PEPE Slides 7% Amid Surge in Trading Volumes, Memecoin Market Pulls Back

Meme-inspired cryptocurrency PEPE experienced a 7% drop over the past 24 hours, with trading volumes topping 2.29 trillion tokens, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.

The token fell from $0.00000995 to $0.00000931, testing critical support around $0.0000093. While this zone briefly attracted buyers, broader market pressure kept the asset in a downtrend. PEPE had reached an intraday high of $0.00001014 before profit-taking pushed it lower.

Despite the pullback, volumes remained elevated, indicating that the decline was driven by active trading rather than low-liquidity noise. Later in the session, the token found a temporary floor, closing slightly higher at $0.0000094.

PEPE underperformed the wider market during this period. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index fell 3.35%, while the broader memecoin sector, tracked by the CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME), declined roughly 4.3%.

The sell-off reflects a mix of profit-taking by whales and investors seeking protection amid rising political risks, including concerns over Japan’s fiscal policy trajectory. Heightened scrutiny of insider control in newer memecoins also weighed on sentiment. Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps flagged YEPE, a PEPE-inspired token, for having 60% of its supply concentrated in insider hands.

On-chain data from Nansen shows modest accumulation among top PEPE holders: the 100 largest addresses on Ethereum increased their holdings by 0.26% over the last week, while exchange balances rose by 0.35%.