The Pepe token (PEPE) reached a market capitalization of $6 billion on Thursday, becoming the largest meme coin launch of 2023.
PEPE’s recent rise in value is partly attributed to its use as a bet on the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem, with traders anticipating the approval of a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States
Pepe (PEPE) entered the twenty largest tokens by market cap last Thursday, as the “beta bet” narrative added nearly 40% to the token over the past week, CoinMarketCap data shows.
The frog-themed token was issued in April 2023, quickly reaching a market capitalization of $1 billion within weeks of going live. It has since become a meme coin, reaching a market capitalization of $6 billion on Thursday. This actually made Pepper the biggest meme coin launch of 2023 in a year that saw the issuance of bonk (BONK), dogwifhat (WIF), and others.
The recent rise of PEPE, along with Mog (MOG), has been supported by its use as a leveraged bet on the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem as traders anticipate the approval of a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US
At least one trader has managed to become big from a small initial purchase. On-chain analysis from Lookonchain shows that a crypto address that purchased approximately $460 worth of tokens shortly after launch has racked up more than $3.4 million in profits this week.
The buyer spent 0.22 ETH to purchase 324.9 billion PEPE on April 15, 2023, and deposited the tokens on cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Wednesday, Lookonchain said, where the tokens were allegedly sold.
It is unknown whether the address was linked to the developer team that released PEPE. However, the use of automated bots is common among meme coin traders, who typically purchase small amounts of each token that comes to market, based on certain criteria, hoping to ultimately score a big win.
Some traders expect PEPE to eventually upend the dog-themed Shiba Inu (SHIB), which has a market capitalization of $14 billion as of Thursday.
Pepe’s first signings have minted several millionaires in the last year. Some connected wallets have transformed approximately $1,200 in initial capital to over $9 million in the week following the launch of the token, as reported, while another $260 purchase netted over $3 million in profits for another buyer.
