According to CoinShares senior strategy officer Meltem Demirors, the recent memecoin fever is indicative of altering attitudes in the crypto space. Demirors discusses PEPE, a volatile new coin inspired by the notorious “Pepe the Frog” memes, in a new interview on Crypto Banter.
“I’m not endorsing or participating in the frog coin phenomenon in any way, but I do think it’s fascinating to see how much conversation it’s sparked and how much sentiment it’s shifted even in some of the groups and communities I’m a part of.” People became quite happy, and I’m hearing a lot of ‘Oh baby, we’re back.'”
Demirors argues that because Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are lower-risk digital assets, crypto investors were far more comfortable with exposure to them in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. According to the CoinShares CEO, the current PEPE craze shows that momentum may be turning.
“Now that we’re into Q3/Q4, people are talking about these long-tail coins and trying to figure out what they want to be exposed to.” And don’t forget that we’re about to enter another Bitcoin halving cycle. Again, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes, and I believe that if we look at the pattern over the last three Bitcoin halvings, and if we follow a similar pattern this time, we will have a lot more data about the history of crypto, its price behavior over time, its price behavior in these different supply/demand environments, and so I believe it is important to look at.Â
As people realize the ability to make returns, more money will remain in the crypto area, looking to move further out on the risk curve. So, to me, Pepe is a terrific indicator that, at the very least, individuals in the cryptocurrency sector are becoming more comfortable with risk.”
Historically, new crypto meme coins have experienced tremendous volatility, high concentrations of wealth, and increased chances of pump-and-dump price crashes.
