PEPE Meme Coin Soars 44% as Whale Moves Stir Market Hype

Frog-themed meme coin PEPE (PEPE) is making headlines after a massive 44% price surge in the past 24 hours, boosted by a mysterious whale transaction and a broader crypto market rally. According to Whale Alert, a staggering 7.14 trillion PEPE tokens—valued at nearly $78.8 million—were transferred between unknown wallets, sparking speculation about accumulation or over-the-counter (OTC) deals.

The surge comes as Bitcoin (BTC) breaches the $104,000 mark, driving bullish momentum across the market. PEPE, which had been trading as low as $0.00000759 on May 6, rallied sharply to a high of $0.00001397, effectively “deleting a zero” from its price. At the time of writing, PEPE is trading at $0.00001328, up 52% over the week.

The dramatic price action has been accompanied by a massive uptick in trading activity. Data from CoinMarketCap shows PEPE’s 24-hour trading volume surged 368% to $3.57 billion, underlining growing investor interest. Notably, this marks the fourth consecutive day of gains for PEPE, a rare streak in the volatile meme coin space.

Contributing to the upward pressure, CoinGlass reports that $837 million in short positions were liquidated over the last 24 hours—the largest single-day short squeeze since 2021. This wave of liquidations has fueled buying momentum and market-wide optimism, with PEPE riding the bullish wave.

Although the identities behind the massive wallet transfers remain unknown, the scale of the movement suggests strategic positioning by large holders. Whether this reflects accumulation, redistribution, or preparation for future moves, the market sentiment around PEPE remains strongly bullish for now.

As the meme coin continues to capture attention, all eyes are on whether PEPE can sustain its upward trajectory.