PEPE just ripped 26% higher on January 2, hitting $0.000005106 as trading volume exploded past $800 million.
That’s no thin pump—retail’s back, Robinhood holders sitting on 8.3% of supply, and a Hyperliquid whale named James Wynn dropped a bombshell prediction: $69 billion market cap by end-2026. If you’re trading memes, this is your wake-up call. Why now? New year FOMO meets bold calls in a market where BTC chills at $88k.
On-Chain Breakdown
PEPE’s ERC-20 on Ethereum. No fancy DeFi twist here—just pure meme liquidity. Volume spiked 370-400% in 24 hours, open interest jumped 82% to $446.5 million on derivatives. RSI hit 67, screaming bullish momentum after breaking $0.0000042 resistance.
Whales aren’t dumping. That official “We ride at dawn” tweet lit socials on fire—crypto Twitter’s buzzing. Supply’s fixed at 420.69 trillion tokens. If Wynn’s right, that’s $0.000164 per PEPE. Math checks out. But Ethereum gas? Still a killer for small trades.
Market Mayhem
Total crypto cap up 1.07% to $2.99T. BTC +1.21% at $88,765, dominance slipping to 59.22%—alts eating its lunch. PEPE led top gainers, outpacing Story (+25%) and Mog. Volumes hit $164B market-wide. No massive liqs reported, but meme sector OI surging means leveraged degens are in.
BTC’s post-halving year ended red for first time ever—down 6% in 2025 despite $126k ATH. ETFs pulled $348M, but macro liquidity rules now. PEPE doesn’t care—it’s riding retail hype while big boys consolidate.
Reactions Pour In
James Wynn, that Hyperliquid ser, straight-up said PEPE hits top meme status like SHIB did last cycle—if bull market holds. “We ride at dawn” from @pepe went viral. Community’s pumping: “PEPE to the moon” threads everywhere. No official team—it’s anon dev vibes.
Exchanges? Volumes exploding on Binance, MEXC. No rugs spotted. Traders on X calling for $0.000026 ATH retest. Sarcasm alert: Great timing for memes while BTC whales accumulate quietly. Holders care about flips, not halving myths.
But is this sustainable? Meme pumps fade fast.
Security Smarts for Degens
Don’t get rekt. PEPE’s been rugged before—no premine, but watch whale wallets. Use hardware for big bags; software wallets fine for sub-$1k. Check Etherscan for suspicious transfers. Avoid leverage over 5x—OI spike means liqs incoming on pullbacks.
Actionable: Set stops below $0.0000042. DCA if you believe Wynn. DYOR on Hyperliquid perps for leverage without CEX KYC. Phishing’s rampant post-pumps—double-check links. If you’re aping memes, keep it under 5% portfolio. Skin in the game matters, but don’t YOLO rent money.
Eyes on This
$0.000005 close today flips structure fully bullish. Watch BTC dominance drop—alts feast. Wynn’s $69B? Ballsy. If ETH L2s cut fees, PEPE volumes could 10x. Macro: Fed liquidity print January 2nd might juice risk assets.
Pullback to $0.0000045? Buy dip. Break $0.000006? Targets $0.00001 easy. Meme season back? You tell me. Trade smart—2026’s rewriting rules.
