GameStop Who? Ethereum ETF Hype Sends Crypto Memes Flying

Remember last week's GameStop-fueled meme stock hype that helped propel meme coin prices? Well, the crypto narrative has already changed, and now it's Ethereum ETF hype that's juicing the markets... and yes, meme coins are again flying.

After Ethereum (ETH) exploded with historic intensity late Monday, surging some 23% within hours amid renewed rumors around spot Ethereum ETF renewal, a few meme coins appear to have hitched a ride to the moon off the momentum—including, curiously, one of Solana’s most iconic meme tokens.

Pepecoin (PEPE), one of Ethereum’s top meme coins, is up a whopping 32% in the last 24 hours. The streak has pushed PEPE to a new all-time high price above $0.0000128—albeit still worth a fraction of a cent. For the first time, also, the meme coin has surpassed a market capitalization of $5 billion. 

What caused the major bump? It appears PEPE is—almost exactly—mirroring ETH’s rise.

After rumors began circulating yesterday that applications to trade spot ETH ETFs on Wall Street might soon be approved—rather than denied, as many expected—ETH instantly began climbing upwards yesterday afternoon. It hasn’t stopped yet, breaking $3,800 multiple times Tuesday morning. 

Down to the minute, Pepe began surging exactly when ETH took off yesterday afternoon. It’s unclear, though, what connection PEPE has to the ETH ETF saga, besides being one of the top meme coins on Ethereum. Meme coins are notably volatile and can be swayed by social media sentiment, however, so PEPE may be feeling the love as traders get hyped over ETH gains.

The top two meme coins, however, had more marginal gains. Dogecoin, which runs on its own chain, is up 10% in the last 24 hours; Shiba Inu, the only Ethereum meme coin larger than PEPE, is up just under 6%. 

The other biggest beneficiary during ETH’s boom lives, curiously, over on Solana. There, BONK, one of Solana’s top meme coins, surged as much as 33% since yesterday, before settling, at writing, at a price that’s up 19% over the last 24 hours—but still worth a fraction of a penny at $0.00003127.

BONK began surging a bit after ETH and PEPE did on Monday afternoon, by about two hours. Over the last day, however, it has kept pace with those coins’ gargantuan gains. 

Some attributed BONK’s rise to the conclusion of a weekly distribution of the token as part of a grants program. 

As others pointed out, however, there is still plenty more BONK to be distributed via other initiatives in the coming two years. 

SOL itself, meanwhile, is down 2% in the last day—but up almost 24% on the week.

Edited by Andrew Hayward