Meme Coin Holders Panic as Whales Dump PEPE, DOGE & Shiba Inu

The crypto market volatility has erased gains recorded after the last dip. Recent fluctuations in the top crypto prices have taken their toll on meme coins, leading to whales plunging into panic mode. After the weekend sell-offs, the meme coin market cap fell 3.6% to $49.7 billion, below the $50 billion mark.

Whales Exit Top Meme Coins

Over the past week, large whales dumped massive meme coin holdings as fear gripped traders. This followed uncertain macro events and general bearish sentiments to present on-chain metrics. According to Lookonchain, a PEPE whale sold 438B tokens worth approximately $3 million. 

The whale made the sale at a $434k loss due to increased selling pressure. In the last 24 hours, it was recorded that a PEPE trader went long with 10x leverage and is down over $3.36 million. This crunch from the meme coin market continues to affect bullish attempts in the same time frame.

Similarly, another PEPE whale sold 150B tokens worth $1.14 million. This string of outflows sent the price down 9.2% in seven days. At the time of writing, PEPE price currently trades at $0.0000068, a 4% drop in the last 24 hours. The asset has also seen a decline in trading volumes, impacting new users.

Like PEPE, DOGE, and SHIB are also caught in the meme coin decline. These assets nosedived over the last 30 days wiping out previous strong positions. This year, DOGE holders projected a massive run to $1 ahead of the cycle peak but expectations have waned.

The asset’s price stands at $0.1625, declining 8% last week and 4.4% today. Similar numbers are also seen in SHIB price although the community rally continues. Overall, whale interest in meme coins has significantly declined this year leaving confidence at yearly lows.

Can Bulls Swing Into Action

Last year, the total market cap of meme coins soared above $70 billion following heightened institutional interest in the crypto market. Meme coins are highly volatile and swing on a larger market bull run as a communing buzz.

For most industry watchers, an altcoin recovery is a major factor for a meme coin drive. This could fuel several meme tokens like DOGE and SHIB to Q4 2024 highs and eventually more gains. On the flip side, the current market cap below $50 billion could pose a huge resistance to signals of a rebound as present sentiment points to fear over optimism.