Meme-inspired cryptocurrency PEPE lost nearly 4% of its value in the last 24-hours amid a broader market sell-off affecting most cryptocurrencies.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes sold his $414,000 position in the memecoin, citing macroeconomic risk on the potential impact of U.S. tariffs in the third quarter of the year. Hayes’ sale also included other altcoin holdings as he accumulated stablecoins.

Hayes pointed to weakening U.S. economic conditions and a sweeping new tariff policy set to take effect on August 7, which will apply levies of up to 41% on imports from more than 90 countries.

The policy has sent jitters through the crypto market, affecting speculative assets like memecoins. PEPE’s price fell from a high of $0.00001083 to a low of $0.00001002, with a total of 3.26 trillion tokens changing hands during the downturn, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data model.

That spike in volume suggests capitulation by some traders. The token eventually settled near its session low where it’s currently trading.

The drawdown follows a brief rally that had seen PEPE test resistance around the $0.00001080 level. But sellers overwhelmed buyers in the final trading hour, reversing gains and pushing the token into negative territory.

Despite a modest recovery in the last minutes of trading, alongside a drop in volume that may indicate seller fatigue, sentiment remains weak. PEPE is now down 32% from its mid-July peak, mirroring a broader pullback in the meme coin sector.

The wider memecoin sector, as measured by the CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) index dropped 22.4% over the same period.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

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