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Markets

Pepe (PEPE) Surges 25% as Whale Activity and Futures Interest Skyrocket

Key Highlights PEPE has surged 25% over the past week, with a 12% increase in the last 24 hours alone Thursday witnessed seven whale transfers exceeding $1 million each, the most since mid-Ma

AnonymousCryptoCompass newsroom
August 21, 2026
3 min read
NEWS
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Key Highlights

  • PEPE has surged 25% over the past week, with a 12% increase in the last 24 hours alone
  • Thursday witnessed seven whale transfers exceeding $1 million each, the most since mid-March
  • Token reserves on exchanges declined from 82.75T to 81.30T PEPE as large holder wallets expanded to 84.04T PEPE
  • Open Interest in futures contracts reached $250 million, marking a three-month peak with positive funding rates
  • Spot trading activity shows weaker momentum, registering $2.65 million in net outflows during August 18–19

The Pepe memecoin has experienced consecutive daily rallies of 11% on both Wednesday and Thursday, culminating in an impressive 25% weekly advance. The token is now trading comfortably above both its 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), while technical momentum indicators display bullish signals.

pepe pricePepe Price

With a current market capitalization of $1.19 billion, PEPE ranks as the fourth-largest memecoin by valuation. Prior to this week’s breakout, the token had remained largely stagnant throughout the previous 30-day period.

Data from Santiment reveals that Thursday alone saw seven major transactions valued above $1 million each. This represents the highest concentration of whale-sized transfers since March 16.

Exchange-held token reserves have experienced notable contraction. From August 12 to present, PEPE holdings on centralized exchanges decreased from 82.75 trillion tokens to 81.30 trillion. Simultaneously, the largest non-exchange wallet addresses increased their holdings from 80.50 trillion to 84.04 trillion PEPE.

This distribution shift—characterized by tokens migrating from exchanges into substantial private wallets during price consolidation—typically indicates institutional or whale-level accumulation activity.

Futures Markets Display Strong Bullish Sentiment

Open Interest in PEPE perpetual futures contracts climbed from $209 million to $250 million, representing the highest level observed in three months. The weighted funding rate currently stands at 0.0095%, indicating that long position holders are willing to pay premiums to maintain their bullish exposure.

Leading up to this week’s price movement, the perpetual futures market experienced approximately $17 million in capital outflows over a 15-day period. This trend has now completely reversed. Aggregate perpetual contract inflows have climbed to approximately $84.44 million, with net positive inflow registered at $1.10 million.

Source: Coinglass

CoinMarketCap’s sentiment indicator for PEPE currently registers 4.89, placing it firmly in the “very bullish” category.

Spot Trading Shows Mixed Signals

Spot market activity has not demonstrated the same strength as derivatives. Data from August 18–19 shows net PEPE sales totaling $2.65 million, with approximately $2.31 million of that selling pressure concentrated on August 19.

Over the most recent 24-hour period, spot market net accumulation has improved to approximately $660,170. While this represents positive buying interest, it remains insufficient to fully counterbalance the preceding selling activity.

From a technical analysis perspective, PEPE has successfully breached the June 15 peak of $0.00000314. The immediate resistance level now stands at the 200-day EMA positioned at $0.00000363. A decisive move above this threshold could establish a trajectory toward the May 10 high of $0.00000459.

Source: TradingView

The MACD indicator has generated a bullish crossover, with the MACD line rising above its signal line and entering positive territory. A fresh bullish histogram pattern is now developing above the zero baseline.

Sustained growth in spot market demand would provide critical confirmation that this rally extends beyond speculative futures positioning and enjoys broader market participation.

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