Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton has dropped his opinions on PEPE while the viral meme coin’s investors brood over its massive price plunge.

The Pepe the Frog-themed meme coin became prominent immediately after launch, rallying 1,000% within the first two days.

Pepe’s performance and increasing popularity secured it a listing on Binance, further pushing its price by over 200%. However, some investors were uncomfortable with the sudden price surge and have been asking questions. 

Deaton Suggests PEPE Is A Calculated Scam

Pepe coin’s explosive price actions moved the crypto industry. Bullish investors leveraged the coin’s growing popularity to accumulate more, while others appear to seek opinions from industry figureheads. 

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In a, John Deaton revealed that he received several DMs and emails from people requesting his thoughts on PEPE. Deaton retweeted DeFi analyst Chris Blec’s opinion on Pepe.

In Blec’s , the analyst warned people that Pepe is a carefully planned scam in which the creators use investors as pawns in a much bigger game.

In his words, such games have consumed the lives of many. He, however, advised investors to wise up. Deaton retweeting Chris Blec’s comment regarding Pepe as his response to people raised some questions. 

Did the lawyer investigate before arriving at this conclusion, or did he trust Blec’s words for what it is?

The crypto community reacted to Deaton’s opinion, some in support while others disagreed. A Twitter user said he doesn’t understand why people should ask a lawyer for investment guidance.

Another respondent Mark Hawkes, a pro-XRP crypto enthusiast, with Deaton that projects like Pepe could wreck retail investors.

The Current Price Outlook

Meanwhile, the meme coin isn’t doing well at the moment. The token’s price has gone the opposite of the bullish performances recorded two weeks ago.

It has lost most of its 7-day price gain over the past few days. The data shows the meme coin is down 38.46% over the past seven days. That’s not all. Pepe favored the bears for most of last week, with a decline on May 9. 

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On May 12, it registered a 26.9% price decline before adding a 22.9% price gain on the 13th and 9.1% on the 14th.

Staying true to form, has declined by a further 10.4% in the last 24 hours, with the , including the Oscillators and Moving Averages, flagging strong sell signals.

Pepe is currently trading below the 10-day exponential and simple moving averages, an indicator that the bears are in control. The possibility of the meme coin rebounding from the dump depends on the bulls’ ability to overturn the situation.