Pepe PEPE
Understanding Pepe Coin
Pepe Coin is similar to any other meme coin; it doesn’t hold any intrinsic value or expectation of financial return, along with no utility. However, lacking utility and fundamental value didn’t stop Pepe Coin from getting on the list of 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap in just two weeks after its launch. It is also known as the most memeable meme coin.
Pepe Coin can be defined more narrowly as an Ethereum-based deflationary meme coin that was inspired by the Pepe the Frog meme. This meme coin experienced a rapid rise in 2023 and managed to gather a broad community of supporters.
Since it is an ERC-20 token, PEPE takes advantage of all benefits provided by the Ethereum network such as a high degree of security enabled by Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
The project’s roadmap has been set out in three main phases focusing on gaining popularity through listings such as CoinMarketCap’s listing of total market capitalisation and social media platforms and being listed on several leading cryptocurrency exchanges.
Pepe Coin has several interesting features though; for example, the project uses a redistribution system created to incentivise potential investors to hold tokens for a longer period. The main objective of this strategy is to maintain the token’s stability and increase its long-term chance for success.
What is a meme coin?
The term meme coin refers to cryptocurrencies named after fictional characters, animals, artwork, or something else that can be mimicked. They are mainly intended to be entertaining and light-hearted. One of their key features is that they hold little or no intrinsic value at all.
Since meme coins don’t have any utility, they include a high degree of risk when it comes to investments on the crypto market. They are based on the engagement of a dedicated online community of crypto enthusiasts that supports its growth and the entire meme culture.
Some of the top cryptocurrencies within the meme coin space are Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
A little bit of history
Pepe Coin was first introduced in April 2023. The meme coin gained immense popularity and reached a market capitalisation exceeding $420 million. In just three weeks after its official launch, Pepe Coin’s total market cap surpassed $1 billion. For the sake of comparison, it took Dogecoin roughly four years to reach the same benchmark.
Pepe Coin utilised an already popular meme – the cartoon character known as Pepe the Frog. Due to the power of social media platforms such as Telegram and X, Pepe Coin gained popularity rapidly.
Pepe Coin’s founders remained anonymous. There is no official information about the team behind this meme coin, but they managed to efficiently use social media channels to promote their project within the crypto space.
Is it linked to the Pepe the Frog meme?
Pepe the Frog meme was created by the cartoonist Matt Furie in his cartoon 'Boy's Club' and soon became a popular Internet meme. Pepe Coin used the popularity of the Pepe the Frog Internet meme for its visibility on the cryptocurrency market and user engagement. Still, it has no official connection to Matt Furie.
Even though Pepe Coin doesn’t have a formal association with the meme's creator, it is considered that the use of the famous frog meme has played an important role in the project's success and captured the attention of the crypto community.
Are Pepe Coin and Pepe Coin 2.0 the same?
No, they are not the same. Pepe 2.0 represents another meme coin that is rumoured to have been created by people blacklisted by the Official Pepe Coin. Therefore, they are market competitors and have nothing to do with each other.
In contrast to the original Pepe Coin crypto project which is tax-free, Pepe 2.0 includes a 1% transaction tax that is supposed to be used for liquidity, marketing and community development.
To learn about all the intricacies of crypto taxation, why not read this article: 'A guide to paying tax on crypto'.
Pepe Coin community and ecosystem
Pepe Coin’s main strength is its community of supporters. It has over 529,000 followers on X as of December 2023, and a broad presence on other platforms such as Telegram, Discord, and Reddit.
The project laid down several plans for the future such as launching a Pepe Academy and merchandise to expand its ecosystem and maintain a good position on the crypto market.
RubyDex listed the 1000PEPEUSDT perpetual contract, and each contract equals 10,000 Pepe Coins.
The official project’s adoption rates reflect how this digital asset has been integrated into the crypto space since its launch in 2023. Since it is a token functioning on the Ethereum network, it managed to obtain listings on 320 active markets which indicates a high level of acceptance among the crypto trading landscape.
The main features of Pepe Coin
Apart from the project’s tribute to the famous Internet meme, Pepe Coin has some interesting features such as a deflationary or burning mechanism, a redistribution system, and a no-tax policy. These features are an important factor in gaining high visibility and community support.
Deflationary mechanism and redistribution system
Pepe Coin includes a deflationary mechanism that involves burning tokens and redistributing rewards to token holders to maintain scarcity and increase its value over time. With each conducted transaction, a small percentage of tokens are burned and removed from circulation.
In addition to the burning mechanism, Pepe Coin claims to use a redistribution system that allocates 1% of every transaction to a pool distributed among all token holders. This system is set to enhance token holders and incentivise investors to support the project.
No-tax policy
We have already mentioned that Pepe Coin is different from Pepe 2.0 due to its no-tax policy; this policy ensures that users can engage in crypto trading activities without additional costs.
