Meme coins like PEPE, SHIB, and DOGE have experienced a significant surge in value, with gains of up to 26% in the past 24 hours. This increase in value is attributed to a “spillover effect” from the growth of Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the market.
Traders have been using meme coins as a proxy bet on Ethereum’s growth since late February, as the demand for ETH has been steadily increasing since mid-January. This surge in demand is fueled by expectations of a spot ETF approval in the U.S., which has led to renewed optimism among investors.
Pepecoin (PEPE), shiba inu (SHIB), and dogecoin (DOGE) all saw significant gains as ether (ETH) approached the $4,000 mark, a level it had previously reached in December 2021. PEPE led the rally with a 26% jump, while DOGE and SHIB reversed losses from the previous day to rise by 10%.
The meme coin category, as tracked on CoinGecko, showed an average sector growth of 8.6%, while a broad-based index of various tokens rose by 2.53%. This indicates a strong overall performance for meme coins in the market.
According to Slater Heil, co-founder and COO of DeFi platform Blueberry Protocol, the rise in meme coin values can be attributed to a spillover effect from the growth of Bitcoin and Ethereum. He noted that investors are taking advantage of bullish conditions, with meme coins being one way for them to do so. However, he cautioned that there may be a transition back to “fundamentally driven” altcoins in the short to mid-term.
The bullish demand for ether has been on the rise since mid-January, driven by expectations of a spot ETF approval in the U.S. Coinbase premiums for Ethereum ecosystem tokens have been higher than usual, indicating that recent demand has been led by U.S. investors, as reported by CryptoQuant.
Overall, the surge in meme coin values can be seen as a reflection of the broader market trends, with investors looking for opportunities to capitalize on the growth of leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. As the market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how meme coins and other altcoins perform in the coming weeks.