A bold claim circulating across crypto social media has reignited debate within the meme coin community. A prominent crypto pundit argues that Pepe (PEPE) could overtake Shiba Inu in market valuation by April 2026.
Pepe Prepares to Flip Shiba Inu
In a recent X post, a crypto enthusiast identified as Y00thereum boldly predicted that Pepe will flip Shiba Inu by April 20, 2026. Y00thereum, highlighting an image from a comparison metric, shows that over the past week, Pepe has outperformed Shiba Inu in terms of price action.
A look at the metric shows that over the past month, Pepe has surged by 67.2%, while SHIB has only seen a 22.4% increase. Furthermore, Pepe has closed in on Shiba Inu in terms of price value but still lags in market cap valuation.
Pepe currently carries a market capitalization of about $2.92 billion, while Shiba Inu commands a significantly larger valuation of roughly $5.32 billion. Consequently, if PEPE were to climb to SHIB’s market cap level, it would effectively erase a zero from its price and trade near $0.000012, according to the accompanying screenshot.
Such a move would not only mark a major psychological milestone for PEPE but could also position the token ahead of SHIB in the market cap rankings.
Community Sentiment and the Case for Pepe
Interestingly, supporters of this thesis quickly reacted to Y00thereum’s post, with some pointing to Pepe’s rapid rise in visibility and engagement in recent times as another catalyst that could aid its flipping of SHIB.
Enthusiasts have mainly attributed Pepe’s growth to its viral internet culture, strong social media momentum, and a narrative that resonates with a younger, highly online crypto audience. Unlike earlier meme coins, Pepe emerged during a period when speculative traders were actively seeking the “next big thing” after Shiba Inu, allowing it to capture attention quickly.
The argument also highlights how meme coins often thrive less on fundamentals and more on community strength and attention cycles. In this view, Pepe’s highly active online following and frequent trending moments could help it outpace older rivals. Proponents believe that if market conditions remain favorable for high-risk, high-reward assets, Pepe could continue attracting capital at a faster rate than more established meme tokens.
Shiba Inu Legacy and Competitive Challenges
On the other side of the debate stands Shiba Inu, one of the most recognizable meme coins in the market. SHIB has built a massive global community over several years and has attempted to evolve beyond its meme origins through ecosystem expansions, including decentralized finance tools and layer-2 initiatives. This longer track record gives SHIB a degree of credibility that newer tokens lack.
However, critics contend that SHIB’s large size, combined with internal ecosystem challenges—such as fraud allegations that emerged after the Shibarium hack—could now weigh on its performance.
With a much larger supply, achieving the same percentage gains as smaller tokens like Pepe could be challenging for SHIB, which has a total supply of 589.24 trillion tokens compared to PEPE’s 420.68 trillion. Y00thereum, who now predicts Pepe could flip Shiba Inu by April, suggests that investor appetite may gradually shift toward newer meme assets with perceived higher upside, even if they carry greater risk.
SHIB and Pepe Price Action
Recent price action for both tokens reflects the renewed optimism in the crypto market as top assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, reclaim key levels.
According to CoinMarketCap data, SHIB has seen a 1.1% increase in the past 24 hours, trading around the $0.00000869 mark. Pepe, on the other hand, saw a slightly higher increase of 2.9% in the past 24 hours, trading around the $0.0000069 mark.
While no outcome is guaranteed, the possibility of Pepe flipping SHIB by April 2026 will depend on sustained community engagement, overall market sentiment, and continued bullish price performance.













