$PEPE Leads Meme Сoin Frenzy as Investors Search for the Next DOGE

$PEPE Leads Meme Сoin Frenzy as Investors Search for the Next DOGE

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Ethereum-based meme coin PEPE surged over 150% in the last week of February 2024 to lead a meme coin frenzy as fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) trading kicked in after bellwether Bitcoin (BTC) neared all-time highs.

In this article, we talk about the PEPE token price, analyze the ongoing meme coin frenzy, understand why people invest in meme coins, and ask experts how to find the “next DOGE.”

Key Takeaways

  • PEPE outperforms older rivals DOGE, SHIB, and BONK.
  • 2023-created meme coins like Solana’s WIF and Donald Trump-themed TRUMP posted outsized gains.
  • Whales began taking PEPE profits as one whale converted their position from PEPE to SHIB.
  • Social forces and attempts to find the next 100x meme coin fuel the market frenzy.
  • Crypto expert Anndy Lian shares methodology to “find the next DOGE.”
Finding the Next Dogecoin
Table of Contents

The Latest Price Analysis: PEPE Outperforms Popular DOGE and SHIB

On February 28, 2024, the PEPE crypto price rose to $0.00000362, its highest since May 2023. Pepe the Frog-inspired meme coin regained its billion-dollar market cap for the first time since its debut. Only Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Bonk (BONK) had a higher market cap than PEPE at the time of writing.

This week, PEPE has become the top performer among the biggest meme coin names. The three dog-themed meme coins DOGE, SHIB, and BONK posted gains of 50%, 45%, and 74% in the last seven days, respectively – as of February 29, 2024 – only to be trumped by PEPE, which rose over 150% in the same period.

PEPE is a newer meme coin compared to DOGE and SHIB. PEPE debuted less than 12 months ago, in late April 2023, while DOGE is over ten years old, and SHIB came to prominence in the 2020-2021 bull cycle.

The freshness of PEPE certainly plays a part in its outperformance against the old dogs. Supporting this thesis is the explosion in the price of meme coins that debuted in 2023 and 2024.

Take Solana’s new meme coin darling, for example. Dogwifhat (WIF) is one of the hottest new cryptos in town, which has gained nearly 400% since its December 2023 debut and over 150% in the last seven days as of February 29, 2024.

Another 2023-launched meme coin that has outperformed its peers is a Donald Trump-themed crypto called MAGA (TRUMP). The TRUMP meme coin has ballooned nearly 3,000% since the start of 2024.

However, there were warning signs that PEPE price movement was getting overheated. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed that a whale sold all of their 1.9 trillion PEPE tokens on Binance for a cool $3.49 million profit on February 29, 2024. The whale later changed his position from PEPE to SHIB – the latter has been underperforming PEPE.

 

Meme Coin Frenzy Takes Over 2024 Crypto Bull Run

In this section, we explain meme coin investing through the following points:

1. Meme Coin Degens Do Not Care About Utility or Fundamentals

For an outsider, the price movement of meme coins tends to make zero sense. Fundamental analysts are often baffled by the large sums of money invested in these crypto tokens with zero utility.

Non-crypto-natives should understand that crypto degens rarely look for utility or strong fundamentals. They want to find the next Dogecoin to possibly 10x-100x their crypto investment, well knowing the high volatility and risks involved.

 

2. Crypto Traders Seek Outperformance in Bull Markets

Battle-hardened crypto natives tend to invest in cryptocurrencies through bear markets, making them well-prepared to take hefty profits early when bull markets return. In search of market outperformance, experienced traders have shown a tendency to shift funds out of large market cap coins like BTC, which tend to lead crypto bull runs, to smaller market cap tokens that follow.

As quoted in Techopedia’s Bitcoin bull run 2024 article, crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital said in a report:

“While one of the highest sources of alpha has historically come from a perfectly timed rotation from Bitcoin into altcoins as phase 2 commences, that relationship won’t necessarily always hold true, nor is timing that rotation perfectly a reality for any trader.”

The meme coin frenzy that we are witnessing at the moment is an indicator that traders are now looking to altcoins for “alpha” as Bitcoin nears all-time highs.

