Cryptocurrency

The Binance Hacker Dumped $32 Million of Pepe, and PEPE Still Rose 7%. Is the Memecoin Rally Real?

A hacker unloaded tens of millions in Pepe tokens onto the market, yet the memecoin climbed while Bitcoin and Ethereum sank. Whether the buyers behind that move have real conviction or simply sparked a short-lived frenzy is a question with…

By Sam Daodu

Published October 30, 2026, 1:23pm ET · 4 min read

The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.

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An energetic cartoon illustration shows a large green frog mid-leap over a huge pile of golden coins that are splashing in a blue body of water. A surprised man in a dark hoodie holds a tablet while standing near a yellow dump truck on the bank. The scene includes green trees, grass, lily pads with pink water lilies, and a clear blue sky with white clouds. — A vibrant illustration depicts a frog, symbolizing the Pepe memecoin, leaping over a mountain of gold coins, reflecting its unexpected rally despite a significant sell-off. © 24/7 Wall St.

A wallet linked to the Binance hack has dumped 7.77 trillion Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE) tokens, valued at around $32 million. Surprisingly, PEPE’s price still rose 8.5% within 24 hours.

PEPE, a frog-themed memecoin without any underlying product or revenue, is trading at $0.00000531. This marks a rise from its October 28 closing price of $0.00000503, its highest daily close in the past 90 days.

The upward trend extends further—over the last 14 days, PEPE has increased by 32.0%, and it has soared by 91.6% over the last 90 days. However, the current price is still 81.1% below its all-time high of $0.00002803, reached on December 9, 2024.

Why Did a $32 Million Hacker Sale Barely Move PEPE?

Stack of shiba INU coins over black background

According to Lookonchain, an on-chain tracker that monitors public blockchain wallets, the hacker’s sale of 7.77 trillion PEPE tokens totaled about $32 million and was part of a larger effort to convert $158 million in altcoins into Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). The idea behind this was to consolidate smaller tokens into a more widely traded asset.

While the amount sold was significant, it represented only about 1.5% of PEPE’s 24-hour trading volume—the total value of all PEPE bought and sold across exchanges throughout the day. This small percentage meant the market could easily absorb the sale.

Buyers already lined up in the order book, the running list of buy and sell orders waiting on each exchange, were able to take the hacker’s tokens without causing the price to drop, which explains why a headline about a sell-off didn’t translate into a chart reflecting steep declines.

Why Did PEPE Increase While Bitcoin and Ethereum Declined?

Dollar bill with ETF sign, one ethereum and one bit coin gold coins.

While order book dynamics help explain why PEPE remained stable, a bigger driver of the price increase was likely trader relief. Once the hacker sold their tokens, concerns about a potential influx of those coins hitting the market eased—at least if this sale cleared the hacker’s remaining PEPE holdings.

Beyond that relief, increased attention likely fueled PEPE’s rise. A major price-tracking website listed PEPE as the fifth most-trending coin, driven by user searches, which may have attracted curious buyers alongside the sell order.

Meanwhile, the broader cryptocurrency market struggled. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell by 3.4%, and Ethereum dropped by 3.9% in the same 24-hour period. PEPE was one of the few large-cap coins to gain, alongside a few others. Notably, Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) failed to keep pace.

This divergence began well before the hacker’s sale. Over 30 days, Bitcoin dropped 7.8%, Ethereum 18.0%, Dogecoin 22.5%, and Shiba Inu 21.6%, while PEPE rose 24.3%.

Memecoins, lacking earnings, are driven mainly by attention and market momentum. As one memecoin gains traction, traders often shift from lagging coins to the leader, as seems to be the case with PEPE attracting attention while Dogecoin and Shiba Inu lagged behind. This rotation can happen quickly when traders spot a new leader.

Is Fresh Buying Behind PEPE’s Breakout Above $0.00000503?

Business man trader broker analyst investor holding tab in hands using digital tablet analyzing stock trade crypto market carts investing finances in stockmarket working in dark night office. Close up

On the price chart, PEPE surpassed the $0.00000503 level, effectively breaking through a cap that had limited its daily closes for 90 days. However, it remains below $0.00000568, which it reached during trading on October 29, before the price dipped as low as $0.00000438 and then closed at $0.00000454.

Notably, PEPE recorded its highest trading volume for October on October 29. When trading activity spikes like that but closes lower than the open, it generally indicates sellers overwhelmed buyers at that price point, making the October 29 peak significant.

The trading volume also suggests weaker buying momentum. Since the hacker’s sale made up just 1.5% of daily trading, it implies that other traders were much more active in buying and selling, likely flipping PEPE back and forth. Such turnover can temporarily lift prices without creating stable holders.

Furthermore, part of the price increase could stem from short sellers—those who borrow PEPE to sell, hoping to buy it back at lower prices. If the price rises, exchanges can force these traders to buy back their positions, a process called liquidation. This forced buying continues until all short positions are cleared.

Can PEPE Sustain Its Position Above $0.00000503?

PEPE could hold its position, but the buying support behind the rally appears weaker than the headlines suggest. While a coin that can absorb a $32 million dump without significant impact demonstrates strong liquidity, meaning big orders can trade without moving the price much, it doesn’t necessarily mean there is fresh demand.

For the rally to hold up, PEPE needs to consistently close above $0.00000568, the price level where sellers took control on October 29. If it drops back below $0.00000503, it would forfeit the 90-day closing high it achieved, making the bounce from the hacker’s sale look like a brief flurry of activity with no lasting buyers. So will the PEPE price hold above $0.00000503?

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Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.

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