Popular Ethereum-based meme coin Pepecoin (PEPE) soared to a new all-time high earlier today, propelled by the recent approval of spot ETH exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings in the United States.
The upsurge was enough to overtake Polygon (MATIC) and become the world’s 19th biggest crypto by market value.
PEPE Overtakes MATIC’s Market Cap
Probably the most surprising comeback in 2024 was PEPE’s climb to the top, outpacing multiple “serious” crypto assets. PEPE’s most recent feat was surpassing Polygon’s MATIC.
Cult-favorite PEPE gained as much as 7.7% in its price over the last 24 hours to reach an all-time high of $0.00001717, according to CoinGecko data.
Monday’s gains pushed the frog-themed meme coin to a market capitalization north of $7 billion — $7.139 billion, to be precise. This marks an outstanding 89% appreciation since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighted the spot Ethereum ETF applications on May 20.
PEPE’s price jump was bolstered by the meme coin craze that stole the spotlight, as tokens based on memes were the most lucrative in Q1, 2024. However, Ethereum-based meme coins enjoyed an additional boost after regulators changed their tune regarding the approval of ETH ETFs. Traders are expressing their bullishness in Ethereum rather than Bitcoin, especially with the potential institutional demand once the spot ETH ETFs commence trading on U.S. exchanges.
Other Ethereum-standard memecoins, including cat-themed token Mog Coin (MOG), also registered substantial price growth after the approval of the ETH ETF filings. Dogecoin (DOGE), the godfather of all meme coins, saw a solid — albeit unspectacular — gain on Monday. The token is up 1.7% today, to trade around $0.1715 at press time.
That said, the meme coin sector is the 11th biggest crypto niche by market value, accounting for over $67 billion as of publication time. This is as good a time as any for a reminder that meme coin values are greatly dependent on unpredictable trader sentiment. That indicates that they’re extremely volatile and risky bets, despite turning early investors into multi-millionaires overnight.