Memecoin: Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe struggle to maintain their upward momentum

Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) generally moved sideways on Thursday after recording gains of about 5% – 10% – 5% respectively on Wednesday. This indicates that the recovery remains fragile and not yet convincing enough to establish a sustainable upward trend. In the derivatives market, investor sentiment has slightly improved for DOGE, while the Open Interest (OI) for SHIB and PEPE has weakened, reflecting increasing caution. Nevertheless, large wallets—often called “whales”—continue to show some interest in the leading meme coins by market cap.

Technically, the outlook for Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe still leans toward a correction, with the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) acting as the nearest and most notable resistance zone.

Derivatives Market: Whales Favor Dogecoin Over Shiba Inu and Pepe

Data from CoinGlass shows that Dogecoin’s open interest reached $1.04 billion on Thursday, up 5.36% in 24 hours—a clear sign of fresh capital inflows and growing retail demand. In contrast, Shiba Inu and Pepe struggled to keep pace with the market’s recovery and rekindle retail interest: SHIB’s OI remained near $62.75 million (almost flat), while PEPE recorded $195.92 million, down over 6% during the same period.

This picture of the derivatives market reveals a clear bias of capital toward Dogecoin—the market’s leading meme coin by market cap—compared to SHIB and Pepe.

Data on meme coin derivatives | Source: CoinGlass On the other hand, data from CryptoQuant shows that whale interest in DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE has increased, as reflected in the average size of matched orders in the futures market. However, Dogecoin stands out with a dominant buy-side order flow (taker-buy), as indicated by the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)—which measures the difference between buy and sell volumes over the past 90 days.

Dogecoin futures market indicators | Source: CryptoQuant Conversely, the CVD for Shiba Inu’s futures market still favors active sell orders (taker-sell), while Pepe remains neutral. These signals reinforce the view that Dogecoin is the preferred choice among derivatives traders.

SHIB and PEPE futures market indicators | Source: CryptoQuant

Dogecoin Recovers but Faces 50-Day EMA Resistance

Dogecoin is trading around $0.1000 as of Thursday, maintaining the 10% gain from the previous session. However, the recovery momentum was halted as the price hit the downward-sloping 50-day EMA, near $0.1108.

In the short term, DOGE is likely to face significant resistance at the 50-day EMA at $0.1108. Breaking above this level could target the December 31 low at $0.1161—a potential barrier to further gains.

Daily DOGE/USDT chart | Source: TradingView

On momentum, the daily MACD continues upward after bouncing from the signal line on Tuesday, indicating improving buying pressure. Meanwhile, the RSI hovers around 48, approaching neutral, suggesting selling pressure has eased somewhat.

However, the risk of a correction remains. If DOGE closes the day negatively, downward pressure could resume, pushing the price back to test the February 11 low at $0.0879.

Shiba Inu Struggles to Sustain Uptrend

Shiba Inu has declined nearly 2% as of Thursday, reversing a roughly 5% rebound in the previous session. The meme coin remains well below both the 50-day EMA ($0.00000692) and the 200-day EMA ($0.00000921), reinforcing the bearish trend dominating the market.

Technically, the nearest resistance zone for Shiba Inu is around the supply area of $0.00000700—coinciding with the vicinity of the 50-day EMA, adding short-term resistance pressure.

Daily SHIB/USDT chart | Source: TradingView

The RSI is at 43, still below neutral on the daily timeframe, indicating the downward move is not yet exhausted and there is room for further correction before entering oversold territory. Additionally, the MACD and signal lines are converging, increasing the likelihood of a bearish crossover in upcoming sessions.

On the support side, the S1 pivot point at $0.00000528 is expected to serve as a temporary support. However, a decisive close below this level could open the door to a deeper decline toward the S2 support at $0.00000376.

Pepe Continues Under Pressure

As of Thursday, PEPE has fallen over 2%, marking a correction after a roughly 5% increase in the previous session. The meme coin remains below both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, indicating the dominant trend on higher timeframes remains bearish.

On the daily chart, the MACD is approaching the signal line, with histogram bars shrinking, reflecting weakening buying momentum and increasing risk of a reversal to the downside. The RSI stays around 46, below neutral, suggesting moderate selling pressure with room to continue.

Daily PEPE/USDT chart | Source: TradingView

From a technical perspective, PEPE is trading near $0.00000400. The nearest support is at the December 18 low of $0.00000363; a break below this could lead to a deeper slide toward the next support zone around the S1 pivot at $0.00000290.

To establish a sustainable recovery, PEPE needs to successfully break above the 50-day EMA at $0.00000447. If achieved, the next upside target would be the November 4 low around $0.00000521.