DOGE, SHIB, PEPE Drop As Solana-Lazarus Links Fuel Meme Coin Sell-Off, Dampening Retail Hype

Meme coins saw sharp declines during U.S. trading hours on Monday, with Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE) posting notable losses as sentiment soured.

The cumulative market capitalization of all meme coins dropped by nearly 10% in the past 24 hours, driven by concerns ,over scams and fraud linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Dogecoin’s price fell 6.1%, while Shiba Inu dropped 6.8% in 24 hours. Ethereum-based Pepe slid 5.7% during the same period.

Sell-off in the meme coin market, which has been under pressure this month amid a series of rug pulls, intensified on Monday after on-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that wallets tied to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack on Feb. 21 were also involved in meme coin scams on Solana’s Pump.fun platform. 

The Lazarus Group, a notorious hacking syndicate linked to North Korea, is believed to be behind the fraudulent meme coin launches, using them as part of a broader effort to launder stolen funds.

ZachXBT’s analysis showed that several wallets connected to the Bybit hack engaged in cross-chain transfers and meme coin trading, using sophisticated laundering tactics. 

Some stolen funds were converted into Solana (SOL), while others were funneled through various decentralized exchanges. 

The revelations have further damaged trust in the meme coin ecosystem after rug pulls like the politically themed Trump (TRUMP) token and the Libra (LIBRA) token endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Dogecoin remained in the ‘extremely bearish’ zone, with traders voicing frustration over sustained losses.

The Elon Musk-associated token briefly peaked at $0.484 in December but has since lost more than half its value. 

According to platform data, DOGE has been the fourth-most active cryptocurrency on Stocktwits in the last 24 hours. 

Meanwhile, retail sentiment around Shiba Inu remained in the ‘neutral’ territory with some traders indicating they were moving away from crypto investments entirely.

Shiba Inu's price, the second largest meme coin by market capitalization, has dropped by around 28% this month. 

According to platform data, SHIB saw the eighth-most active cryptocurrency over the last week on Stocktwits. 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Pepe was in the ‘bearish’ zone as traders exit riskier positions.

Pepe, which gained popularity in speculative rallies last year, has been the hardest hit down more than 43% over the past month.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read also: Solana Leads Crypto Sell-Off As Lazarus Ties, Token Unlock Spark Retail Concerns

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