Why can PEPE still rise in a bear market? This question is worth pondering.

At the start of the year, the overall crypto market declined, with Bitcoin leading the drop and liquidation numbers hitting new highs, but PEPE defied the trend and broke through. Its 24-hour increase soared to 6%, trading volume tripled, 5.61 trillion tokens changed hands, and open interest on futures contracts approached 600 million USD — real money is flowing in.

On-chain data is even more interesting. New wallet addresses surged by 39%, indicating new players entering the market. Whales are also active; in the past month, 36 large transactions of over a million USD each occurred intensively. Big holders are accumulating, and conversely, PEPE reserves on exchanges are shrinking (down 2%), which indicates that chips are consolidating and risk capital is concentrating.

The technical charts also tell a story. The 4-hour candlestick has broken out of a descending wedge — a reversal signal. As long as the support level at $0.000009 holds, there’s potential to surge toward the $0.0000135 to $0.000015 range, with considerable upside potential.

But it’s not just the technicals; there’s also something backing PEPE. Alpha Pepe has implemented transparent contracts and auditing mechanisms, attracting 4,700 holders. Pepeto has taken a different route, offering a 216% high APY staking return, along with cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges, forming a closed-loop ecosystem with a locking mechanism to reduce circulating supply. This design effectively controls volatility risk.

Meme coins’ rise ultimately depends on cultural dissemination. In November last year, a major brand collaborated with PEPE for a promotion, and by early January this year, new waves of hype appeared on social media — this rhythm, combined with Generation Z communities’ spread, essentially replicates the explosive growth of Dogecoin in 2021. Some even turned it into physical objects, with each holder having a symbolic token.

All these factors together make PEPE’s countertrend rise no accident. The next target is a market cap of $40 billion, which opens up room for imagination.