The cryptocurrency market has been plunged into a decline this week, with global crypto market capitalization dropping by 11% in the past seven days. 

As the market continues to face volatility, crypto whales have been acquiring specific altcoins to navigate the downturn. Some of the tokens that are attracting attention from major investors during the first week of February are Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe (PEPE), and Cardano (ADA).

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Leading meme coin DOGE has enjoyed significant whale attention this week. The triple-digit surge in its large holders’ netflow, which has spiked by 112% in the past seven days, reflects the whale activity.

Large holders refer to whale addresses that own more than 0.1% of an asset’s circulating supply. Their netflow tracks the difference between the coins they buy and sell over a set period. 

When their netflow spikes, it indicates that these large investors are purchasing more coins. This is a bullish signal that could prompt retail traders to increase their buying activity as well. 

If DOGE whales continue to buy the altcoin, it may resume its uptrend and climb toward $0.32.

Pepe (PEPE)

Ethereum-based meme coin PEPE is another altcoin the whales bought this week. BeInCrypto’s assessment of its supply distribution shows that whale addresses holding between 100,000 and 1,000,000 tokens have bought 870 million PEPE in the past seven days.

This has pushed the group’s PEPE holdings to an all-time high of 27.09 billion.

If whale accumulation persists, the meme coin’s value could rise to $0.000010.

Cardano (ADA)

This week, layer-1 (L1) coin ADA is also a top pick among crypto whales. Per Santiment, ADA large investors holding between 100 million and 1 billion coins have accumulated 330 million ADA worth above $230 million over the past seven days.

Moreover, if accumulation persists, the L1 coin could see its value rocket above $0.80.

PEPE has suffered a sharp downturn, dropping nearly 50% over the past month and reaching its lowest price in three months. Investors have faced significant losses as bearish sentiment grips the meme coin market. 

While the possibility of further correction remains, an emerging technical pattern could also signal a buying opportunity for long-term holders.  

PEPE Is Facing a Bearish Cycle

The exponential moving averages (EMAs) indicate growing bearish pressure, with the 200-day EMA approaching a crossover above the 50-day EMA. This event, known as a Death Cross, is typically a strong bearish signal.

If the crossover occurs, selling momentum could intensify, further dragging PEPE’s price lower.  

Currently, the 200-day EMA is just 8% away from completing the Death Cross formation. If bearish conditions persist, PEPE could struggle to recover in the short term. This technical pattern often leads to extended downtrends across various assets. 

Despite bearish signals, PEPE’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio suggests a possible shift in momentum. The MVRV ratio has reached -29%, placing PEPE within the “Opportunity Zone.”

Historically, when this metric drops between -17% and -30%, it indicates that selling pressure is nearing exhaustion.  

A negative MVRV ratio suggests investors are holding unrealized losses, making them less likely to sell further. This can create an accumulation period where long-term holders start buying at discounted prices.

If this trend follows previous patterns, PEPE price could be setting up for a potential recovery.  

PEPE Price Prediction: Recovering The Losses

PEPE is currently trading at $0.00000941, slipping below the critical support level of $0.00001000. This marks a three-month low for the meme coin, making it one of the worst-performing assets of the month. The sustained selling pressure has made it difficult for PEPE to regain upward momentum.  

The looming Death Cross raises concerns about further declines, potentially pushing PEPE below the $0.00000839 support level. A drop below this threshold would likely trigger additional selling, worsening investor losses.

If bearish momentum remains dominant, PEPE could see prolonged consolidation at lower price levels.  

However, a reversal remains possible if PEPE can reclaim $0.00001000 as support. If the meme coin flips $0.00001146 into support, it would invalidate the bearish outlook and shift momentum toward recovery.

Coinbase put three new assets on its listing roadmap: PENGU, POPCAT, and MORPHO. This announcement only caused momentary price gains for all three tokens, possibly suggesting that the market is less interested.

The two meme coins have both endured recent volatility, but MORPHO currently has substantial momentum. Nonetheless, this pattern repeated across all three listings.

Is Coinbase’s Roadmap Losing Relevance?

Coinbase, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, just added three new assets to its listing roadmap: PENGU, POPCAT, and MORPHO.

Typically, these additions cause huge spikes in an asset’s price, but that has not happened today. All three of these coins experienced a brief price jump, but these gains quickly evaporated.

It’s presently unclear why these gains have proved so ephemeral. Two of the new assets on Coinbase’s roadmap, POPCAT and PENGU, are noteworthy meme coins. Both, however, have seen recent price troubles.

PENGU, for one, reached its lowest price in late January and shows little signs of recovery. POPCAT’s decline was in December, but it has also remained low.

MORPHO, on the other hand, stands out from the other offerings on Coinbase’s roadmap. It’s not a meme coin but a legitimate DeFi project creating infrastructure for on-chain lows.

It was a high performer in January and even entered a partnership with Coinbase. That may explain why it’s on the roadmap but not why it has also underperformed.

Perhaps it’s too early to determine what impact a future listing will have on these assets. At the time of writing, Coinbase put them on its roadmap only a few hours ago, and more dramatic changes may happen throughout the week.

However, the meme coin space is extremely fast-paced, making this seem unlikely. Instead, another explanation is possible.

The last two additions to Coinbase’s roadmap before this bear remarkable similarities. When it listed MOG in December, the asset’s price continued to struggle.

Last month, when it listed TOSHI, the immediate price spike was quickly slashed by new profit-taking. The asset still grew that day, but these gains proved ephemeral.

MORPHO’s inclusion also proves that these trends are not related to recent market performance. Perhaps these Coinbase announcements are losing their ability to move traders.