PEPE Price Surge Alert: Can Derivatives Demand Propel the Meme Coin to New Highs?
Frogs are jumping—and so is PEPE's price. The meme coin's derivatives market just hit record volume, sparking a fresh rally. But is this sustainable, or just another crypto casino side bet?
Derivatives frenzy fuels PEPE's pump. Open interest and trading volume for PEPE futures and options have exploded, mirroring the coin's 30% price spike this week. Traders are piling in, but liquidity remains thinner than a DeFi degenerate's patience.
Whale watching season. Large holders (those pesky 'smart money' folks) have been accumulating PEPE ahead of the surge. Retail FOMO hasn't kicked in yet—meaning this could be the calm before the storm or the cliff before the plunge.
Technical breakout or breakdown? PEPE just smashed through its 200-day moving average, a classic bull signal. But with RSI flirting with overbought territory, this rocket might need a cooldown before the next leg up.
Regulators eye the meme circus. As PEPE derivatives volume rivals mid-cap altcoins, watchdogs are circling. Nothing kills a crypto party faster than a futures market crackdown—just ask Binance's compliance team.
Bottom line: PEPE's riding the speculative wave, but memecoins don't have fundamentals—just greater fools and exit liquidity. Trade accordingly (and maybe keep some dry powder for when the leverage flushes out).
Pepe offers bullish signals backed by a steady derivatives market
Interest in Pepe remains high despite the trend reversal experienced on Tuesday, which saw the meme coin test support at $0.00001169. According to CoinGlass, the futures Open Interest (OI) has increased by 33.5% to $685 million, from $455 million, as of July 2.
Since Open Interest refers to the value of all futures and options contracts that have not been settled or closed, an increase in this metric indicates rising investor confidence and risk-on sentiment.
Pepe Futures Open Interest data | Source: CoinGlass
A subsequent increase in the futures contracts volume, which currently averages $3.73 billion, up from $1.39 billion on July 2, indicates that more traders are betting on a potential short-term increase in the PEPE price.
Pepe futures trading volume | Source: CoinGlass
If investor interest in Pepe stabilizes in the upcoming days, the uptrend could gain momentum, targeting highs above $0.00002000. Key factors that could influence price action include potential profit-taking as the price rises, inflation-related risks, and uncertainty surrounding the implementation of tariffs in the US on August 1.
Technical outlook: Pepe maintains bullish signals
Pepe price currently sits significantly above key moving averages, including the 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $0.00001078 and the 200-day EMA, which forms a confluence support with the 50-day EMA at around $0.00001095. This technical position indicates a firm bullish structure, which could help uphold investor confidence in PEPE.
A potential Golden Cross between the 50-day EMA and the 200-day EMA could reinforce the bullish outlook. This pattern has historically triggered price increases in Pepe; for instance, when it was confirmed in September, the meme coin surged 248% from $0.00000823 to $0.00002838.
PEPE/USDT daily chart
A buy signal from the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator maintained since July 1 implies that bulls could still tighten their grip on the token, encouraging risk-on sentiment.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates a resumption of the uptrend, with readings above 64 signaling bullish momentum. Notably, the breakout from the falling wedge pattern, with a target of 35% to $0.00001355, could resume in upcoming sessions, as bulls eye key milestones such as the resistance at $0.00001629, which was tested in May, and the round-figure hurdle at $0.00002000.
Open Interest, funding rate FAQs
How does Open Interest affect cryptocurrency prices?
Higher Open Interest is associated with higher liquidity and new capital inflow to the market. This is considered the equivalent of increase in efficiency and the ongoing trend continues. When Open Interest decreases, it is considered a sign of liquidation in the market, investors are leaving and the overall demand for an asset is on a decline, fueling a bearish sentiment among investors.
How does Funding rates affect cryptocurrency prices?
Funding fees bridge the difference between spot prices and prices of futures contracts of an asset by increasing liquidation risks faced by traders. A consistently high and positive funding rate implies there is a bullish sentiment among market participants and there is an expectation of a price hike. A consistently negative funding rate for an asset implies a bearish sentiment, indicating that traders expect the cryptocurrency’s price to fall and a bearish trend reversal is likely to occur.
