PEPE Dominates DOGE and SHIB in Daily Trading Volume Despite 25% Weekly Decline

Despite its recent price decline, the hype surrounding PEPE seems far from over, as crypto whales are still accumulating. 

Its daily trading volume has surpassed that of well-known memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) for more than a week. 

Still in the Spotlight

One of the best performers in the cryptocurrency market in the past several weeks – Pepe Coin (PEPE) – recently lost some steam, with its price being 26% down within the last week. Its market capitalization also tumbled significantly: from over $1.6 billion at the beginning of May to less than $700 million as of the moment of writing (according to CoinMarketCap).

However, some crypto whales seem unfazed by the decline and have recently purchased a substantial amount of the asset. One user who previously profited $2.2 million from the memecoin spent $2.1 million worth of ETH to buy 1.33T PEPE again. Another investor swapped 397,182 APE for over 748M PEPE.

Besides the engagement from crypto whales, PEPE has been the memecoin with the highest daily trading volume for over a week. Twitter user borovick.eth outlined that PEPE’s 24h volume has surpassed $350 million, while DOGE is second with $214 million.

$pepe has been #1 in memecoin volume for over a week pic.twitter.com/nv2T8FPrHH

— borovik.eth (@3orovik) May 15, 2023

PEPE’s Turbulent First Month

The asset, launched in mid-April, quickly garnered massive attention. The initial hype was so high that its price was charting ATHs almost daily. Savvy investors used the opportunity to become millionaires overnight, with one turning his $27 investment into $1 million in a matter of days.

The PEPE craze continued with full power in May, and many crypto exchanges listed the token. OKX, BitMEX, and even the world’s largest – Binance – are some examples. 

The asset became so popular that even well-known individuals joined its ecosystem. Such was the case with the American rapper DeAndre Cortez Way (better known as Soulja Boy), who said he “done got rich off PEPE.”

Some traders sold NFTs part of the Bored Ape Yacht Collection (BAYC) below floor price to invest in the memecoin. 

After peaking on May 5, PEPE’s price and market capitalization started dropping, casting doubts that the hype was over and that speculative investors might have turned away from it.

Nonetheless, the asset’s trading volume, the ongoing activity from whales, and the USD spike during the weekend could indicate that this is not the case. After all, PEPE joined the top 45 largest crypto assets after less than a month (currently standing in 63rd place), surpassing at one point well-known tokens such as SAND, AXS, XTZ, MANA, STX, and more.