Ethereum Meme Coins PEPE, MOG Hit Lifetime Highs on Ether ETF Filing Approvals

Two
Ethereum
ecosystem
tokens
surged
to
record
highs
on
Monday,
fueled
by
last
week’s
approval
of
key
ether

(ETH)
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
filings
in
the
U.S.
that
persuaded
some
traders
to
consider

meme
tokens
as
beta
bets.

Frog-themed
pepe

(PEPE)
and
cat-themed
mog
(MOG)
jumped
11%
and
45%,
respectively,
in
the
past
24
hours
as
a
beta
bet
narrative
showed
no
signs
of
slowing.
A
beta
bet
is
a
way
of
gaining
exposure
to
a
main
asset
by
investing
in
related
networks
or
protocols.
Trading
volumes
for
PEPE
across
spot
and
futures
hit
over
$1.8
billion,
compared
with
a
more
usual
range
of
$400
million-$600
million.

The
gains
came
as
ether
rose
nearly
5%
over
the
same
period,
leading
the
advance
among
major
tokens
as
bitcoin

(BTC)
shed
1%.
The
broad-based
CoinDesk
20
{{CD20}},
an
index
of
the
biggest
tokens,
minus
stablecoins,
lost
0.3%.

Futures
data
shows
open
interest
on
pepe
and
mog-tracked
instruments
spiked
up
in
the
past
24
hours.
PEPE
open
interest
rose
to
$720
million
from
last
week’s
$550
million,
while
for
MOG
the
figure
rose
to
$8.3
million
from
$5
million.
Rising
open
interest
is
considered
a
sign
of
new
money
entering
the
market,
which
may
foreshadow
further
price
volatility.

However,
a

long-to-short
ratio
for
PEPE
is
skewed
in
favor
of
bears
at
54%,
data
from
Coinalyze
shows,
showing
traders
are
going
short,
or
betting
against,
further
price
rises.

As
CoinDesk
reported
last
week,
traders
have
been
considering
PEPE
and
MOG
as
a
levered
way
to
gain
exposure
to
ether.
A
rally
in
the
two
tokens
started
when
analysts
raised
the
odds
of
ether
ETFs
being
approved
for
trading
in
the
U.S.

PEPE
even
zoomed
into
the
20
largest
tokens
by
a
market
capitalization
of
over
$6
billion,
netting
some
early
investors

millions
of
dollars
on
an
initial
purchase
of
just
$460.

Since
2023,
meme
tokens
–
usually
considered
to
have
no
intrinsic
value,
but
which
nevertheless
enjoy
tremendous
followings
–
have
recently
risen
in
prominence
as
a
beta
bet
on
whichever
ecosystem
they
are
based
on.

Several
Solana-based
meme
coin
tokens

surged
from
December
to
March
as
the
network’s
SOL
tokens
took
off
–
contributing
to
ecosystem
growth
and
garnering
attention.
Also
in
December,
the
Avalanche
Foundation,
a
non-profit
organization
that
maintains
the
Avalanche
blockchain,

said
it
would
invest
in
meme
tokens
built
on
the
network
in
recognition
of
the
online
culture
and
memetic
value
that
such
tokens
can
drive
among
investors.