Meme coins may not be new, but they’re evolving as quickly as they appeared.

The U.S. President of course kicked off the recent TRUMP token mania, while others like Meme Index (MEMEX) are making the market more sophisticated.

But one original meme coin isn’t doing so hot – let’s explore what has PEPE feeling blue rather than green. 

PEPE Is Spiraling 

PEPE is one of the most popular meme coins on the market, but it’s been experiencing a sharp downturn as of late. 

The value of PEPE has dropped by 65% since December, bleeding out all of it’s previous comfy gains.

PEPE is trading at approximately $0.000010 at the time or writing, and isn’t exactly showing signs of strength.

The feeling of uncertainty continues to mount, and speculation is still fervent, with long term HODLers feeling antsy.

Market Dynamics and Competition Emerge 

The TRUMP token is hard to ignore – when the president drops a meme coin, everyone pays attention.

But it’s record-breaking retreat has led to what some investors are referring to as a “black hole” for capital, pulling the attention and money away from coins like PEPE. 

This not only presents challenges for coins like PEPE, but opens the door for other widely known figures to mint their own tokens and leave OGs like PEPE in the dust.

President Touadéra of the Central African Republic’s recent $CAR token is one such example – PEPE now has to compete with nation state-tier meme coins.

That’s a hard act to follow.

The Technical Challenges

PEPE’s uptrend from August 2024 seems almost invalidated, and many are left wondering if and how the token can recover from this.

As for 2025 predictions, we’re seeing analysts calling for PEPE to trade in the range of $0.0000413 (+325%) at the highest, and  $0.0000286 (+195%) at the lowest. 

Those are some pretty subdued gains in a market where Dave Portnoy can pump a token by millions of percent.

Of course, there’s always a chance for PEPE to increase dramatically once again, but it's going to take a hecrulean effort by the community to make it happen.

A Silver Lining For The Frog

While the bears are calling for total capitulation back to 2023 levels (we’re talking sub-$0.000002), there are still reasons to be optimistic about PEPE.

In the long-term, it could see a meteoric rise this year or next, but that also hinges on a quality community rallying around everyone’s favorite frog. 

Other memecoins exist, and the space is only becoming more crowded.

The meme coin market is allowing investors to experiment with other options, and speculators are finding it helpful to not put all their eggs in one basket.

They might also have a big of that Zoomer ADHD that makes it hard to stay stuck on one token for too long, but that’s another variable entirely. 

Shiny Yet Volatile

High-profile endorsements and institutional interest are slowly but surely getting a firm grip on meme coins.

Some of them are legitimate, sure, but the launch of recent tokens such as TRUMP has investors questioning their portfolios and reallocating resources accordingly. 

Low-cap tokens have established themselves, and it’ll be a busy year as more meme coins rise and fall.

Here’s hoping that PEPE can catch a break and turn that recent frown upside down.