Pepe a token inspired by the 2000s meme “Pepe the Frog,” witnessed a strong whale selloff yesterday, Dec. 8, but the asset still continued its move upwards.

Pepe (PEPE) rose to an intraday high of $0.000027 on Monday, setting a new all-time high and marking an increase of nearly 2000% since the beginning of the year, making it one of the best-performing assets. The altcoin’s market cap stood at over $11.37 billion, with the recent rally extending PEPE’s monthly gains to 157%.

According to data from IntoTheBlock, Pepe’s large holder net flows shifted from a net inflow of 1.03 billion PEPE, valued at approximately $22.66 million on Dec. 6, to a net outflow of 1.96 trillion PEPE, worth over $50.9 million, by Sunday, Dec. 8.

Whale sell-offs typically signal periods of panic or profit-taking, both of which often result in price declines. At this point, PEPE has recorded a 27.3% price surge over the past week, remaining unfazed by the large whale selloff.

Why is PEPE price surging?

A lot of the gains from PEPE came after the meme coin got a surprise feature on the prominent American news channel Fox news. On air, the meme coin was cited as a good investment alongside Bitcoin.

Furthermore, retail investors flocked to buy the altcoin following its listing on major tier-1 exchanges, Coinbase and Robinhood, last month, allowing customers to purchase PEPE and capitalize on its gains.

According to ITB data, short-term PEPE holders have also surged by 263% over the last 30 days, reaching 80,450 unique addresses, which has pushed prices higher.

Moreover, according to Coinglass data, PEPE’s open interest has reached a new high of $370.8 million, reflecting a 9% increase in the past 24 hours. The term ‘PEPE’ was also seen trending on Google.

Analyst eyes 19% rally from current prices

Meanwhile, analysts expect a further rally in PEPE price after bullish patterns emerged on its daily chart.

According to pseudo-anonymous analyst Captain Faibik, PEPE has broken out of a multi-month symmetrical triangle pattern, which could push its price up to $0.000031 in the short term, up about 19% from the current price level. 

Another market commentator with the moniker Chandler Bing projected a similar price target, noting that PEPE has formed a Cup and Handle pattern—a rare bullish signal in technical analysis—indicating the potential continuation of its ongoing rally.

With the MACD line crossing above the signal line, signaling a bullish reversal, and the Average Directional Index at 44—well above the 25 threshold, indicating a strong bullish trend—the price targets suggested by these analysts are highly likely to materialize in the coming days.

However, the token could also see some sell-off as the recent rally has brought 97.6% of PEPE holders in profit.