Memecoin Fever Cools as PEPE Loses 60% — Bitcoin Network Fees Ease After Frenzy
The memecoin mania that swept across the crypto market in early May appears to be losing momentum. Prices of leading meme tokens, including PEPE, have fallen sharply, signaling the end of the short-lived speculative surge that congested the Bitcoin network last week.
PEPE Price Plummets 60% After Record Surge
PEPE, the frog-themed memecoin that skyrocketed from obscurity, has lost more than 60% of its peak value since May 5. After hitting an all-time high of $0.00000431, it now trades near $0.00000172, down 4.5% over the past 24 hours.
The token’s market capitalization has dropped from a peak of $1.6 billion to around $720 million, according to BeInCrypto. Meanwhile, the broader crypto market has seen a modest recovery, with total capitalization up 1.7% on the day — a sign that memecoin hype is cooling off.
Speculation Fades as Traders Take Profits
The memecoin boom was largely fueled by speculative trading, with many investors rotating capital from Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) into high-risk meme assets. According to Bloomberg, such trading behavior often mirrors gambling dynamics more than long-term investment.
Kyle Doane, a trader at digital-asset firm Arca, compared PEPE’s rise to “a lottery ticket,” noting that this style of trading resembles “a centralized casino.”
Historically, similar memecoin frenzies have signaled local market tops. The last major memecoin rally, led by Dogecoin (DOGE) in May 2021, preceded a multi-month crypto correction.
Joe Rotunda, director of the Texas State Securities Board, warned, “When the buzz disappears and the hype dissipates, the value tends to plummet and investors can suffer significant losses.”
Despite fading enthusiasm, PEPE still records roughly $360 million in daily trading volume, though liquidity concerns remain.
Bitcoin Network Returns to Normalcy
The Bitcoin network, which faced severe congestion during the peak of the memecoin minting frenzy, is now stabilizing. The backlog of unconfirmed transactions has dropped to around 242,837, and transaction fees have fallen sharply.
Average Bitcoin transaction fees have declined from over $30 on May 8 — when demand for block space surged due to BRC-20 and Ordinals activity — to about $3.76 as of Monday morning.
According to BitInfoCharts, daily transactions remain high at over 600,000, suggesting continued network activity but far less congestion.
Bitcoin Prices Hold Steady
While memecoin prices have plunged, Bitcoin’s performance has remained relatively stable. During early Monday trading in Asia, BTC gained 1.4%, trading around $27,191.
The easing of network pressure and decline in transaction fees may restore confidence among Bitcoin users after weeks of frustration caused by inflated costs and delayed transactions.
Conclusion
The sharp decline in PEPE and other memecoins marks the cooling of one of crypto’s latest speculative waves. As attention shifts back to Bitcoin’s fundamentals, network conditions are normalizing, and transaction costs are returning to sustainable levels — a welcome development for long-term users even as short-term traders nurse their losses.
