TL;DR
- The squirrel-themed meme coin PNUT is the best-performing top 100 cryptocurrency in the past week.
- Check out which factors have contributed to its bull run.
The Binance Effect
The trending meme coin Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) has been among crypto’s best performers in the past week. Its price exploded by 1,500% during that period, briefly reaching a record of almost $2.50 and currently trading at around $2.06 (per CoinGecko’s data).
One main factor triggering the major rally was Binance’s support. Earlier this week, the biggest crypto exchange listed PNUT with a seed tag and reminded that tokens added to that category may experience higher volatility and present risks to investors.
Such listings typically result in a substantial price spike for the involved cryptocurrencies due to increased liquidity, accessibility, and credibility.
Other meme coins that have rallied following support from Binance in the past few weeks include Ponke (PONKE), Simon’s Cat (CAT), and others.
Backing From Elon Musk
PNUT is a Solana-based meme coin, inspired by a pet squirrel named Peanut. The animal drew significant attention earlier this month when New York state officials euthanized it to test for rabies, following an incident where it reportedly bit a Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) worker during a seizure operation.
Many, including Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, criticized those actions. After all, the pet supposedly lived indoors for years and showed no signs of the disease. Initially, Musk described the effort as a “government overreach,” provocatively saying that “Donald Trump would save the squirrels.”
He later mentioned PNUT in some of his X posts, potentially contributing to its further price surge. On November 13, for instance, he stated that “America was saved by a squirrel and a meme coin.”
Musk is among the most influential people on the planet, and his endorsements often result in severe price fluctuations for the assets he touches on. His favorite cryptocurrency – Dogecoin (DOGE) – is an obvious example.
The leading meme coin has been at the forefront of gains, recently hitting a three-year high following Musk’s intentions to spearhead the upcoming Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.). Earlier this week, Trump assured that Tesla’s CEO will lead the division, describing it as “The Manhattan Project” of our time.
The Meme Coin Frenzy
The third element potentially fueling PNUT’s pump is the overall resurgence of the meme coin sector. Leading tokens like Pepe (PEPE), dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk Inu (BONK), Floki Inu (FLOKI), Popcat (POPCAT), and countless more are up by double digits on a 24-hour scale.
The very few ones charting some minor losses include SPX600 (SPX), Gigachad (GIGA), and CorgiAI (CORGIAI).
Meanwhile, the total market capitalization of the meme coin niche is currently sitting at an all-time high of over $125 billion. In comparison, the figure stood at around $60 billion at the start of the month.
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