. Retail investors are always gambling on who will be the next sucker to take over; that's the real truth. From 12 billion to 69 billion, do you not realize how many people got their hearts cut out in the process?

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GasSavingMaster

· 01-04 17:51

Basically, it's gambling. No one should deceive anyone. If you can't handle emotions well, you're playing with fire.

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0xLuckbox

· 01-04 17:51

69 billion? Oh my god, what kind of crazy number is this... Basically, it's just a bubble formed by emotional value. I bet five bucks that when the next crash happens, I'll be shouting to cut the leeks again.

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FreeMinter

· 01-04 17:48

Basically, it's like hot potato; whoever catches the last stick is doomed. Emotions are the easiest to manipulate, and retail investors always think they're riding the trend. PEPE has risen to 69 billion, and I just want to ask, who's buying the dip? Every time there's such extreme polarization, I can see the market makers accumulating. It's ironic that it can be pumped up without fundamentals. Retail investors arguing with each other, trading volume increases—I've seen this script too many times. Greed will blind people, and by then, they'll be unable to even cry.

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Gm_Gn_Merchant

· 01-04 17:34

Basically, it's an emotional game. Whoever can grasp people's hearts wins. Don't make it so complicated. PEPE is just a hot potato game, see who takes the last turn. 690 billion? Laughing. Fundamentals aren't even necessary, just having a community is enough. Two groups arguing and trading volume skyrocketing, it's truly incredible. The fact that emotions are valuable is actually quite real. The problem is you need to hit the right rhythm. Meme coins without fundamentals are actually the highlight, relying purely on imagination and the GM community. Wait, if I follow this logic, I should have gotten in early. Why am I still watching? I just saw someone in the group shout about ten-thousand-fold returns, and then someone else said it's a rug pull. I knew it would still go up.

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