As investors hastily offload Pepe following a recent surge, forecasts indicate that PEPE might not perform well as the year draws to a close. Conversely, Pepe Unchained is gaining significant attention, establishing PEPU as a leading beta player in the market.
This piece explores why Pepe’s price is expected to fall short in the last quarter of 2024 and examines whether a new layer-2 innovation could provide superior meme coin returns.
The situation follows a sharp decline from weekend gains, leaving holders apprehensive amid misleading market movements.
### Why is Pepe Expected to Underperform in Q4 2024?
Despite appearing to be a promising investment with an impressive +700% year-to-date performance, Pepe faces substantial challenges. The coin’s remarkable success has ironically become its burden.
Pepe’s explosive entry into the crypto scene last April, which signaled the end of a volatile crypto winter, has secured its place among the top 30 coins. However, maintaining its significant market cap, currently at $4,374,740,779, is a costly endeavor.
While a multibillion-dollar valuation might seem advantageous, it actually limits future growth potential. A modest 2x return for Pepe requires the market cap to reach $8,749,481,558—an additional $4.35 billion in capital. This scenario is akin to expecting Paraguay’s entire foreign reserves to flow into the investment.
In contrast, a coin with a $1 million market cap would only need an additional $1 million to double its value, making Pepe less likely to deliver substantial returns in 2024.
### Are There Better Pepe Alternatives?
Fortunately, Pepe isn’t the only option. Savvy investors are already eyeing a coin with an $18 million market cap, poised for a potential 50x increase. Pepe Unchained (PEPU) is attracting significant attention, nearing $18 million in presale funding.
A major factor behind the excitement for PEPU is its ambition to be more than just a meme coin. The team is developing a new Layer-2 network on Ethereum to serve as a platform for meme coins, promising Ethereum’s security with faster transactions and lower fees.
To foster a thriving ecosystem, the PEPU team has launched a grant initiative called ‘Frens With Benefits.’ This initiative will provide funding for teams to build on the network, with grants supporting the development of DeFi protocols, NFTs, GameFi products, and more, ensuring robust growth and a new platform for meme coin deployment.
As the next pricing stage of the Pepe Unchained presale approaches, investors can leverage a staking mechanism offering a 122% APY on their PEPU holdings. Engage with the Pepe Unchained community on Twitter and Telegram to stay updated.
