Crypto trader turns $3K into $46M in one month as PEPE price rises.
An unknown trader made more than $46 million in profit trading PEPE memecoin. Can the GameStop saga bring back the era of memecoin?
Trader made more than 15,000x profit on PEPE
The savvy trader made $46 million in profit, a 15,718-fold return on his initial investment of $3,000.
An anonymous wallet bought 4.9 trillion PEPE for $3,000 on April 15th, which is currently worth over $56 million. The trader sold 1.41 trillion PEPE for $7.4 million and currently sits at 3.5 trillion PEPE, worth $38.9 million, according to Looonchain's May 15 X post.
Pepe's current market capitalization of $4.5 billion makes it the third largest memecoin behind Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). Pepe is up more than 40% in the last seven days.
Memecoins “Symbol of a Sad Generation”
According to Hao Yang, head of financial products at BayBit Exchange, the recent success of memecoins, which is similar to the punk music genre, has become a popular music movement after initial criticism.
Yang told Cointelegraph:
“The success of memecoins can be seen as a sign of disillusioned young investors who saw the opportunities given to their parents disappear, like punk rock.”
What's more, memecoins that have reached billions of dollars in value show the corruption of the fiscal system, Yang added.
“By printing tokens out of thin air and turning them into billion dollar values, these creators are demonstrating the corruption of our current fiat system.”
Related: Bitcoin Down at $56K? The BTC price chart indicates the opening in days
Will GameStop's GME stock raise memecoins?
Pepe's current rally may have something to do with the resurgence of the GameStop inventory craze. GameStop's stock ( GME ) price began to rise on May 13, after Keith Gill — the man widely credited with starting the 2021 GameStop short squeeze — made an unexpected return to social media after a three-year hiatus.
Pepe reached an all-time high of over $0.000010 on May 13, a day after Gil's return to social media. GameStop's shares are up more than 111% in the 24 hours since Gill's return. In one day, GameStop shares surpassed Bitcoin's annual earnings.
According to Metro CEO Xiaohan Zhu, GameStop's rally may be the main reason behind Pepe's price hike. Zhu told Cointelegraph:
“The GME saga could be one of the factors contributing to the revival of PEPE. I would say that the recent fall in crypto across the board is mainly due to profiteering and several large projects being listed on exchanges and taking away most of the market liquidity.
While it is difficult to predict the start of the overall memecoin run, some traders believe that profits from GameStop will flow into altcoins in a similar fashion to the 2021 bull run.
Based on historical chart patterns, the 2021 altcoin rally changed after the GameStop rally, according to crypto analyst CryptoAmsterdam's May 14 post, citing the charts below.
Not all memecoins are likely to benefit from the GameStop saga, but Pepe seems to be starting to rally more because it gives retail investors a narrative relevant to the GameStop pump, said Aleksandra Artamonovskaja, head of art at Trilitec, Tezos.
She told Cointelegraph:
Apart from being the most popular meme on the internet, Pepe is a culture and creation of his own, a symbol of freedom and hope – a relevant narrative of the GME saga.
Related: Altcoins lower in early summer before bull run – analyst
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
