PEPE Coin: From Controversial Meme to Surpassing $10 Billion in Market Cap

PEPE coin ($PEPE) is a meme coin on the Ethereum blockchain, born in April 2023, inspired by the internet comic character “Pepe the Frog.” Its goal is clear: to challenge the dominance of dog-themed meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), with the slogan “Make Memecoins Great Again,” emphasizing decentralization and entertainment spirit.

Origin and Cultural Background: The Transformation of PEPE

PEPE was created by cartoonist Matt Furie in 2005, initially gaining popularity for the humorous scene in the comic where “the frog pees its pants” with the caption “Feel Good Man,” becoming an internet meme symbol. However, its image was altered by extremist groups on forums like 4chan, associating it with racism and political controversies, forcing the creator to “kill off” the character in 2017 to restore his reputation.

PEPE coin borrows the popularity of this cultural symbol but has not obtained authorization or a share from Matt Furie, leading to ethical controversy.

Token Mechanism and Economic Model

Token Distribution and Deflation Design

• Total supply: 420.69 trillion coins.

• Allocation Ratio:

  • 93.1% injection Uniswap Destroy LP tokens in the liquidity pool and lock the liquidity;
  • 6.9% retained in the project’s multi-signature wallet for purposes such as exchange listing.

• Deflationary mechanism:

  • Each transaction automatically burns a portion of the tokens (a total of 6.9 trillion has been burned, worth approximately 6 million USD);
  • A portion of the trading fees is allocated to coin holders, incentivizing long-term holding.

Zero Pre-sale and Decentralization Commitment

PEPE emphasizes “no pre-sale, zero transaction tax” and claims to give up smart contract authority to eliminate the risk of rug pulls. However, subsequent team sell-off events exposed the fragility of this commitment.

Market Performance and Controversial Events

Price Fluctuations and Milestones

• 2023: Market capitalization exceeded $500 million within two weeks of listing, ranking among the top three Meme coins;
• 2024: In March, a weekly surge of 400%, market capitalization exceeded $3 billion; on December 14, reached an all-time high of $0.000026, market capitalization exceeded $10 billion;
• 2025: Affected by market fluctuations, the price fell back to the range of $0.00001–$0.0000013, down over 50% from the high point.

Trust Crisis in the Team

• August 2023: An anonymous team was exposed for transferring 160 trillion PEPE (approximately 15.08 million USD) to an exchange for sale, leading to a 26% plunge in coin price in a single day. The team claimed it was due to “theft by former members,” but the community questioned whether it was a self-directed act;
• Identity of the founder revealed: KOL exposed that the founder is photographer Zachary Testa, who misappropriated funds to purchase a 865,000 USD Lamborghini, exacerbating community dissatisfaction.

Investment Risks and Future Challenges

1. Legal and regulatory risks:

   • The extreme right associations of PEPE the frog may trigger regulatory scrutiny;
   • The SEC may classify meme coins as “unregistered securities,” leading to exchanges delisting them.

2. Weak value support:

   • Official statement: “PEPE has no intrinsic value or financial return expectations, for entertainment purposes only.”
   • Prices are highly dependent on celebrity endorsements (for example, a tweet from Musk once caused a single-day increase of 16%).

How to Buy PEPE Coin?

Currently, it can be traded through mainstream exchanges:

1. Centralized exchanges: Mainstream trading platforms like Gate that support PEPE trading;
2. Decentralized wallets (such as Gate Wallet): Deposit ETH or USDT and exchange for PEPE through DEX.

Conclusion: A Meme Experiment of Frenzy and Risk

The rise of PEPE coin confirms the financial potential of meme culture, but the controversies surrounding its anonymous team, lack of practical scenarios, and regulatory risks cast doubt on its long-term value. If the project team can fulfill the promise of the “Meme Era” (such as integrating NFTs or GameFi), it may sustain its vitality; otherwise, it may be doomed to the fate of meme coins characterized by extreme volatility.