In a significant turn of events, meme coin Pepe (PEPE) experienced a steep decline in its price on May 18th. Market indicators and metrics pointed to several factors that might have contributed to this bearish price action.

According to CoinMarketCap's data, PEPE's price witnessed a sharp decline in the past few hours, leading to a daily drop of more than 6%. At the time of writing, it was trading at $0.000009426 with a market capitalization of over $3.9 billion, placing it as the 27th largest cryptocurrency.

AMBCrypto's analysis of IntoTheBlock's data revealed a possible reason for the decline. Over 92% of PEPE investors were found to be in profit, which may have motivated them to sell their holdings, consequently driving down the meme coin's price.

To further investigate this theory, AMBCrypto examined Santiment's data, where it was discovered that the meme coin's exchange inflow spiked multiple times last week. Additionally, the supply of PEPE held on exchanges started to increase, while the supply outside of exchanges began to decline on May 18th, signaling a sell-off. Notably, after a significant rise on May 14th, the supply held by top addresses also dropped slightly, suggesting that some large holders might have contributed to the price decline.

Unfortunately for PEPE, other metrics also pointed towards a bearish sentiment. Social Volume for the meme coin plummeted over the past week, indicating a decline in its popularity. Furthermore, its Weighted Sentiment also sank in recent days, reflecting a negative outlook from investors regarding its price.

Several market indicators supported the bearish sentiment surrounding PEPE. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) registered a decline and stood at 58.7 at press time. Similarly, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) went down, suggesting a high likelihood of the bearish price trend continuing.

Despite this setback, PEPE's price remains above its 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which could potentially act as a support if the price decline continues.

As the dark days persist for PEPE, investors may cautiously monitor the market for any signs of a recovery in the meme coin's price. However, the prevailing bearish sentiment and a combination of various metrics and indicators hint at a possible further decline in the near future.