Major meme tokens within the Ethereum and Solana blockchain ecosystems, specifically PEPE and WIF, are seeing an impressive rally, with increases reaching 51% within a mere 24-hour period. This trend underscores a growing inclination among investors to leverage meme coins as a speculative tool on the future expansion of blockchain platforms. The phenomenon is not confined to a single network, as meme tokens across various blockchains have collectively experienced an average upswing of 13% over the same timeframe.
We take a deeper look and try to project what’s next!
PEPE and WIF price action
On Tuesday, the meme coin sector captured widespread attention from the cryptocurrency community, showcasing its potential as an investment strategy focused on blockchain development speculation. Pepe (PEPE), an Ethereum-based meme token adorned with a frog theme, soared by as much as 51% within the last day, hitting price points not observed since May. Current price of PEPE hovers just over $0.0000011 on Gate.io.
Meanwhile, Solana’s dog-themed token, Bonk, also experienced a surge of up to 25%, trading at $0.0000115, before seeing a slight pullback during the afternoon trading hours in Europe on Tuesday. Additionally, the broader market, saw a 6% increase.
The surge didn’t stop there; Dogwifhat (WIF), originating from the Solana network, experienced a meteoric rise of over 65% before experiencing a minor retraction.
Interestingly, futures tied to pepe tokens showed less than $5 million in liquidations, indicating that the uptick was predominantly fueled by direct purchasing rather than speculative futures trading. This bullish momentum has the potential to extend across meme tokens from various networks, with several experiencing significant gains since Monday evening.
According to CoinGecko, this category has enjoyed an overall increase of more than 13% in the last 24 hours. The rally coincides with ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL both climbing over 8% in the same timeframe, while bitcoin (BTC) breached the $57,000 threshold for the first time since November 2021.
Not so serious tokens
Meme coins, often viewed as lacking fundamental value, have carved a niche as speculative assets reflective of the growth and vibrancy of their respective blockchains. Organizations such as the Avalanche Foundation have recognized the cultural and speculative appeal of these tokens, initiating investments in meme coins on their platforms. These investments acknowledge the unique blend of online culture and investment interest meme tokens can generate.
Experts view meme coins as a high-reward, albeit high-risk, avenue for capitalizing on the growth of blockchain ecosystems. “Meme tokens, although recently quiet, tend to surge following major rallies of flagship cryptocurrencies, with traders shifting their focus from ETH and BTC to alternative coins,” explained a leading trading analyst.
In a related development, early Tuesday saw a flurry of activity as at least six wallets offloaded over $4 million worth of PEPE tokens, introducing a degree of selling pressure into the market.
It’s not all PEPE and WIF
Meme coins have become a significant and often whimsical facet of the cryptocurrency world, with several rising to major prominence alongside PEPE and WIF. Dogecoin (DOGE), perhaps the most well-known of all meme coins, was originally created as a joke but has since garnered a massive following, partly due to high-profile endorsements from figures like Elon Musk.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another major player, styled as the “Dogecoin killer,” it has built a vast ecosystem aiming to offer more utility than its canine predecessor. Then there’s SafeMoon, which attracted attention with its protocol that rewards holders and penalizes sellers, aiming to encourage long-term holding.
These tokens, while often starting as humorous takes on the crypto industry, have managed to carve out substantial market caps and dedicated communities, and the latter usually comes with good growth support.
The second WIF
An interesting point about WIF is that it already has a duplicate. The Ethereum variant of dogwifhat is not linked to the Solana-based WIF priced at $0.33, which was introduced in late November and quickly achieved a market value exceeding $350 million.
An analysis by the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed that over 12 accounts, described as “insiders,” acquired 24 million Ethereum WIF tokens at a cost of $3,000 in ether. This transaction occurred in the exact block that marked the start of trading, suggesting those involved were well-informed about the precise timing of the token release and commencement of trading.
The initial excitement surrounding the tokens propelled their value from mere fractions of a cent to 30 cents. However, subsequent doubts about their ownership led to a dramatic decrease in value, with prices plummeting by more than 80% since their introduction.
The release of the Ethereum WIF was managed by a user known as @issa, who stated on X (formerly known as Twitter) that they were the first to share the now-famous image of a dog wearing a pink hat in 2019.
@issa expressed on X that they had originated the widely recognized “dogwifhat” meme. Despite numerous community members reaching out, the $WIF team had not recognized @issa as the creator. @issa emphasized having no connection with the team, nor had they owned or been allocated any tokens.
Despite these issues, @issa’s association with the Ethereum WIF tokens sparked significant interest, driving trading volumes to approximately $7.7 million over the last 24 hours from just over 4,500 token holders. Yes, sometimes it’s that simple.
