An unknown trader made over $46 million in profit by trading the Pepe (PEPE) memecoin. Can the GameStop saga bring back memecoin season?
Trader made over 15,000x profit on PEPE
A savvy trader made $46 million in profit, which is an eye-watering 15,718-fold return on his initial $3,000 investment.
The unknown wallet bought 4.9 trillion PEPE for $3,000 on April 15, which is currently worth over $56 million. The trader sold 1.41 trillion PEPE for $7.4 million and is currently sitting on 3.5 trillion PEPE, worth $38.9 million, according to Lookonchain’s May 15 X post.
Savvy Pepe trader transactions. Source: Lookonchain
Pepe’s current $4.5 billion market capitalization makes it the third-largest memecoin behind Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). Pepe is up over 40% over the past seven days.
PEPE/USDT, weekly chart. Source: TradingView
Memecoins “a symptom of a disillusioned generation”
The recent success of memecoins is a function of disillusioned younger generations, similar to the Punk music genre, which became a popular musical movement after initial criticism, according to Hao Yang, the head of financial products at Bybit exchange.
Yang told Cointelegraph:
“The success of memecoins can be seen, like punk rock, as a symptom of disillusioned young investors who have seen the opportunities afforded to their parents disappear.”
Moreover, memecoins that reached billion-dollar valuations showcase the absurdity of the fiscal system, added Yang:
“By printing tokens out of thin air and pumping them to billion-dollar valuations, these creators are showing the absurdity of our current fiat system.”
Related: Bitcoin bottomed at $56K? BTC price chart hints at breakout within days
Is GameStop’s GME stock boosting memecoins?
Pepe’s current rally may be associated with the resurgence of the GameStop stock craze. GameStop’s stock (GME) price started rising on May 13, after Keith Gill — the man widely credited with kicking off the 2021 GameStop short squeeze — unexpectedly returned to social media after a nearly three-year hiatus.
Pepe hit a new all-time high of above $0.000010 on May 13, a day after Gill returned to…
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