The once-enthusiastic “blue-chip” meme coins—Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Pepe (PEPE)—have found themselves under significant downward pressure in recent trading sessions. Despite a promising recovery attempt at the beginning of the week, the broader cryptocurrency market’s sharp correction has hindered their momentum. Meanwhile, derivatives data shows a notable drop in open interest (OI), and large wallet activity indicates profit-taking and weakening buying strength—painting a picture of an increasingly cautious investor cohort.
1. Large Investors Are Losing Confidence
Large holders—often called “whales”—play a considerable role in shaping market trends through their buy and sell behaviour. At present, however, these whales appear to be stepping back from key meme-coins, increasing the risk of a deeper correction for DOGE, SHIB and PEPE.
Data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment reveals that wallets holding more than 1 billion DOGE have reduced their share of the total supply from 46.75% to 46.28% since October 1. For SHIB, wallets with between 1 million and 1 billion tokens lowered their holdings from 2.83% to 2.822%, while whales holding over 1 billion SHIB maintained control at about 97.16%. For PEPE, the share held by wallets with 1 million to 1 billion tokens dropped from 3.84% to 3.764%, though top wallets managing over 1 billion increased slightly from 96.15% to 96.23% since the beginning of October.
This collective shift signals a growing “risk-off” sentiment among meme-coin whales—a cautious posture amid mounting market uncertainty.
2. Risk Offsets Lead to Retail Investor Retreat
When market volatility spikes, meme-coins are often among the first to face heavy selling pressure. Their value is heavily dependent on community sentiment—an inherently unstable driver. As smaller retail investors begin to lose momentum, the downward pressure may deepen.
According to data from CoinGlass, open interest—a measure of the total notional value of futures contracts outstanding—has decreased by about 2% for DOGE, 5% for SHIB and 6% for PEPE. The numbers now stand at approximately 1.85 billion USD for DOGE, 76.02 million USD for SHIB, and 209.67 million USD for PEPE.
A decline in OI typically indicates that traders are reducing exposure—closing positions or lowering leverage—reflecting increased caution in the derivatives market.
3. Technical Analysis: Indicators Point to Further Downside
Dogecoin (DOGE)
DOGE has failed to hold the psychological support level of 0.2000 USD, and on the 4-hour timeframe the coin has formed a lower high, indicating a trend shift downward. At the time of writing, DOGE is down nearly 1% today, following a 2.87% drop in the previous session.
The next meaningful support lies around 0.1781 USD, noted as the low on October 12. Technical indicators reinforce the bearish picture: the MACD has crossed below its signal line, suggesting weakening momentum; the RSI hovers near 45, signaling that selling pressure may still intensify before the coin enters oversold territory. Breaking above the high of the recent Tuesday session at 0.2056 USD is required to invalidate the down-trend and potentially target the next resistance at around 0.2172 USD.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
SHIB is trading below the key psychological threshold of 0.00001000 USD, placing it at risk of entering a new downside cycle inside a descending channel on the 4-hour chart.
Immediate support is near 0.00000911 USD, which aligns with the baseline of the descending channel and the S1 Pivot Point. On the technical side, the MACD line is converging with the signal line—indicating dwindling buying interest—while the RSI sits around 45, below the neutral zone and tilting the sentiment toward bearish. For SHIB to reverse and regain upside traction, it would need a daily close above the 100-period EMA at 0.00001073 USD. If successful, resistance targets lie at R1 (~0.00001116 USD) and R2 (~0.00001225 USD).
Pepe (PEPE)
After three consecutive sessions of rebound, PEPE reversed sharply, falling about 3% on Tuesday and trading below 0.00000700 USD by Wednesday. Support is presently seen at the S1 level near 0.00000619 USD.
Like the others, PEPE exhibits bearish signs: the MACD shows a downward cross indicating sellers are taking over, while the RSI at ~43 points to a weakening bid. A meaningful breakout above the Tuesday peak of 0.00000738 USD would be required to shift momentum back toward the upside—potentially aiming for the R1 resistance (~0.00000788 USD).
Conclusion
In summary, weakening conviction among large investors, a sharp drop in open interest across the derivatives market, and a set of negative technical signals are all pointing toward the possibility that the leading meme coins—DOGE, SHIB and PEPE—may be entering a deeper corrective phase amid broader crypto-market fragility.
As always, this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should conduct their own research and be fully aware of the risks before making any trading decisions.
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