The United States approved the application of Ethereum ETF Ethereum ecosystem tokens PEPE and MOG hit a record high

The approval of a number of key Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the United States last week has prompted some traders to treat meme tokens as beta bets, which in turn sent both Ethereum ecosystem tokens soaring to record highs on Monday. Frog-themed PEPE (PEPE) and cat-themed MOG (MOG) are up 11% and 45%, respectively, in the last 24 hours as the market narrative on beta bets continues to heat up. beta betting is a way to gain exposure to a major asset by investing in a related network or protocol. PEPE traded more than $1.8 billion in the spot and futures markets, well above its usual range of $400 million to $600 million.

These gains came as Ether rose nearly 5 percent over the same period, making it the best performer among major tokens, while Bitcoin (BTC) fell 1 percent. The broad CoinDesk 20 index, the largest token index excluding stablecoins, was down 0.3 percent. Future data shows that open interest in PEPE and MOG-related instruments has surged in the past 24 hours. PEPE's open interest rose to $720 million from $550 million last week, while MOG's open interest rose to $8.3 million from $5 million. An increase in open interest is considered a sign of new money entering the market, which could signal further price volatility.

However, according to Coinalyze, PEPE's long-short ratio is tilted toward the bearish side at 54 percent, indicating that traders are shorting, or betting that prices won't rise any higher. According to reports last week, traders are considering PEPE and MOG as a way to leverage to gain exposure to ether. Both tokens began to rise after analysts raised the chances of an Ethereum ETF being approved in the United States. PEPE even jumped to the top 20 tokens with a market cap of more than $6 billion, enabling some early investors to make millions with an initial purchase of just $460.

Since 2023, the meme token, despite being generally considered to have no intrinsic value, has recently gained attention as a beta bet based on its ecosystem due to its huge following. Several Solana-based meme tokens grew significantly from December to March along with the network's SOL token, driving the growth of the ecosystem and attracting attention. Also in December, the Avalanche Foundation, a nonprofit that maintains the Avalanche blockchain, said it would invest in meme tokens built on top of the network in recognition of the online cultural and meme value that such tokens can drive among investors.