Pepe coin (PEPE) has recently made waves in the cryptocurrency industry. Despite doubters’ predictions of an inevitable collapse, the coin has gained momentum, increasing by 500% in the last two weeks alone, according to CoinGecko statistics. Short-sellers who bet against the token’s price have suffered large losses as a result.
The concerns centered on the fact that a high number of “whales,” or entities owning enormous quantities of the token, had acquired PEPE quickly after it was released in mid-April. This increased short interest among futures traders, with negative funding rates suggesting bearish dominance in the derivatives market.
However, in the last 24 hours, the price of PEPE has increased by 80%, resulting in significant losses for those who bet against it. According to CoinGlass statistics, shorts against PEPE lost at least $11 million across many exchanges over that time period, with OKX alone reporting losses of $5.5 million, the biggest amount among its peers.
Other exchanges reported significant losses as well, with Huobi losing $2.2 million, Bybit losing $3.6 million, and BitMEX losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s worth mentioning that these exchanges just recently began enabling Pepe futures trading.
Short-seller losses in the Pepe market were second only to bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures liquidations, which normally result in the largest futures losses. When an exchange forcibly terminates a trader’s leveraged position owing to a partial or entire loss of the trader’s original margin, this is referred to as liquidation. It occurs when a trader is unable to fulfill the margin requirements for a leveraged position due to a lack of cash to keep the position open.
Despite the significant losses suffered by short sellers, PEPE’s valuation has continued to rise and is now worth $900 million. This has shown that the token’s success is not a passing fad, but rather a long-term trend.
Finally, the significant losses suffered by short-sellers in the Pepe coin market highlight the market’s volatility. It does, however, show the possibility of huge returns for those prepared to accept the risk. As usual, investors should proceed with caution and properly study any cryptocurrency investment before proceeding.
