Key Insights:

• Bitfinex, a well-established exchange, is set to trade the meme coin, Pepe, capitalizing on the popularity of meme coins.
• Meme coins have caused a decline in Bitcoin’s trading volume, prompting exchanges like Binance and Coinbase to venture into them.
• Decentralized exchanges attract crypto whales, increasing liquidity and trading volume for meme coins.

Bitfinex, a well-established centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012, is set to commence trading the widely popular meme coin Pepe (PEPE) on May 24, 2023, starting at approximately 10 am UTC. The exchange initiated accepting PEPE deposits on May 22, revealing trading pairs in the United States dollar and Tether stablecoin (USDT). As a result of the announcement, the ERC-20 token experienced a surge of 6 percent, reaching a trading value of approximately $0.0000016 in the early Asian market on Tuesday.

During the second quarter of 2023, the emergence of meme coins has caused a notable decline in the overall trading volume of Bitcoin and other prominent alternative cryptocurrencies. Consequently, various centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) have ventured into meme coins to entice a more significant number of cryptocurrency traders amidst the persisting crypto winter.

Henry Child, Head of Tokens at Bitfinex, expressed enthusiasm about the surge in popularity of memecoins and unveiled the introduction of PEPE tokens to the thriving Bitfinex ecosystem.

Decentralized Exchanges Fuel Meme Coin Rise

The improved liquidity offered by decentralized exchanges (DEX) is attracting an increasing number of crypto whales to the meme coin industry. Recent data from crypto price oracles unveils that Pepe meme coin has achieved a trading volume of approximately $153,083,064 in the past 24 hours, accompanied by a market capitalization of around $675,618,507. 

Notably, holdings ranging from $1k to $100k are owned by 20.36 percent of Pepe coin addresses. Moreover, a minority of 0.53 percent of Pepe meme coin addresses hold amounts exceeding $100k, while the remaining 79 percent have holdings below $1k.

Embracing meme coins has emerged as a remarkable advantage for the cryptocurrency sector as a whole. Furthermore, traders involved in meme coins often capitalize on lucrative opportunities from popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. Consequently, having made substantial investments in highly traded digital assets, prominent cryptocurrency exchanges have already incorporated meme coins into their offerings, intending to entice a broader base of investors.

For instance, the widely recognized Pepe meme coin can be traded on various platforms such as Binance, Bitmart, Uniswap V2, Gate.io, Gemini, Kraken, OKX, Huobi, Pancakeswap, Poloniex, WazirX, MEXC, Bitget, Bithumb, KuCoin, and even more, showcasing its widespread availability across the cryptocurrency market.

Bitfinex Rides the Crypto Correction Wave

Bitfinex plans to join numerous exchanges in their efforts to appeal to cryptocurrency speculators during the prevailing market correction. At present, Bitfinex boasts a diverse selection of approximately 190 cryptocurrencies and nearly 500 trading pairs. The most frequently traded coins on Bitfinex include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether USDT.

The trading landscape for meme coins is characterized by extreme volatility, primarily driven by intense speculation, distinguishing it from other forms of digital assets. With Dogecoin and Shiba Inu serving as influential predecessors, numerous meme coins have emerged, enticing investors with the allure of substantial profits while offering limited ecosystem advancements.