Pepe (PEPE) Memecoin Outperforms Dogecoin and Shiba Inu After $6.3 Billion Binance Hack

Pepe ($PEPE) has stayed among the stronger performers in crypto this week, even as the market reeled from a security breach at @Binance. The frog-themed memecoin from @pepecoineth has kept a positive weekly return while larger assets sold off.

PEPE Holds Gains as Market Sells Off

The renewed weakness coincided with a $6.3 billion hack on crypto exchange Binance, which triggered widespread liquidations across the crypto market. Bitcoin (BTC) was holding a short-term $78,000 support on Friday, with Ethereum (ETH) edging lower near $2,200.

Against that backdrop, PEPE's weekly performance stood out. FXStreet reported a 5% gain for Pepe over the past seven days. According to CoinGecko data cited by Benzinga, PEPE rose 5.5% over seven days, while Dogecoin fell 5% and Shiba Inu dropped 6.5%. Weekly figures vary by data provider and time of measurement.

The token also made a sharp one-day move. PEPE jumped roughly 15% on Friday, outperforming Dogecoin and Shiba Inu even as the Binance security breach rattled the broader market, Benzinga reported. Its $2.03 billion trading volume exceeded the combined volume of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

The gains have not been uninterrupted. FXStreet noted that PEPE was particularly hit by the exploit on Thursday and was down 5.6% over a 24-hour period as the hack's impact weighed on its price.

Hacker Sale of PEPE Absorbed by Market

Pepe was also directly affected by the incident. A wallet linked to the Binance hack dumped 7.77 trillion PEPE tokens, valued at around $32 million, according to 24/7 Wall St. The outlet said PEPE still rose 8.5% in 24 hours because the sale was only 1.5% of daily trading volume. On-chain data shows the hacker has finished selling the PEPE stolen from the exchange, according to CoinGape.

Pepe was not the only token to hold up. Hyperliquid (HYPE), MemeCore (M) and Quant (QNT) were among the best-performing cryptocurrencies this week, gaining 17%, 9% and 7%, respectively, FXStreet reported. The Clearing House announced in late September that it had selected Quant to power its On-Chain Money Initiative, a network for clearing and settling tokenized bank deposits. Quant's network is tracked by @quantnetwork on X.

Memecoins remain highly volatile, and short-term outperformance during a market-wide sell-off does not guarantee continued gains. Traders are watching whether PEPE can hold its recent levels as the fallout from the Binance incident continues.

Sources

FXStreet: Hyperliquid leads weekly crypto gainers as market sells off

Benzinga: Pepe Jumps 15% While Dogecoin, Shiba Inu Slide on Binance Hack

24/7 Wall St.: The Binance Hacker Dumped $32 Million of Pepe