According to data, trading volumes for a particular set of tokens reached an impressive $800 million within the last 24 hours. One standout token, Pepecoin (PEPE), experienced significant gains this week compared to other meme coins like SHIB, FLOKI, and DOGE, thanks to the broader crypto rally.
Notably, futures products associated with PEPE witnessed unusually large liquidations. This suggests that traders who had taken bearish positions on the meme coin may be closing their bets, potentially exaggerating the extent of PEPE’s gains.
PEPE surged by as much as 40% in the past day, extending its weekly gains to over 70%, largely driven by the overall market rally led by Bitcoin (BTC). The trading volumes for these frog-themed tokens skyrocketed to over $800 million, indicating an increased appetite for riskier assets such as altcoins and meme coins in a risk-on environment.
Interestingly, the gains observed in PEPE surpassed those of other meme tokens like shiba inu (SHIB), floki (FLOKI), and dogecoin (DOGE), despite upgrades being introduced by the developers of these tokens. This suggests that there was substantial buying interest specifically in pepecoin.
The futures contracts linked to PEPE saw liquidations exceeding $13 million. This might have contributed to the price surge as traders with short positions, betting on a decline in PEPE’s price, had to settle their positions. Such liquidations have only been greater in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures.
Liquidation occurs when an exchange forcibly closes a trader’s leveraged position due to the trader failing to meet margin requirements. It usually happens when the trader doesn’t have sufficient funds to keep the trade open, resulting in partial or total loss of the initial margin.
Significant liquidations can potentially indicate the top or bottom of a sharp price movement, allowing traders to adjust their positions accordingly.
Furthermore, the funding rates in perpetual futures linked to PEPE futures remain negative, indicating a prevalence of bearish positions in the derivatives market. A negative funding rate means that short positions dominate and are willing to pay long positions to maintain their bearish bets.
On Wednesday, Bitcoin surpassed the $30,000 milestone, likely fueled by multiple Bitcoin ETF filings from traditional finance players in the United States. This development likely boosted bullish sentiment among traders and contributed to the broader market rally.