Meme Coins Explode On Ethereum ETF Optimism As Pepe Hits ATH

Updated: 22 May 2024

Disclosure

Don’t invest unless prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, you shouldn’t expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage

Meme coins surged for a second consecutive day amid increased optimism that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot Ethereum ETFs (exchange-traded fund) as early as tomorrow.

The meme coin sector overall saw its market capitalization surge 5.9% in the past 24 hours to $61.06 billion. Ethereum-based PEPE is leading the gains after soaring 26% to hit an all-time high of $0.0000142 on May 22.

According to one crypto trader on X, PEPE is one of the best meme coins to buy during the current market sentiment.

#PEPE probably the best MEME Coin play for the #ETH ETF pic.twitter.com/q6QFhR1KlR

— Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) May 20, 2024

PEPE was trading at $0.0000136 as of 03:15 a.m. EST.

Optimism Over Spot Ethereum ETF Approvals Increases – New Bull Run?

Optimism over the possible approval of spot ETH ETFs soared after chatter that the SEC might be changing its stance.

CoinDesk reported that exchanges that would list and trade ETH ETFS were suddenly asked by the SEC’s division of trading and markets to update their filings.

The development hinted that the regulator might be preparing to approve applications ahead of Thursday, when it’s expected to decide on an application to launch an Ethereum ETF by fund manager VanEck.

Bloomberg ETF analysts increased the odds of approval to 75%, from 25% previously, on May 21. A Polymarket contract put the odds of approval at above 61% on the same day, and those odds have since improved to 69%.

Reports indicate that five prospective spot ETH ETF issuers have already submitted amended filings. These are Fidelity, VanEck, Invesco/Galaxy, Ark/21Shares, and Franklin, who submitted their amended 19b-4s to the SEC on Tuesday.

Fidelity removed all words related to staking and staking rewards in its amended filing. ETF specialist Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg Intelligence says Fidelity’s amendment is a sign that the SEC will not allow the staking of assets within spot ETH ETFs if approved.

Meme Coins Back In The Spotlight

Meme coins tend to take the spotlight during critical events in the cryptocurrency market. Besides PEPE, the other top meme coins on the ETH blockchain, Shiba Inu (SHIB), and FLOKI, have also posted gains.

SHIB is up 1.8% in the last 24 hours, while FLOKI has jumped by over 11%.

Meme coins are proving to be lucrative investments in the recent rally, and some traders are already locking in profits on PEPE after it hit a new ATH.

BlockTower Capital transferred 202B $PEPE($2.8M) to #Cumberland for sale 2 hours ago after the $PEPE price broke through $0.000014.

BlockTower Capital bought the 202B $PEPE($2.22M) via #Cumberland 6 days ago.

Making $578K in 6 days, with an ROI of 26%.https://t.co/bSxQ2JVkZJ… pic.twitter.com/zyntQBRmre

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 22, 2024

As Ethereum-based meme coins soar, investors are also snapping up the hottest presale coins.

Among those preferred by some analysts are Doge-themed meme coin Dogeverse, one of the top presales this year after a bumper $15 million fundraising, and Sealana (SEAL), a Solana presale that’s soared past $2.3 million in funds raised.

Another hot presale is WienerAI (WAI), a hybrid meme coin/AI token that comes with an advanced trading bot. It has raised more than $2.5 million so far.