Crypto memes kick back into high gear

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

crypto enthusiasts love more than the digital assets themselves, it's memes. A frenzy of crypto-based memes have gained fresh momentum last week as Bitcoin rallied.

Growing expectations that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will authorize exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin pushed the largest crypto by market value up by more than 25% over the past two weeks to around $35,000 on Wednesday — its highest level in about 18 months.

The breakout gives bulls some hope even as reminders of the industry's recent woes linger. Just last week, Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in his own defense of criminal charges stemming from the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX. He has pleaded not guilty.

Memecoins like Pepe Coin (PEPE) surged along with Bitcoin. The coin based on the internet meme of a green anthropomorphic frog that has been around since the early 2000s increased 77% on Friday from the week before, according to data from crypto market tracker CoinGecko. Pepe Coin, which was issued this year, soared to a market value of more than $1 billion in May before reversing course and plummeting more than 60% in the following days, according to data tracker CoinMarketCap.

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«The bear market put a dampener on meme activity, especially in terms of market value, but it stayed quite lively anyway,» Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter, said. «Now that sentiment is