3. The Importance of Social Forces in Meme Coin Investing

Social forces play an incredibly important role in driving meme coin price gains. Meme coins are inspired by internet memes, jokes, and satire. They bank on community participation, humor, and virality to attract followers and investors.

Elon Musk’s ‘comeback’ in the game could add flames to the meme coin frenzy.

 

Top meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE have loyal followers who enjoy sparkling conversations about their beloved meme coins on social media platforms like Discord and X.

This vibrant social buzz tends to attract newcomers, many of whom end up swapping their fiat for meme coins.

Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert, told Techopedia: “Meme coins can create a sense of community and belonging among their fans, who often use memes and jokes to communicate and promote their favorite coins.”

“Social forces play a crucial role in meme coin investing, as they can generate demand, influence sentiment, and create network effects for these coins.”

Finding the Next Dogecoin

New meme coins may come and go, but none has been able to usurp the king of meme coins – DOGE. The Elon Musk-endorsed token is the ninth biggest crypto in the world with a market cap of over $18.64 billion. At the time of writing, Dogecoin price stood at $0.13, having returned a whopping 23,200% since its debut in December 2013, CoinMarketCap data showed.

In this section, we talk to crypto expert Anndy Lian on how to find the next DOGE.

“Investors should look at the next DOGE in a “fun” manner. Personally, I hunt for them on X (formerly known as Twitter). This is the same place where I spotted $RATS, $FLOKI, $WIF, $GROK, and many more.”

Investors should look for the following traits when evaluating the potential of meme coins:

  1. Catchy and memorable name, logo, and theme, based on a popular or trending meme.
  2. Strong and engaged community that is active on social media, sharing memes, jokes, and news about their coin.
  3. Supportive and influential network of core community/team members or celebrity endorsements (e.g., Musk and DOGE) that can boost a coin’s visibility and credibility.
  4. Clear and fair tokenomics.

The Bottom Line

Meme coin is an interesting sector to uncover. The best place to discover and analyze the social fever created by meme coins is on X. There, you will find opinions about meme coins from incredibly passionate community members as well as rational crypto traders.

However, we want to highlight that meme coins are highly volatile and risky cryptocurrencies. Most meme coin projects enjoy a short period of fame and may become irrelevant after the market loses interest in them.

 

Source: https://www.techopedia.com/pepe-leads-meme-coin-frenzy-as-investors-search-for-the-next-dogecoin

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What are the possible investment strategies after ETH spot approval?

What are the possible investment strategies after ETH spot approval?

That is a good question. The investment strategy after ETH spot approval may depend on several factors, such as the market reaction, the regulatory environment, the competitive landscape, and the innovation potential of Ethereum.

One possible scenario is that the approval of spot-based ETH ETFs will boost the demand and price of Ethereum, as more investors will have access to the cryptocurrency through a regulated and mainstream investment vehicle.

This could also increase the adoption and development of decentralised applications (DApps) and smart contracts on the Ethereum network, as well as upgrades, which aim to improve the scalability, security, and efficiency of the platform.

In this case, the investment strategy could be to buy and hold spot-based ETH ETFs, such as the Fidelity Ethereum Trust, the WisdomTree Ethereum Trust, or the BlackRock Ethereum Trust, which are some of the applications pending with the SEC. These ETFs would offer a more accurate and transparent representation of the underlying asset, as well as lower fees and risks than futures-based ETH ETFs.

Alternatively, investors could also buy and hold spot ETH directly, either through a crypto exchange or a wallet, if they are comfortable with the volatility, security, and custody issues of holding and storing Ethereum directly.

Another possible scenario is that the approval of spot-based ETH ETFs will trigger a sell-off and price correction of Ethereum, as some investors will take profits after the anticipation and speculation of ETH spot approval.

This could also expose the Ethereum network to more regulatory scrutiny and competition from other blockchain platforms, such as Cardano, Solana, or Polkadot, which claim to offer faster, cheaper, and more scalable solutions than Ethereum.

In this case, the investment strategy could be to sell short spot-based ETH ETFs. These ETFs would track the price of Ethereum by holding the actual cryptocurrency in their reserves rather than futures contracts or other derivatives.

Alternatively, investors could also sell and short spot ETH directly, either through a crypto exchange or a wallet, if they are comfortable with the volatility, security, and custody issues of holding and storing Ethereum directly.

