PEPE is a meme cryptocurrency inspired by Pepe the Frog — the internet meme character created by artist Matt Furie in 2005. Launched in April 2023 by an anonymous team, PEPE had no stated utility, no venture backing, and no development roadmap. Yet within weeks it reached a market capitalization of over $1.6 billion, was listed on major exchanges including Binance and OKX, and became the fastest memecoin to $1B in history. PEPE is a case study in viral speculation, meme culture economics, and the risks of zero-utility tokens.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | PEPE |
| Price | $0.00 |
| Market Cap | $1.51B |
| 24h Change | -1.7% |
| Circulating Supply | 420690.00B PEPE |
| Max Supply | 420690.00B PEPE |
| All-Time High | $0.00 |
| Contract (Ethereum) | 0x6982...1933 |
| Contract (Avalanche) | 0xa659...be6d |
| Contract (Binance Smart Chain) | 0x25d8...bb00 |
| Contract (Arbitrum One) | 0x25d8...bb00 |
How It Works
PEPE is a standard ERC-20 token with no technical features beyond token transfers. There is no staking mechanism, no governance structure, and no burn mechanism built into the contract.
Supply: 420,690,000,000,000 PEPE (420.69 trillion) — a number chosen for its meme significance (420 and 69 are common internet humor numbers).
Team allocation: At launch, the deployer wallet held approximately 6.9% of total supply (28.9 trillion PEPE). In August 2023, this multisig wallet moved 16 trillion PEPE (~$15M worth) to centralized exchanges, interpreted by the community as a team dump. The team later clarified that some members had left and the tokens were being redistributed to remaining contributors.
No burn mechanism: Unlike Shiba Inu, PEPE has no protocol-level token burn. Any burns are entirely voluntary by holders.
Tokenomics
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total supply | 420.69 trillion PEPE |
| Team/deployer allocation | ~6.9% at launch |
| Locked liquidity | 93.1% in Uniswap v2 pool (deployer burned LP tokens) |
| Exchange listings | Binance, OKX, Bybit, Coinbase (Jun 2023) |
| All-time high | May 2024 (2nd bull run) |
Use Cases
- Speculation: The primary and essentially sole use case is trading for price appreciation
- Meme culture: PEPE tokens are used as social signals of meme-community membership
- Tipping: Some platforms integrate PEPE for micro-tipping
- NFT avatar: Pepe the Frog NFT communities existed prior to the token and are separate from PEPE coin
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2023 | PEPE contract deployed and launched on Uniswap |
| Apr–May 2023 | Viral spread via crypto Twitter; price increases 3,000x+ in 30 days |
| May 2023 | Listed on OKX, then Binance (May 5) — both within 3 weeks of launch |
| May 2023 | Market cap reaches $1.6 billion — fastest memecoin to $1B |
| Jun 2023 | Listed on Coinbase and Kraken |
| Aug 2023 | Team multisig moves 16 trillion PEPE to exchanges; community panic |
| Sep 2023 | Team releases statement addressing wallet movement |
| 2024 | PEPE participates in memecoin supercycle; reaches new all-time highs |
Common Misconceptions
“PEPE has the same creator as Pepe the Frog.” Matt Furie, creator of the original Pepe character, has no affiliation with the PEPE cryptocurrency. He has filed and settled lawsuits against parties misusing his character in other contexts.
“The anonymous team makes this a rug pull.” The PEPE deployer burned the Uniswap LP tokens at launch (making the liquidity permanently locked) and did not retain a massive premine with unknown unlock schedules, distinguishing it from classic rug pull patterns.
Criticisms
- Zero fundamental value: no technology, no utility, no revenue, no team commitment
- The August 2023 wallet movement raised legitimate concerns about team trustworthiness
- Retail investors suffer massive losses when memecoin cycles reverse; PEPE dropped 80%+ from peak
- Normalizes pure speculation as an investment strategy to new crypto entrants
- Matt Furie and his “Save Pepe” campaign have distanced Pepe the Frog’s image from cryptocurrency use
Social Media Sentiment
PEPE remains the premier blue-chip memecoin in CT consciousness in 2026. Sentiment is speculative but fond — PEPE holders are vocal and organized. Market cycle-driven: strong bullish CT sentiment during bull runs, silence during bear periods. Regular discussion about whether PEPE can maintain relevance as newer memecoin cycles emerge on Solana.
Last updated: 2026-04
Related Terms
Sources
Furie, M. (2016). Good Boy: A Pepe the Frog Collection. Fantagraphics Books.
Ante, L. (2023). How Meme Coins Change Market Dynamics. Finance Research Letters.
Chohan, U. W. (2021). Meme Stocks and Meme Cycles: A Critical Analysis. SSRN Working Paper.
Hamrick, J. T., et al. (2018). An Examination of the Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Ecosystem. Workshop on Economics of Information Security.