The project claims that it enables a higher degree of financial freedom and privacy options to users and encourages the adoption of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange, along with promoting decentralised finance (DeFi).
Are there any downsides?
When users decide to invest in meme coins, many risks accompany such an investment. Pepe Coin is not different compared to other meme coins; in addition to universal concerns associated with meme coins such as high volatility, there are several risks linked to buying Pepe Coins as well. Let's explain them briefly.
Anonymity of creators
Anonymous founders are nothing new in the crypto world. For example, the notorious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, is still unknown.
However, there have been some occurrences in the past where an anonymous team behind viral popular projects has stolen funds doing, for example, rug pulls. Back in 2021, the Squid token, benefitting from the success of the popular show The Squid Game on Netflix, rose 35,000% in three days, and the anonymous team disappeared with over $2 million.
This isn’t always the case with anonymous founders, but it can be a red flag when approaching such projects. While it has seen significant growth, the future trajectory remains uncertain, and potential investors should always approach such projects with caution and conduct thorough independent research.
Mysterious transactions
Back in August 2023, the Pepe Coin community raised some concerns when 16 trillion Pepe tokens, worth roughly $15 million, were mysteriously transferred from the Pepe Coin’s multi-signature wallet to several centralised crypto exchanges.
The news was rapidly in the media making the meme coin drop significantly; the crypto community started expressing their concerns on various social media platforms regarding the future of the entire project.
Someone responded on Pepe Coin’s official X account by posting a thorough explanation for these mysterious transactions. While the explanation was probably intended to reassure the community, it had the opposite effect and raised even more concerns.
According to the long post, several project team developers logged into the multi-signature wallet and transferred tokens. These developers left the project claiming that they were just updating the wallet. The official post stated that these ex-developers were thieves as they stole Pepe tokens and sold them.
A month passed by and the price of Pepe Coin continued with the downtrend despite the online reassurances that the remaining tokens in the multi-sig wallet were safe and under the control of someone who has the best interest of the community at heart.
In October 2023, it was shared on the project’s official X account that a new team of advisors is set in place to guide the entire project forward.
Copycat projects
Copycat projects are not a new thing within the crypto space. For example, a second generation of popular meme coins emerged such as Doge 2.0, Shiba Inu 2.0 and the above mentioned Pepe 2.0.
However, copycat projects can be frauds sometimes. Previous meme coin trends such as the so-called ‘baby’ versions of existing tokens have been subject to scams such as rug pulls and market manipulation.
In September 2023, Pepe Coin announced on its official X account that their old Telegram is no longer in their control. The account named ‘lordkeklol’ has been compromised because someone used it to push scams to deceive users and launch other coins.
Pepe Coin claimed that it isn’t associated with that person in any way, and that all official communication will come from their X account.
Tokenomics and Pepe Coin price history
Pepe Coin’s tokenomics are created to enhance liquidity, reward token holders and ensure long-term stability within the crypto market. As claimed by the project itself, the supply and distribution system is laid down to reflect its commitment to growth and user engagement.
The total supply of tokens equals 420,690,000,000,000 tokens. More than 90% of the total supply has been allocated to the liquidity pool, and the rest is reserved for future use. It is held in a multi-signature crypto wallet for exchange listings and bridges.
Due to the redistribution system, a fraction of each transaction fee is distributed among existing token holders to enhance community participation. As for the deflationary mechanism, a percentage of tokens is burnt with each transaction to reduce supply over time.
Pepe Coin began trading at around $0. 0000002823 on April 19, 2023. Pepe coin reached an all-time high of $0.00000439 on May 5, 2023, and an all-time low of $0.000000055142 on April 18, 2023. At the time of writing, current market capitalization equals $3,672,441,951.
Since the meme coin space is typically for entertainment purposes and carry no intrinsic value or utility, many wonder whether the Pepe Coin will reach $1? Various Pepe Coin price predictions suggest that this won't happen for years, but some believe that with the right strategy and dedication, Pepe Coin could eventually reach the dollar mark.
That said, we strongly recommend you to do your own research -- memecoins are highly speculative in nature, and don't have a good track record on market performance over the long term.
How to buy Pepe Coins?
If you are wondering where to buy Pepe Coin, there are several available methods.
You can purchase Pepe Coin on centralised exchanges such as Kraken, Binance and Kucoin. These exchanges provide a beginner-friendly manner of purchasing Pepe Coins.
Secondly, you can purchase Pepe tokens on decentralised exchanges such as Uniswap. If you are more into decentralised trading, this is the way to go.
To engage in trading Pepe tokens, you will need a crypto wallet. If you are a crypto newbie, we suggest reading this article to learn more: ‘Sending & Receiving Crypto’.