Of course, these are just two hypothetical scenarios, and the actual outcome of the spot ETH ETF approval may differ depending on various factors. Therefore, investors should be prepared for various scenarios and adopt the appropriate strategies according to their risk appetite, time horizon, and market outlook.

Whether one is bullish or bearish on Ethereum, there are multiple ways to invest in the cryptocurrency after the spot ETF approval and potentially profit from the market movements of ETH spot approval.

The market reaction and implication of spot BTC ETF approval and spot ETH ETF approval can be compared and contrasted, as both are major events that could affect the price, liquidity, and adoption of the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. The market reaction and implication of spot BTC ETF approval and spot ETH ETF approval could be similar. You take reference from NewsQuakes™ at Cointelegraph Pro and draw similarities.

The approval of spot ETH ETFs could boost the demand and supply of ETH, as more investors would buy ETH through the ETFs, and more ETH would be locked up in the ETF vaults. This could create a positive feedback loop that drives the price of ETH higher, as well as increase network security and decentralisation.

Moreover, the approval of spot ETH ETFs could enhance the credibility and legitimacy of ETH as a mainstream asset class and attract more innovation and development in the ETH ecosystem, especially in the areas of decentralised finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

We encourage readers to conduct their own due diligence (DYOR) and to avoid being influenced by fear of missing out (FOMO) when investing in cryptocurrencies. Keep in mind cryptocurrencies are highly unstable and regarded as hazardous investments. This article is not intended to provide investment guidance and is only for informational purposes.

You have now till March to do your homework and plan your playbook.

 

Source: https://e27.co/what-are-the-possible-investment-strategies-after-eth-spot-approval-20240223/

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Will UNI’s 70% Rally Last? Risks of Uniswap’s Fee Proposal

Will UNI’s 70% Rally Last? Risks of Uniswap’s Fee Proposal

Leading decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap’s UNI token received a massive boost in late February 2024 following a proposal to share platform fees with token holders who delegate and stake their tokens.

Following the announcement, UNI jumped over 70% to a near two-year high of $12.79 on February 24 on expectations of higher demand and lower UNI circulating supply from increased staking on the platform.

Will the latest news affect the long-term Uniswap (UNI) price prediction?

In this article, we analyze Uniswap’s fee-sharing proposal and highlight risks that could cut short the token’s rally.

Uniswap’s Fee Switch Upgrade to Reward UNI Holders

On February 23, 2024, the Uniswap Foundation proposed a network upgrade to implement a fee mechanism that rewards UNI token holders that have delegated and staked their tokens.

The Uniswap Foundation said that the proposed fee mechanism upgrade seeks to invigorate Uniswap’s governance system by incentivizing token delegation and staking.

“Less than 10% of circulating UNI is used to vote on a given proposal. Further, a large portion of existing delegation is ‘stale.’ As of February 1, 2024, 14 of the top 30 delegates by voting power had not voted over the last 10 proposals, and only 7 of these delegates have ever created a proposal,” said Uniswap Foundation.

How Will Uniswap’s Fee Switch Upgrade Work?

At the time of writing, Uniswap collects 0.3% fees on v2 and 0.05% to 1% fees on v3 for swapping tokens, which are paid to liquidity providers (LP).

If the new fee mechanism is approved, UNI stakers and delegators will receive a part of the LP fees.

The fee mechanism proposal is also known as the “fee switch” upgrade because the collection of protocol fees is actually built into the Uniswap protocol. However, the protocol fee collection was never turned on and was initially set to zero.

Here are key details of the proposed Uniswap fee switch upgrade:

  • The protocol fees that will be distributed will be expressed as a fraction of LP fees.
  • The protocol fees will be adjustable by governance and can be 0, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, or 1/10 of the LP fees.
  • Protocol fees can be set on a pool-by-pool basis.
  • Fees are accrued in both tokens that comprise the pool.

Two new smart contracts will be introduced with the new fee mechanism proposal:

1. V3FactoryOwner.sol

This contract will bring a programmatic, permissionless collection of protocol fees. It will also allow the conversion of those fees into a common ERC20 for distribution to stakers.

2. UniStaker.sol

This contract will manage delegation and fee distribution.

