3 setup traders can not ignore
The meme coin market is sending mixed signals. While the stock is down more than 5% in the past week, prices are up roughly 5% in the past 24 hours, indicating renewed interest. Against this background, three must-see meme coins stand out for different reasons.
One whale is rising despite a selloff, another is seeing high inventory during a pullback, and a third is increasing volume around a key technical recovery.
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Pump.fun (PUMP)
Among the meme coins featured this week, Pump.fun (PUMP) stands out for a different reason. While many meme tokens are losing momentum, PUMP continues to show relative strength. The token is up nearly 6% over the past 24 hours and nearly 9% over the past seven days, keeping it on short-term trader watchlists.
Note: Pump.fun is not a meme coin by design. Meme is a startup platform where coins are created and traded. It is included here because CoinGecko ranks it in the meme coin category and its recent move has impacted the performance of that category this week.
Price action shows Pump.fun forming a cup and handle pattern, but with an important caveat. The cup has a steep slope, not a flat one. This is important because downward sloping cups often reflect poor confidence in the subsurface. It is possible to get out of this structure but they require stronger supervision than usual.
That hesitancy is reflected in whale behavior. Over the past seven days, Whale's wallet holdings have decreased by 6.37%. Well's balances now sit at 12.02 billion PUMP, meaning roughly 820 million tokens were sold during the week when the price was still rising. At current prices, this spread would amount to about $2 million.
This distinction is important. The price is high, but the big owners sell it to strength. That won't kill the knee position, but it will raise the validation bar.
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On the chart, $0.0026 is a key level to watch. A daily close above it confirms the neckline break and opens a move towards $0.0037, which moves the PUMP to the 75% upside target based on the depth of the cup. On the upside, a loss to $0.0023, followed by $0.0020, would destroy the pattern and prove the whale's caution was justified.
pepper
Pepe remains one of the strongest meme coins to watch this week, but the structure is sending mixed signals. The token has risen almost 35% in the last 30 days, making it one of the top earners in the meme coin category. At the same time, Pepe has decreased by 14.5% in the last seven days, which shows a clear short-term weakness in a still strong broad trend.
What stands out is the behavior of the whales during this return. As of January 7th, whale wallets have increased their holdings from 133.15 trillion PEPE to 134.32 trillion, adding approximately 1.17 trillion tokens. At the current price of $0.0000059, that equates to a net stock of $6.9 million. This purchase occurred as the broader MemCoin market fell more than 5%, reflecting selective confidence rather than broader risk-averse behavior.
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A price chart explains why whales are placed early. On the 12-hour chart, Pepe is trading firmly between the 20-period and 200-period EMA. The EMA, or exponential moving average, gives more weight to recent prices and helps determine trend direction. These two EMAs are converging, forming a bullish cross if price holds.
Historically, retracing the 20-period EMA is important for Pepe. The last sustained pullback, on January 1, sparked a 74% rally. A clean 12-hour close above both EMAs could open higher at $0.0000075, then $0.00000085.
But failure brings disaster. A 12-hour close below $0.0000056 could expose Pepe to a deep pullback to $0.0000039.
Whales can be seen betting on structure before confirming. The EMA's next decision will determine whether this conviction will bear fruit.
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FLOKS
Another meme coin to watch this week is Floki, which is gaining attention despite the short-term weakness. FLOKI is down 8% over the past seven days, but is up nearly 12% over the past 30 days. That puts him in the same position as Pepe, the coldness of the recent against the great strength.
Demand data supports this. Floki ranked as the third best-selling meme coin by volume and unique traders in early January, trailing only Pepe and BabyDog. That increase in activity suggests that traders are shifting their focus away from the meme coin position.
The price chart helps explain why. On the 12-hour chart, FLOKI has retraced the 20-period Moving Average (EMA). For Floki, this step was important. In the past month, every recovery has led to rapid reversals. On January 1, the same claim sparked a 52% rally. A slight recovery on December 8 still resulted in an 11% gain.
This makes the current recovery significant. As long as the price is above the 20-times EMA, the volatility may try to move towards $0.000053, then if it gains momentum at $0.0000619. This is consistent with the recent jump in trading demand.
The danger is obvious. A failure to hold above the EMA will bring $0.000050 back into focus. Missing that level could expose a sharp decline to $0.000038, especially if volume declines.
