PEPE Jumps Nearly 20% as Arthur Hayes Starts Betting on Meme Coins
2024-09-27

Arthur Hayes, the founder of BitMEX, continues to make headlines with his ongoing buying spree, which is seen as part of a strategic portfolio shift. After a year of investing in PENDLE, Hayes is now exploring new crypto trends, including decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePin) and meme coins.
His move into these areas is both strategic and timely. Meme coins, riding a wave of market optimism, are experiencing significant growth, while DePin remains a major narrative.
Arthur Hayes Buys 24.39 Billion PEPE Tokens
On Friday, during the early hours of the Asian session, Arthur Hayes revealed an intention to buy meme coins. He highlighted three in particular: Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER, cat-themed culture coin MOG, and PEPE.
“It’s time for a memecoin breakout. I respect my MOTHER, I MOG like no one else, but I can’t neglect PEPE,” Hayes wrote.
Blockchain analytics platform Spotonchain disclosed that Hayes went on to buy 24.39 billion PEPE valued at $252,000. Transactions of such volume or magnitude by renowned personalities in the crypto market often attract attention and could sway traders. 
“After ATH, Arthur Hayes turns to accumulate memecoin PEPE! In the past 2 hours, Arthur Hayes deposited 1 million USDC to Binance and withdrew back 24.39B PEPE ($252,000) to wallet 0x6cd for the first time,” Spotonchain reported.
As BeInCrypto reported, Hayes recently shifted focus away from PENDLE to ATH, making it his second-largest holding after Ethereum. With these portfolio adjustments, the BitMEX executive appears to be pivoting toward both the DePIN and meme coin narratives.
Amidst Hayes’ latest purchase, the PEPE token has increased by over 18% since Friday’s session started, trading for $0.00001069 as of this writing.
PEPE isn’t the only meme coin surging today. Leading tokens in the sector, including DOGE, SHIB, WIF, FLOKI, and BONK, are also experiencing notable gains, reflecting the current sentiment in the broader market.