Risks to UNI Token Price From New Fee Mechanism Proposal

News of Uniswap’s proposed fee mechanism that rewards UNI stakers and delegators was cheered by the crypto market participants who pushed the UNI token price to its highest since April 2022.

In this section, we highlight events that could cut short Unswap’s explosive rally.

Protocol Fee-Sharing Approval Awaits

UNI token holders have to bear in mind that the proposed fee-sharing mechanism has not been approved as of February 27, 2024.

The Uniswap community will begin voting on the proposal on March 1, 2024. All Uniswap proposals are subject to a 7-day voting period during which UNI token holders can vote for, against, or abstain from voting.

Although it is widely expected that the proposal will get approved (as it benefits UNI holders who are voting), there are certain members of the Uniswap community for whom the new fee mechanism is unfavorable — Uniswap liquidity providers.

Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert, told Techopedia:

“If the proposal is approved, it would activate the protocol fee switch and distribute a portion of the fees collected by Uniswap to the token holders. This would increase the demand and value of UNI and incentivize more participation and delegation in the governance process.

“However, if the proposal is rejected, it could lead to a sell-off and a drop in the UNI price.”

Uniswap Trading Volume, TVL, and Liquidity Expected to Fall on Protocol Fee Sharing

According to a report by crypto analytics firm Gauntlet, the distribution of protocol fees to UNI stakers and delegators can reduce the profitability of LPs on Uniswap.

The reduced LP yield is expected to cause some of them to withdraw liquidity from Uniswap. The less liquidity in Uniswap’s trading pools might result in higher slippages for traders. The higher slippages might cause poor user experience and force traders to choose rival DEXs, which might ultimately result in decreased trade volume on Uniswap.

It should also be noted that lower trade volume might result in lower protocol fees distributed as the platform collects fees when token swaps occur.

Gauntlet warned that setting extremely high protocol fees would result in the DEX being “unable to retain any LPs.”

The research firm also added that core trading volumes from retail and institutional traders will be less affected than MEV volume, which accounts for 40% to 80% of volume on Uniswap and other DEXs, as MEV trades are more sensitive to market liquidity.

Gauntlet noted:

“At the extreme, a 100% protocol fee should result in a 100% loss of all volume, since such a DEX would be unable to retain any LPs. However, even for an extremely aggressive 80% protocol fee, the simulated DEX still retains substantial core volume. This once again highlights that liquidity is rarely a limiting factor for most of Uniswap’s core users.

“We note that for a viable 10-25% protocol fee, the revenue curves are fairly linear and far from the theoretical maximum. We conclude that a protocol fee in this range would be effective at generating revenue and is unlikely to suffer from diminishing returns due to core volume loss.”

Uniswap (UNI) Price Analysis: Is the Rally Short-Lived?

The rally in UNI token price has cooled since the crypto jumped as much as over 70% on February 23, 2024, following the fee switch upgrade proposal announcement. Token holders took the chance to book profit after UNI hit near two-year highs of $12.79.

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that a “Uniswap Team/Investor/Advisor wallet” sold 90,000 UNI tokens from $1.03 million in USDC.

 

Tony Severino, a CMT candidate, technical analyst, and the author of the CoinChartist VIP newsletter, was bullish on the UNI token as he shared his technical analysis on the crypto:

“UNI’s over 50% single-week surge might only be the beginning of a sustained trend change. The clean breakout above the weekly and monthly upper Bollinger Band is a technical buy signal following a nearly two-year accumulation range.”

Elsewhere, CoinCodex data showed UNI token trading at an overbought zone as its 14-day relative strength index stood at 75 points on February 27, 2024. The token traded at $10.05 at the time of writing, above its 200-day simple moving average of $5.68.

The Bottom Line

Uniswap’s fee switch proposal is expected to have lasting consequences if approved.

Although the crypto market is currently focused on the direct benefits that UNI holders hope to enjoy, the resulting effects on Uniswap governance from an approved fee switch upgrade cannot be understated.

The upgrade is expected to incentivize “active, engaged, and thoughtful delegation,” which will ultimately make Uniswap more decentralized, resilient, and community-driven.

 

 

Source: https://www.techopedia.com/uniswap-uni-price-analysis

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