TL;DR:

• PEPE rose 3% in 24 hours and 12% weekly, defying the market’s bearish trend.
• Open Interest in the PEPE futures market increased by 7.87%, signaling the entry of new speculative capital.
• Network growth (new addresses) spiked 39%, coinciding with significant whale accumulation.

The PEPE memecoin is emerging strongly amid generalized weakness in the cryptocurrency market. At the time of writing this note, the memecoin was trading at $0.000005041, rocketing up 3% in the last 24 hours with weekly gains exceeding 12%. These contradictory movements are generating a complex picture for traders, where technical indicators and PEPE On-Chain Metrics point to renewed and strong interest.

The rally has had dual momentum: on one hand, activity in the derivatives markets, and on the other, the network’s fundamental growth. According to CoinGlass data, Open Interest in the PEPE futures market climbed 7.87% in the last day, reaching $257.18 million.

This increase, which tracks the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts, is a strong indication that new capital is entering the market, with speculators opening fresh positions and maintaining confidence in a potential upward movement, despite market corrections.

The Impact of Network Growth and Whale Accumulation

The numbers do not lie; they confirm that demand is not solely speculative. Santiment data revealed that PEPE’s network growth spiked 39%, rising from 448 to 623 new addresses in 24 hours. This metric, which measures new accounts conducting their first transaction with the token, suggests that PEPE is attracting attention beyond its existing holder base, creating new demand that historically precedes price appreciation.

Furthermore, high-volume transactions are joining the upward trend. Last Sunday, whale investors executed 36 transfers, each exceeding one million dollars. These significant capital movements helped push PEPE above the $0.00005 level.

In summary, the continued accumulation by whales, combined with the increase in Open Interest, could act as strong support to keep prices rising if market sentiment remains positive.