I am using PEPE as an example, but the idea applies generally to any #memecoin
In every crypto market bull cycle, some coins appear out of nowhere, rise hundreds or thousands of percent, and then disappear as quickly as they appeared.
#PEPE is a clear example of this phenomenon.
She does not promise innovative technology, does not solve any problems, and does not try to sell herself as infrastructure. Still, she attracts attention, volume, and speculation.
To understand PEPE, it is necessary to first understand what meme coins are — and why they should not be confused with traditional crypto investments.
What is a meme coin
A meme coin is a cryptocurrency created mainly from:
internet memes
digital culture
humor or irony
social narrative
It does not start with relevant technical utility.
In general, there is no:
technological innovation
clear practical application
long-term proposal
The value of a meme coin comes almost exclusively from:
attention, narrative, and collective behavior
This is not a hidden defect.
It is the nature of the asset.
What is PEPE
PEPE is a meme coin inspired by the meme “Pepe the Frog”.
It does not try to be:
own blockchain
DeFi solution
market infrastructure
It exists as:
purely speculative asset, driven by hype, viralization, and attention cycles.
There is no relevant technical roadmap.
There is no practical utility.
And this is not a secret — it is part of the concept.
Cryptos “useful” vs meme coins: the real difference
It is important to separate two worlds that many people mix.
Cryptos with utility
Typical examples:
blockchains (Ethereum, Solana)
infrastructure (oracles, computing, networks)
financial protocols
These assets:
they have real use
grow with adoption
have technical fundamentals
The price can fall, but there is something being built.
Meme coins
Meme coins:
do not solve problems
do not depend on technical adoption
do not need to “work”
They depend on:
narrative
community
viralization
speculative flow
Price and fundamentals are not connected, because the fundamentals are nonexistent.
So why do meme coins rise?
Because markets are not driven only by technical logic.
They are also driven by:
emotion
greed
FOMO
herd behavior
Meme coins work like:
attention assets
When the attention comes in:
liquidity increases
price explodes
When attention goes out:
dry liquidity
price collapses
This cycle repeats.
PEPE as a speculative asset
PEPE should not be analyzed as:
investment
store of value
long-term project
It should be seen as:
ultra-high-risk speculative trading instrument
This completely changes the way to deal with the asset.
“Is it worth it?” — the honest answer
As fundamentals?
No.
There is no:
technical thesis
competitive advantage
value building
Those who buy thinking of “holding for years” are betting only on future narrative, not on fundamentals.
As speculative trade?
It can make sense — with great care.
Assets like PEPE often offer:
explosive movements
high volatility
short and intense opportunities
For those who understand:
timing
risk management
liquidity
it is possible to extract profit.
But this is not investment.
It is conscious speculation.
The biggest mistake of beginners with meme coins
The mistake is not to operate meme coins.
The mistake is:
confuse trade with investment
use capital that cannot be lost
believe that “this time is different”
ignore risk management
Meme coins do not give a second chance.
Those who hold waiting for fundamentals usually become exit liquidity.
How experienced traders deal with assets like PEPE
Those who operate this type of asset usually:
use small position
accept quick stop
do not cling to the narrative
exit without hesitation
The logic is simple:
enter for volatility, exit for liquidity
There is no emotional commitment.
Why meme coins always come back in cycles of highs
Because:
euphoric markets seek risk
traders seek quick multiplication
attention migrates to extremes
Meme coins are the thermometer of euphoria.
When they start to dominate the discourse, usually:
systemic risk increases
the speculative phase of the cycle intensifies
This does not mean that it is not possible to make money.
It means that the environment becomes more dangerous.
In simple terms
The PEPE:
it has no utility
it has no fundamentals
it has no technical proposal
But:
it has volatility
it has liquidity at specific moments
it has potential for rapid movements
Those who understand this:
treat as trade
limits risk
does not romanticize gains
Those who ignore:
confuses speculation with investment
and usually pays dearly for the lesson.
The more mature view
Meme coins like PEPE are not good or bad.
They are what they are.
The problem is not in the asset.
