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Emergence of a New Meme Contender: Pepecoin
A stealthy surge of 100% by Pepecoin (PEPE) earlier in the week has sparked a buzz, leading to speculation that this frog-themed memecoin could become a serious threat to Dogecoin.
Pepecoin burst onto the scene a few months back, offering fleeting, extraordinary wealth to initial backers and leaving late entrants clutching their portfolios in dismay.
While the price chart resembles the typical crypto pump-and-dump pattern, the recent price movement of Pepecoin (PEPE) hints that this frog-themed token might become a fresh adversary to Dogecoin in the world of memecoins.
For years, Dogecoin has held the throne in the memecoin realm. Numerous attempts to dethrone it by other dog-themed tokens, such as Shiba Inu and Floki (FLOKI), have been made, but all have eventually lost steam.
At its height on October 28, 2021, SHIB had a meteoric rise of 1,000% to a peak market cap of $41.1 billion, momentarily eclipsing Dogecoin's $31.5 billion market cap. However, the swift ascent faded in the following weeks, and Dogecoin regained its top position in the memecoin race.
Currently, Dogecoin holds the ninth spot in the cryptocurrency market capitalization rankings, with Shiba Inu's valuation less than half that of Dogecoin.
Pepecoin - The Fresh Face in Meme Coin Arena
Joining the memecoin ranks on April 15 was Pepecoin, a frog-themed ERC-20 token on Ethereum. It quickly made its way into the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
The recent cryptocurrency rally, spurred by a series of Bitcoin ETF filings in the U.S., saw Pepecoin taking the lead in the memecoin sector.
Hints of a possible listing of PEPE coin on the U.S.-based Gemini exchange accentuated the token's surge.
The rapid doubling of PEPE’s price from $0.000000833 on June 20 to $0.00000167 in less than a week could potentially be attributed to expectations of future listings on major U.S. exchanges, including Coinbase.
As PEPE rides this bullish wave, let's examine how it's performed compared to DOGE in the last couple of months.
The Big Question: Will Pepecoin Outdo Dogecoin?
Pepecoin catapulted to fame in May 2023, leading the memecoin frenzy on Ethereum. While there have been past attempts at frog-themed tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Pepecoin garnered a particular level of popularity in a remarkably short time.
Pepecoin's market cap peaked at 13.8% of Dogecoin's on May 6, but it has been trending downward ever since.
Pepecoin's resurgence coincided with Bitcoin's recent bullish rally past the $30,000 mark. This fueled Pepecoin's momentum, leading to a 100% rise in its market cap from $393 million on June 20 to $786 million on June 23.
As for trading volumes, Pepecoin temporarily surpassed Dogecoin during the Ethereum memecoin frenzy. At its peak, PEPE's trading volume hit highs of over $1.5 billion, about four times that of DOGE.
However, following the decline in memecoin hype, Pepecoin's trading volume has fallen below Dogecoin's. Prospective listings on U.S.-based exchanges might revive Pepecoin's trading volumes in the upcoming months.
Google keyword search trends for Dogecoin and Pepecoin reveal that interest in Pepecoin almost matched Dogecoin in the first week of May.
Nevertheless, the frequency of "Pepecoin" Google searches has since declined, with "Dogecoin" maintaining an average seven to eight times higher than PEPE.
Advantages and Challenges for Pepecoin
Unlike Dogecoin, Pepecoin resides on the Ethereum network, providing it potential access to Ethereum's decentralized finance and NFT ecosystems.
Moreover, Pepecoin has a predetermined supply of 420.69 trillion, whereas Dogecoin operates on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism with an annual issuance of 5 billion coins.
However, if we look at market capitalization and Google popularity, Pepecoin has quite a journey ahead before it can establish itself as a mainstream memecoin like Dogecoin.
Furthermore, Dogecoin boasts a first-mover advantage and benefits from network-effect dominance, given its presence for over eight years. Meanwhile, Pepecoin is just a few months old.
