Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and PEPE prices surged, each scoring major gains in execcess of $2 billion within the last 7-days, in a rally linked to Donald Trump’s latest viral moment.
Prominent memecoins DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE secured significant gains over the past 48 hours, with the market rally closely linked to Donald Trump’s comments during the CNN Presidential debate against Kamala Harris on September 11.
The crypto market snapped out of its sluggish start earlier in the month around September 6, following the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishing a dovish Non-Farm Jobs report. However, within the memecoin sector, the rally gained further momentum on Wednesday.
On September 11, Republican Candidate Donald Trump made a remark, accusing illegal immigrants of “eating dogs, cats, and all the pets (sic).” The comment quickly became a viral joke across social media platforms.
Several high-profile figures, including Taylor Swift and Elon Musk, also joined in on the viral moment. As pet-themed jokes spread across social media channels, crypto traders capitalized on the viral moment to invest in DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE, the top 3 largest pet-themed cryptocurrencies.
Looking at the recent 7-day performance, Dogecoin price has recorded gains of 8.4%, Shiba Inu increased by 1.2%, while PEPE surged by 2.3%. Despite the overall trading volumes showing a decline in the past 24 hours, the three meme coins continued their rally.
In terms of market cap, Dogecoin saw an estimated growth of $1.5 billion over the last 7 days. Likewise, Shiba Inu also gained $400 million, while PEPE added roughly $150 million to its valuation during that period.
Collectively, these top 3 memecoins have grown their market caps by nearly $2.05 billion as Trump’s pet-themed comment went viral.
Such massive gains amid declining trading volume across the sector suggest the presence of an external bullish catalyst. Hence, this rally appears to have been driven by traders rushing to buy into these assets, fueled by the viral discourse around Trump’s “eating dogs” comment.
Evidently, strategic bull traders benefitted from the heightened media buzz, with over $2 billion flowing into the top 3 ranked memecoins this week.
Without a significant uptick in market liquidity, the rally could be short-lived. However, DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE bulls will look to consolidate their recent gains as traders shift their focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate decision, expected during the FOMC meeting on September 17-18.
Ibrahim Ajibade Ademolawa is a seasoned research analyst with a background in Commercial Banking and Web3 startups, specializing in DeFi and TradFi analysis. He holds a B.A. in Economics and is pursuing an MSc in Blockchain.