Why Did Pepe Leapfrog 10% Higher Today?

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Pepe's status as a key sentiment gauge is on full display today, with the crypto market heading higher.

  • A key Binance listing for Pepe and three other tokens is spurring investor interest as expectations of improved liquidity and accessibility abound.

  • Additionally, solid accumulation among large-scale investors have signaled to smaller retail investors that now may be the time to buy.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Pepe ›

With a still-ugly one-year chart (down nearly 50% over this time frame), meme coin Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE) is making back some lost ground today. Shares of the popular meme cryptocurrency have surged 10.8% over the past 24 hours (as of 3:45 p.m. ET), suggesting that risk-on sentiment could be coming back-at least in the short-term.

Of course, the question many retail investors are asking is how long this momentum can continue. After all, the momentum has been one-sided for most of the past few months, with sustained selling pressure weighing on the mood of many bulls who continue to hold on for dear life.

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Let's dive into the key drivers of this double-digit daily return in Pepe, and what to make of the explosive upside we're seeing right now in more speculative areas of the digital assets market.

Why is Pepe leapfrogging higher today?

Investors checking out memes on their phones.

Source: Getty Images.

Designed purely for community engagement and as a speculation tool (and sentiment gauge) for investors, there's no real utility or underlying cash flows/financial metrics to assess Pepe on over any meaningful time frame.

That said, a couple of key factors appear to be driving a newfound positive narrative around this token today. First and foremost, I covered a key Binance listing of another key meme coin earlier today, and Pepe was indeed one of the four tokens included in this launch. With increased accessibility and liquidity for investors (key factors traders consider when taking positions in highly speculative assets), one could reasonably assume there will be greater risk appetite for holding a token like Pepe as a result of this key announcement.

Additionally, accumulation by large investors (referred to as "whales" in the crypto community) has picked up over recent days. According to recent data, more than 23 trillion PEPE tokens have been accumulated by said whales over the past four months, amounting to around 5% of the overall maximum supply in existence. That's a big deal, and it's driving some investors to take the hint that more price appreciation is ahead. We'll see.

Should you buy stock in Pepe right now?

Before you buy stock in Pepe, consider this:

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*Stock Advisor returns as of February 25, 2026.

Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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