It is in the wrong expectation.
If you understand that:
it is a game of attention
of short duration
of high risk
so you know exactly when to enter, when to exit, and how much to risk.
Without this, meme coin ceases to be an opportunity —
and becomes announced loss
Operating Memes
First of all, it is important to make it clear:
traders do not operate meme coins like they operate Bitcoin, Ethereum, or infrastructure projects.
The logic is completely different.
Meme coin is treated as:
temporary attention and liquidity asset
This changes everything: entry, exit, position size, and expectation.
1️⃣ Traders enter for liquidity, not for belief
The first filter is not “is the project good?”, but rather:
does it have volume?
does it have enough liquidity to enter and exit?
is it attracting market attention?
Meme coins are only interesting when:
appear at the top of volume
are being commented on
attract new flow
Without attention, there is no trade.
2️⃣ Always small position (even when it seems obvious)
A common mistake is to think:
“since it is a meme coin, I will allocate little care”
In practice, traders do the opposite:
small position
clearly defined risk
acceptable loss from the beginning
Typical example:
1% to 3% of total capital
never a position that “hurts” if it turns to dust
Because meme coin can turn to dust without warning.
3️⃣ Technical entry, not emotional
Even in meme coins, traders:
avoid buying the top of euphoria
look for pullbacks
enter after short consolidations
use breakouts with real liquidity
Those who buy just because:
“it is rising”
“everyone is talking”
usually buys the exit liquidity.
4️⃣ Stops are non-negotiable
In meme coins:
there is no “I will hold”
there is no “let's see what happens”
there is no “it will come back”
Stop is:
quick
technical
accepted without discussion
Those who do not accept stop in meme coin:
you are not trading, you are cheering.
5️⃣ Exit is more important than entry
Traders do not try to “catch the top”.
They:
partially realize
sell on impulses
reduce position as hype grows
Unwritten rule:
the more people talking about the asset, the closer to exit you should be.
6️⃣ No leverage (or almost none)
Leverage in meme coin:
increases exponential risk
merges volatility + liquidation
destroys small accounts quickly
Most experienced traders:
it operates spot
or minimal leverage, when very experienced
Meme coin is already high risk without leverage.
PEPE vs other meme coins: what really changes
Using PEPE as an example helps, but the behavior is almost always the same in meme coins.
What changes is not the logic — it is the level of attention.
PEPE
Strong cultural appeal
Noisy community
Rapid explosions of volume
Violent movements
Good for:
short trades
moments of intense hype
Bad for:
hold
build position
think long term
DOGE
Older meme
More recognition
Lower volatility (comparatively)
Works more like:
thermometer of euphoria
less extreme speculative asset
SHIB
Hybrid narrative (meme + ecosystem)
Large community
Still highly speculative
Usually has:
longer cycles
less abrupt movements than PEPE
New meme coins
Maximum risk
High multiplication potential
High chance of disappearing
Here the trade is:
quick
small
without attachment
What all meme coins have in common
Regardless of the name, they all share:
absence of technical fundamentals
total dependence on narrative
short attention cycles
high capital destruction rate for beginners
The chart rises before the explanation
and falls before justification.
When meme coins become opportunities (and when they become traps)
They can become opportunities when:
the market is euphoric
liquidity is coming in
there is real volume
you enter early and exit quickly
They become traps when:
they are already everywhere
influencers start to “explain the project”
long-term narratives emerge
beginners start to hold
This is usually the psychological top.
How to use meme coins without destroying yourself
The right mindset is simple:
treat it as trade, not investment
accept that you can lose everything allocated
use little capital
exit without attachment
do not try to “be right”
Meme coin does not reward conviction,
rewards discipline and detachment.
Final message (without romanticizing)
PEPE was the example.
But all this applies to any meme coin.
They:
are not useless for trade
are useless as fundamentals
Those who understand this:
sometimes profits
often misses out
almost never breaks
Those who ignore:
confuses hype with value
turns speculation into belief
becomes silent market statistics
Meme coins are not the problem.
Wrong expectation is