We recently compiled a list of the 10 Worst Performing Altcoins in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Pepe (PEPE) stands against the other altcoins.
The broader cryptocurrency market faces near-term downside risks. Those are sentiments echoed by analysts at JPMorgan amid growing concerns that weakening demand and slowing momentum will trigger a significant pullback. The sentiments come on the heels of flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin, pulling back by about 10% from all-time highs.
After reaching record highs of $3.72 trillion in market cap late last year, the broader cryptocurrency market has pulled back by about 15%. According to JPMorgan analysts, the pullback signals a significant decline in investor confidence.
“The correction over the past couple of months saw both bitcoin and ethereum futures approaching backwardation. This is a negative development and indicative of demand weakness by those institutional investors that use regulated CME futures contracts to gain exposure into these two cryptocurrencies,” JPMorgan wrote in a research note.
One of the reasons fueling the weakening demand in the crypto market is the lack of short-term catalysts needed to push prices higher. JPMorgan, in a research note to investors, notes that institutional investors have been taking profits in the aftermath of cryptocurrencies rallying to record highs following the reelection of Donald Trump as the US president.
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While there are growing expectations that the new US administration will pass positive regulations that foster the nascent industry’s growth, most are only expected in the second half of the year.
“As we argued in our recent publication, crypto initiatives by the new US administration are more likely to take place in the second half of the year. Until then, weakening demand poses downside risk to crypto markets,” stated JPMorgan.
According to JPMorgan analysts, the lack of fresh catalysts in the short term could trigger further downside pressure in the crypto markets. After Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued an inflation warning on December 18, the post-election cryptocurrency rally faded into the end of 2024. Bitcoin saw even more severe losses as investors dumped growth-oriented risk assets due to a spike in bond yields.
Stock market strategist and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors Tom Lee believes Bitcoin will be one of the best-performing asset classes in 2025 despite the recent deep pullback.
“But I think that there is still an argument that in the short term bitcoin is a risk-on asset so as the market liquidates, which happened over the weekend, bitcoin takes a hit so I’d say February is not looking great for bitcoin in the near term ” Lee said
Lee believes Bitcoin could drop to $70,000 before rebounding. Current levels are “probably not the floor for this month so it could visit much lower levels, even 70, but of course that’ll end up being a buying opportunity,” said Lee.
Our Methodology
To make the 10 worst performing Altcoins in 2015, we scanned the cryptocurrency market, focusing on the top 100 alternative coins by market cap. We then trimmed the list and focused on the top ten coins that have shed significant market value year to date. Finally, we ranked them in ascending order based on the percentage loss that the alternative coins have incurred year to date.
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A bustling server farm, reflecting the company’s investment into cryptocurrency mining.
Pepe (PEPE)
Market Cap as of February 21 2025: $4.12 Billion
Year to Date Drop: 51.87%
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Pepe (PEPE) coin is a meme cryptocurrency based on the popular internet meme “Pepe the Frog.” The alternative coin seeks to capitalize on the popularity of meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu by leveraging the lighthearted and humorous nature of the Pepe character. It has emerged as one of the worst-performing Altcoins, having lost about 51.87% in market value year to date.
Following the selloff, the token’s market cap dropped from $10 billion to about $3.84 billion, representing a $6 billion loss since December. Data on trading activity shows that investor behavior has changed significantly, with futures open interest dropping from $556 million in January to $258 million. This decrease points to a slowdown in token-related speculative trading activity. Holder data shows an intriguing contrast despite the price drop. There are now 404,100 Pepe token holders, up from 384,000. This pattern suggests that long-term holders are holding onto their investments while short-term traders may be liquidating their holdings.
Overall PEPE ranks 1st on our list of the worst performing altcoins in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of PEPE as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PEPE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
