Popcat (POPCAT) broke out to an all-time high, while notable addresses mopped up more tokens. The whales bought near the token’s all-time high, sparking speculations that the POPCAT meme had more energy to extend the rally.
Popcat (POPCAT) drew interest from whales, with high-level centralized and decentralized activity. The Solana-based cat meme once again established itself among top tokens, with a market cap above $1B. After a few days of hype and accumulation, POPCAT broke out and charted a series of price records.
The recent POPCAT rally extends the recent success of DogWifHat (WIF), which also gained concentrated whale buying. For POPCAT, a shift to cat memes and bullish predictions extended the price gains as high as $1.47. Later, POPCAT stepped back to $1.37, though the trading frenzy was still going strong.
POPCAT recovered its market cap to above $1.3B, on track to flip Floki Inu (FLOKI) and even challenge Bonk (BONK). Meme tokens as a whole had a field day, with Neiro (community-owned) also reaching an all-time high. The meme token market is almost back above $50B in market capitalization.
For most of 2024, POPCAT was a minor meme with a limited influence. The optimistic scenario was for a $150M market cap, and few expected an almost 10x above that level. The POPCAT community has also held the token through 80% drawdowns, hoping to repeat the model of WIF.
Whales spark meme token frenzy
POPCAT is going through high-velocity trades between whale wallets and centralized exchanges. POPCAT still lacks a Binance listing and depends on Bybit and Gate.IO, along with decentralized pairs. But for now, this is enough to ensure significant liquidity and rapid rallies.
POPCAT trading volumes went above $178M in 24 hours, as more whales rolled over into the asset. Bubblemaps show an accumulation of whales, though not all have been immediately active.
A side effect of whale activity is that each address is also pointing to smaller, riskier tokens. Some of the POPCAT whales are also buying up other up-and-coming memes in the hope of a breakout.
Additional meme tickers include Cat in a Dogs World (MEW), LCAT, GoodMorning (GM), and WILFRED. Those assets are enjoying mass accumulation alongside POPCAT. The POPCAT community is known for its loyal holding even at a low value, but whales are also aping into random new memes. The buying behavior can shift within minutes, as the POPCAT rally sparked the question of finding a similar token over undervalued gems. Cat-themed tokens are also popping along with POPCAT, with Michi and Toshi following in its footsteps.
The POPCAT community was strong enough so the asset could even surpass Simeon’s Cat (CAT), a heavily promoted token based on a widely known online cartoon.
POPCAT sets expectations for Binance spot market
The POPCAT frenzy in the past 24 hours may be caused by a social media message, suggestive of a Binance listing. POPCAT is nowhere near gaining that listing, but hype can move the price.
Binance has listed hot meme tokens previously, causing the expansion of NEIRO. However, the exchange also grew aware of sniping and insider holdings and is more critical of meme assets. A listing may turn POPCAT into a true blue chip meme and is seen as one possible scenario from the current all-time high.
The alternative is that the current rally stalls, the asset takes another loss and buyers roll over into other memes, possibly WIF.
POPCAT is widely distributed and only Bybit holds the biggest singular share of 6.25%. There is another sign of an upcoming POPCAT rally. The token is repeating a pattern similar to WIF, where Kamino Reserve is gradually becoming a whale.
Kamino Reserve 3 is the second-biggest POPCAT holder. | Source: Bubblemaps
The growing reserves suggest a whale is buying up POPCAT, similar to WIF, and moving the assets to Kamino Reserve. The meme tokens serve as collateral, which can then be used to borrow more USDC and continue the meme buying.
This strategy brought WIF above $2.60 and may be viable while the meme is still hot with other traders. In the case of POPCAT, similar accumulation may continue in the next few days. The Kamino Reserve 3 wallet is already the second-biggest owner of POPCAT, holding 1.97% of the supply.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva
