Pepe (PEPE) declined 9.7% over the past 24 hours, reversing gains made after a meme shared by Donald Trump on May 29. The image, which resembled a frog, prompted speculative trading across meme tokens, including PEPE. The price reached a high of $0.00001490 before falling to approximately $0.00001274 by May 30.
Leverage-Led Surge Ends in Liquidations
Open interest surged during the price increase, crossing $735 million as traders opened leveraged long positions in anticipation of a sustained breakout.
However, the uptrend failed to hold, and the resulting price decline triggered forced liquidations. Over $2 million in long positions were liquidated as the price moved below the key resistance area. This rapid shift from long buildup to liquidation suggests speculative overextension rather than organic spot buying.
Funding rates, which briefly flipped positive during the rally, have since turned neutral to slightly negative, reflecting a reversal in trader sentiment. The combination of profit-taking and liquidation-driven selling has intensified the downward move.
PEPE Price Struggles at Resistance as Technical Momentum Weakens
PEPE’s rally met resistance near $0.000015, a level that previously acted as a high-volume supply zone around mid-May. This is the second rejection at this level in three weeks, reinforcing its role as a structural barrier. Following the rejection, PEPE slipped below the 100-period EMA at $0.00001331 and is now trading near the 200 EMA at $0.00001213, which may act as immediate support.
Technical indicators support a cautious outlook. The MACD histogram has turned negative, showing bearish momentum building. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 35.40, reflecting weakening momentum, although it has not yet reached oversold conditions.
Unless PEPE can hold above the 200 EMA and recover toward $0.00001300, further losses may follow. A breakdown below $0.00001213 could expose the token to the next support near $0.00001170, a region of prior consolidation from early May. On the upside, reclaiming $0.00001350 with volume would be required for any attempt to retest $0.000015. Until then, the technical outlook remains neutral-to-bearish.
Broader Market Context Adds to Selling Pressure
The decline in PEPE is not isolated. Altcoin markets, particularly meme tokens, have experienced a parallel downturn. Bitcoin’s dominance has risen to 63%, suggesting a risk-off shift among traders who are rotating out of volatile altcoins.
Over the same 24-hour period, top memecoins like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and Dogecoin (DOGE) also declined more than 6%. This cross-token trend indicates a market-wide retracement across meme-based assets.
