Meme cryptocurrency PEPE surged 76% within the first week of 2026, changing into the largest gainer among the many high 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The frog-themed token led a broader meme coin rally that noticed BONK rise 52%, FLOKI acquire 50%, and Pudgy Penguins climb 40%.
Buying and selling volumes throughout main meme tokens exceeded $7.7 billion in 24 hours as speculative urge for food returned to cryptocurrency markets.
What Occurred
PEPE’s rally started January 1, climbing from round $0.0000034 to over $0.0000059.
Open curiosity in PEPE futures doubled from $228 million to $470 million in 4 days.
Quick liquidations exceeded $10 million on January 2, the biggest single-day occasion in over a yr.
One whale turned $58,700 into almost $490,000 by a 10x leveraged place executed in late December.
Robinhood customers now maintain roughly 8.3% of PEPE’s whole provide.
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Why It Issues
Meme cash represented six of the highest 10 gainers among the many 100 largest cryptocurrencies in early January.
The rally occurred as Bitcoin consolidated above $90,000, prompting rotation into increased-volatility belongings.
Technical indicators present PEPE entered overbought territory with RSI readings above 72.
Analysts famous meme coin rallies usually coincide with intervals when main cryptocurrencies commerce sideways.
The surge revived debate about whether or not 2026 will see sustained momentum or repeat earlier volatility patterns.
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