The meme coin market experienced a stark divergence over the past 24 hours: established leaders Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe (PEPE) both declined, while the new project Pepe Unchained (PEPU) soared on its Uniswap debut, capturing traders’ attention and capital.
DOGE Price Under Pressure, Analysts See Bounce Potential
Dogecoin has fallen to $0.39, its lowest level since November. After peaking near $0.48 over the weekend, DOGE is now down 19% from Saturday’s local high and roughly 4% in the last 24 hours. The decline accelerated after the price broke a key trendline on the 4-hour chart, intensifying selling pressure. Daily spot trading volumes have dropped 27%, while over $20 million in long positions have been liquidated in the derivatives market.
Nevertheless, some analysts remain optimistic. Well-known trader Trader Tardigrade views the pullback as a minor bump and expects a rebound soon. Other traders are watching the $0.37 level as a potential bottom. If DOGE closes in the red today, it will mark its longest losing streak (three consecutive days) since September.
PEPE Slides 20% from ATH Despite Elon Musk’s Meme Campaign
PEPE has followed a similar downtrend, currently trading at $0.000022, down approximately 20% from its all-time high of $0.0000282 set just days ago. While the coin has dipped below the 50-period EMA on the 4-hour chart, it is still respecting an upward-sloping trendline that has been in play since late November. Spot volumes remain robust at over $6.8 billion in the past 24 hours, indicating that some traders are positioning for a potential bounce.
Interestingly, Elon Musk has been flooding his X feed with AI-generated Pepe memes from his Grok chatbot. The official PEPE X account has been retweeting these posts, hoping to leverage Musk’s influence. However, the meme-driven attention has not been enough to reverse the price decline so far.
Pepe Unchained Debuts with 86% Surge, $170M Market Cap
In stark contrast, Pepe Unchained (PEPU) made a spectacular entrance on Uniswap yesterday. Following one of the largest meme coin presales in history—raising over $70 million—PEPU surged 86% in the first hour of trading. Although it has since cooled off, the coin remains 53% higher than its initial listing price. Within 24 hours, PEPU recorded over $25 million in trading volume, attracted 39,000 holders, and pushed its market cap above $170 million.
The project’s team has also locked nearly $4 million in liquidity, signaling a long-term commitment. Rumors circulating in the project’s Telegram channel suggest that several major centralized exchanges (CEXs) may list PEPU imminently—a move that could send trading volumes even higher. Prominent crypto influencer Austin Hilton, who had been discussing Pepe Unchained in his YouTube videos for weeks, tweeted “I told you” in celebration of the launch.
Capital Rotation: New Meme Coins Steal the Spotlight
The simultaneous decline of DOGE and PEPE and the explosive rise of PEPU illustrate a clear rotation of capital within the meme coin ecosystem. Investors continue to show strong appetite for fresh narratives and newly launched tokens, while older projects face profit-taking and technical corrections. In the near term, PEPU is likely to keep drawing momentum, while the fate of DOGE and PEPE will depend on buying support at key levels and broader market sentiment.