Diamond Hand Strategy Earns Trader $1.77 Million on PEPE Meme Coins

One of the crypto market participants proved that patience and long-term holding of volatile assets can bring astronomical returns. Diamond hand trader, who bought over 170 billion PEPE tokens last October, made a whopping profit of $1.77 million when he realized the position at the end of July. His story has become an example of how the right strategy can turn a relatively modest initial investment into a multi-million dollar fortune.

How PEPE’s Long-Term Retention Generated Record Returns

Chain analysis platform Lookonchain has revealed the details of an impressive deal. The trader accumulated a position of 170.2 billion PEPE coins at the end of October and kept it unchanged for the next nine months. Such a diamond hand position was closed at the end of July with a return on investment (ROI) of an astounding 886%.

The implementation took place in two transactions. First, the trader exchanged just over 100 billion PEPE for $1.16 million in stablecoins, then converted the remaining tokens for another $812 thousand. The total revenue was $1.97 million, which provided a net profit of $1.77 million.

PEPE: The Rise and Fall of a Volatile Star

The history of PEPE shows a typical cycle of meme coins. A few months before the sale, in May of this year, the token reached its apogee — an all-time high of about $0.00001699. However, by the time the trader closed the position in July, the price had already corrected to $0.00001171, which meant a 30% decline from the top. According to the latest data (January 2026), PEPE is trading significantly lower, having fallen 61.89% year-on-year, which demonstrates the volatility of such assets.

Despite the current downturn, many participants claimed on social media that the trader’s choice to close the position in July was a wise decision. Others pointed out that if he had cashed out in May, at the peak of the price, the profit would have been significantly higher. However, even at current prices, the diamond hand strategy has demonstrated its effectiveness.

Other successful stories of meme investors

The story of PEPE is not the only example of making millions from meme tokens. Another investor accumulated over 48 billion Shiba Inu (SHIB) coins in January 2021 by spending just 2 ETH (the equivalent of about $2700 at the time). After a four-year holding period, he realized the position in May 2025 for 280 ETH, which amounted to more than $1.2 million.

An even more impressive case happened to a trader who invested a modest $310 at the end of 2023 in dogwifhat (WIF). Its position has grown to around 2.5 million WIF coins. At the moment (January 2026), the price of WIF is $0.30, which potentially gives it the opportunity to realize a profit of more than $6 million if it decides to exit the position.

Why Meme Coins Are So Risky: Critical Caveats

While such success stories are inspiring, they shouldn’t hide the very real dangers of working with meme tokens. Their notorious volatility means that prices can fall as rapidly as they rise. Many traders who jump on the trend face devastating losses.

An additional concern is that most meme coins have questionable practical uses and are completely dependent on speculative interest and the trend of the moment. When the trend passes, support for the project often dries up, leaving investors with depreciated tokens.

Those who are considering investing in meme coins following the success stories of diamond hand traders need to do thorough research and invest only funds that they can survive the loss. Long-term retention can lead to huge revenues, but it requires the right project selection, proper risk management, and honest analysis, rather than following the emotions of the crowd.