- Pepe’s price climbed more than 35% that day as the crypto market started 2026 strongly.
- There were also significant gains for Bonk, Floki and SPX6900, underscoring renewed memecoin momentum.
- Speculative enthusiasm is also driving price moves in top coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
At the time of writing, Pepe ranks among the top 100 by market capitalization as the best-performing memecoin.
The frog-themed token posted an impressive 35% gain over the past 24 hours and reached intraday highs of $0.000005667.
Notably, Pepe’s price surge has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in trading activity.
According to CoinMarketCap, the Ethereum-based memecoin recorded more than $1.4 billion in 24-hour volume, a figure that rose roughly 650% over the same period.
As bulls piled in, short liquidations intensified upward pressure. CoinGlass data show more than $10 million in liquidations tied to the token.
More than $9.1 million of those liquidations were short positions.
Why is Pepe’s price surging?
Optimism around Pepe follows a bold prediction from James Wynn, a prominent trader on the Hyperliquid platform.
Wynn forecast that the memecoin’s market capitalization could reach an astonishing $69 billion by the end of 2026.
“On day 1 of $PEPE when it was at a $600k market cap, I predicted it would go to multiple billions. Ultimate conviction and belief — and it’s paid off massively,” he wrote on X.
“Now I’m forecasting $PEPE to go from $1.7 billion to $69 billion+ in 2026.”
It is a bold view that implies a potential 40-fold increase from the current level of around $1.7 billion.
As he notes, Pepe has the potential to mirror or even exceed what Shiba Inu achieved in the prior cycle.
Following Wynn’s forecast, Pepe’s market capitalization rose to more than $2.3 billion.
Should that projection materialize, the token’s price could surpass its all-time high of $0.00002825, reached in December 2024.
Wynn argues that a mix of technical, sentiment-driven and broader bullish catalysts place Pepe well ahead of a potential memecoin resurgence.
He noted:
“If this bull market isn’t over — which I don’t think it is — we are likely to see $PEPE lead memes while capital flows into Tier-1 memes and real fundamental altcoins. All social metrics (a crucial factor for meme coins) are MASSIVELY favorable for Pepe, including exchanges using it as branding in posts to boost engagement and onboarding.”
According to Wynn, PEPE could climb further if Shiba Inu is able to reach a $41 billion market cap.
Top memecoin Dogecoin reached $88 billion when its price went parabolic, and Pepe could feasibly reach $69 billion as well.
Bonk, Floki and SPX6900 among top memecoin winners
While Pepe grabbed headlines, other established memecoins contributed to a strong start to 2026 in the sector.
Floki (FLOKI), supported by ongoing ecosystem developments, rose about 19% over the past day.
Like Pepe, FLOKI’s move was paired with elevated trading volumes.
Another notable gainer was Bonk (BONK), the Solana-based community token.
Renewed interest pushed BONK roughly 15% higher in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile SPX6900 (SPX), known for its satirical take on financial markets, climbed about 16%.
Pudgy Penguins, Shiba Inu and Dogecoin also logged double-digit gains, as the memecoin category overall enjoyed a lively start to the year.