PEPE price rises 20% as James Wynn makes bold prediction for 2026

The year 2026 has kicked off with a bang for PEPE – the famous meme coin inspired by the character Pepe the Frog. On the very second day of the new year, PEPE’s price surged by over 20%, drawing strong attention from the investor community.

What factors are driving PEPE’s rally, and is this trend strong enough to kick off a meme season right at the start of 2026?

One of the key factors fueling the buying wave is the bold forecast by James Wynn – a renowned trader on the Hyperliquid platform. Wynn predicts PEPE could reach a market capitalization of up to $69 billion by the end of 2026. This forecast has created a powerful ripple effect, encouraging active investors to participate in the market.

From the moment PEPE’s market cap was just $600,000, Wynn believed in its breakout potential, turning it into an asset worth billions of dollars. He is said to have earned tens of millions of USD from PEPE-related trades, with all activities transparent on the blockchain.

In his latest statement, Wynn compares PEPE to SHIB – a token that experienced a rapid growth from $3.5 billion to $41 billion in less than a month during the previous cycle. According to him, PEPE’s social metrics even surpass those of SHIB, promising a similarly impressive performance.

Wynn affirms: “I predict PEPE will increase from $1.7 billion to over $69 billion in 2026, or I will delete my account.” Immediately after this forecast was announced, PEPE’s price rose nearly 20%. Currently, PEPE’s market cap is around $2 billion, and Wynn’s prediction implies that PEPE’s price could increase by 35 times from its current level.

PEPE Price Movement at the Start of 2026 | Source: TradingView However, Wynn’s investment journey with PEPE has not been without challenges. During the period when PEPE’s price declined from July, he repeatedly opened long positions using high leverage and was liquidated multiple times.

Impact of US tax regulations and new investment flows

According to analyst SΞA, PEPE’s rally largely stems from US tax regulations, especially the practice of “tax-loss harvesting” (tax-loss harvesting). By the end of 2025, many US investors faced losses and sold off assets at year-end to turn “paper losses” into “real losses,” aiming to reduce their tax obligations.

As the new 2026 tax year begins, investors who remain optimistic about PEPE quickly re-entered positions, helping to push PEPE’s 24-hour trading volume past $600 million – the highest in the past month, according to Coinphoton data.

Multiple meme coins surge in price, rekindling hopes for a meme season

Not only PEPE, but many other meme coins also saw impressive growth in early 2026. Milady Cult Coin (CULT) doubled in value after Vitalik Buterin announced “Milady is back” and changed his profile picture to a Milady image. Floki (FLOKI) also recovered strongly with a 10% increase.

Investor POΞ commented: “God candles PEPE. The meme season is about to explode. Pepe always leads the growth indicators among meme coins.”

However, most meme coins still declined sharply by 70% to 90% from their peaks last year. Data from CryptoQuant shows that meme coin dominance remains low, with no clear signs of recovery.

Investor CRG shared: “‘Meme coin dead’ → everything is dead. In reality, all altcoins are weakening, not just meme coins. Whether this rebound can be sustained is still a question. Bitcoin has yet to show strength, and the market could turn downward at any moment. However, meme coins are usually the fastest-growing group when market signals indicate risk.”

The dominance of Memecoin in the Altcoin market | Source: CryptoQuant The story of meme coins continues to be a hot topic of debate. While cautious investors prioritize solid fundamentals in altcoins, many others believe meme coins play a central role in the attention economy, helping attract retail investors and driving overall market capitalization growth.