Buyers Should Beware as Crypto Memecoin Pepe Nears $2 Billion Market Cap

Meme coins are back in crypto in earnest. Pepe the frog, based on thin air, is roaring towards a $1 billion market cap.

All Aboard The Pepe Meme Train

Pepe – the digital token named after one of the most iconic internet memes ever – has taken the

cryptocurrency

world by storm. Its market capitalization is fast approaching 2 billion dollars and its value has skyrocketed recently due to growing support from investors worldwide.

The secret to Pepes success lies in its unique branding and community driven nature. It was launched as a fun project by a group of crypto enthusiasts but has rapidly grown into something much bigger than anyone could have anticipated. The current uptrend for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is also driving interest in Pepe further contributing to its rapid rise in popularity.

A Word Of Caution

However, those wishing to jump onto the Pepe bandwagon and take advantage of the widely expected moon shot need to understand that everything about the Pepe the frog crypto

meme coin

is pure casino.

Fundamentals do not exist, and the friendly frog is likely to disappear as rapidly as it appeared. Be that as it may, it seems that the kind of retail investor that jumps onto these meme coins just doesnt care.

The thought of quick money, and for a very few, massive returns, just inspires those retail investors who want to get rich quick. Social media is all part of it, and influencers who hype coins like this and drive buyers into a frenzy all do their bit.

The sad part of it is that the vast majority of retail who jump on this now could likely lose a large chunk of their investment, if not all of it. The cryptocurrency sector is a complex space, and many new investors who are only here for the memes will not understand how to manage their accounts, especially, God forbid, if they are using leverage.

How much longer Pepe continues to rocket skyward is anyone‘s guess. 1,300% over the last 3 weeks isn’t a bad return, and for those who bought very early and held, many thousands of percent would be their prize.

Good For Crypto？

The crypto sector has a heritage of openness and is entirely neutral to anyone who wants to launch a token on a blockchain. However, for those who are watching the crypto industry from outside, and who are perhaps involved in, or pro the banking sector shall we say, might see this casino in play and may well use it as an example to confirm their distrust of the sector.

Be that as it may, Pepe fever may continue for the time being. For the investors who lose out, you have been warned …

Pepecoin Short Sellers Lose Millions

Funding rates in perpetual futures tied to the token remain negative, indicating the dominance of bearish positions in the derivatives market. A negative funding rate indicates that shorts are dominant and are willing to pay longs to keep their bearish bets open.

An 80% price bump in the past 24 hours has led to outsized losses for these traders, however. CoinGlass data shows shorts against PEPE lost at least $11 million on several exchanges over the past 24 hours – with traders losing $5.5 million on

crypto exchange

OKX alone, the highest figure among counterparts.

Traders lost another $2.2 million on Huobi, some $3.6 million on Bybit, and a few hundred thousand dollars on BitMEX. All these exchanges started offering PEPE futures trading in the past week.

PEPE losses were third to only bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures liquidations, which usually rack up the highest futures losses.