Pepe the Frog, the internet amphibian turned meme icon, has launched onto a new platform: the Bitstamp crypto exchange. This historic listing sparked a 31% price increase for Pepe's eponymous cryptocurrency, PEPE, but questions remain about its long-term jump potential.
Bitstamp welcomes PEPE
The listing, announced on February 13, offered PEPE greater legitimacy and exposure to Bitstamp's 4 million users in 100 countries. The price responded accordingly, jumping from $0.00000098 to $0.000001244 in 24 hours. A weekly rally of more than 30% added to the bullish sentiment.
New listings alert!
we are welcoming $LMWR, $PEPE and $blur.
LMWR empowers content creators, PEPE adds fun to cryptocurrencies, and BLUR brings novelty to NFTs.
Trade now: https://t.co/daPsgFXEBq#LMWR #PEPE #BLUR pic.twitter.com/4dZ9qmbCla
– Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) February 13, 2024
However, defying expectations, the listing did not trigger the explosive price gains often seen after major listings. Experts scratched their heads as PEPE struggled to break above the $0.00000125 resistance level, a crucial hurdle that coincides with the 50-day moving average, a key indicator of long-term trends.
Source: Coingecko
The bulls were not deterred. Even though sellers capitalized on the initial surge, another attempt is underway, with PEPE hitting intraday highs of $0.0000012 at the time of publication.
But a closer look reveals a contradictory picture. Short positions in PEPE still marginally outperform long positions, suggesting some underlying bearishness. While OKX users are showing unusual optimism with a long-short ratio of 2.7:1, the broader market remains cautiously indecisive.
PEPEUSDT trading at $0.00000125 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView.com
However, one area where PEPE shines is trading volume. In the derivatives market, it raised a whopping $56.35 million, surpassing Shiba Inu ($35.28 million) and Bonk ($32.07 million) during the same period. This suggests significant investor interest, despite price hesitation.
Another positive leap occurred in European adoption. Bitstamp's European presence and Twitter announcement suggest that PEPE is inching toward broader continental acceptance.
So will PEPE finally overcome the resistance and leap to new heights? The answer, like the meme itself, remains shrouded in a bit of mystery on the Internet. While the listing and initial price rise are encouraging, the weak market reaction and technical hurdles raise questions. Investors should carefully consider their own risk tolerance before joining the Pepe frenzy.
In related developments, the combined order book for PEPE has seen a massive increase, according to the latest blockchain statistics. Derivatives trading volume for the meme coin has increased by 115% in the last 24 hours, totaling $58.35 million.
However, the balance between pending buys and pending sells is skewed in favor of the bears. Despite the 180% increase in cryptocurrency traders willing to buy PEPE, the uneven order book, which surpassed $10 million in pending sales in the last day, indicates that many PEPE investors are cashing out in the range of current prices, according to CoinPaprika, a platform. for cryptocurrency research.
Featured image from Freepik, chart from TradingView
