Top cryptocurrencies just went through one of its most bearish weekends in recent history. PEPE coin was among the cryptos caught in the bearish crosshairs. On Sunday the meme coin slid to price levels last seen on 9 November.
PEPE has given up almost all of the gains that it experienced in November which was the second most bullish month for the meme coin. The weekend sell pressure underscores a bearish start in February, further watering down the embers of bullish expectations.
PEPE Coin Downside Continues
The extended PEPE coin downsides comes just 2 days after X-based crypto analyst @CryptoKaleo tossed in his two-cents. He stated that there was a significant chance that meme coins would experience more sell pressure.
For context, PEPE exchanged hands at $0.00001024 at press time. This meant that it had extended its decline from its December ATH by roughly 63%.
PEPE exchanged hands at $0.00001024 at press time. This meant that it had extended its decline from its December ATH by roughly 63%.
The bearish performance was a reflection of the overall bearish market conditions that have prevailed lately. But could there be any recovery in sight for the PEPE meme coin?

Price initially attempted a mid-week bullish bounce last week but those gains were undone during the weekend, leading to price dropping lower than its lowest level in January.
Meanwhile, the RSI’s low in the last 24 hours was notably higher than its end of January low. Potential sign that significant accumulation could be taking place. This was further backed by an uptick in the PEPE money flow indicator (MFI) during the weekend.

A classic leverage shake-down?
A dive into the latest derivatives data revealed that the latest crash may have been a leverage shake-down. Almost $1 billion worth of liquidations occurred in the last 24 hours across the crypto market. That was roughly $5 million worth of long liquidations for PEPE.
Shorter periods such as the 1-hour and 4-hour time frames revealed that there was a significant surge in short liquidations also. This further reinforced the idea that a leverage shake-down was playing out. In addition, open interest dipped from $472.49 million to $405.72 million during the weekend.

The declining open interest could signal that derivatives traders are starting to move more cautiously. This could lead to lower appetite for leverage and eventually pave the way for more spot flows to have the biggest impact on price direction.
Speaking on spot flows, PEPE coin spot outflows during the weekend (the first two days of February amounted to $48.52 million. This is one key area to observe in the coming days.
Continued outflows could signal low confidence in the market and this could curtail any bullish attempts. On the other hand, a strong demand resurgence leading to strong spot inflows could confirm the return of the bulls.
@CryptoKaleo anticipates that price could still dip lower and potentially as far as November 2024 lows.