Reviewing the Rise of PEPE from the Beginning to the End of the Crash

2023-08-30, 03:00

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![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1690791857hotspot.jpeg)
Similar to the birth of <a href="/id/price/dogecoin-doge" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Dogecoin</a>, the emergence of PEPE has a distinctly European and American cultural imprint.

The prototype of the PEPE coin is Pepe the Frog, a rebellious cartoon frog created by Steve Repetti and his team in 2016.

As the image became an open design, it gained viral transmission on platforms such as 4chan and Tumblr, and many right-wing groups on the internet began to use this image to export hatred and racism.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/16933769307861693364034_.pic_hd.jpg)
 Image source: online public information
 
To reshape the positive image of Pepe the Frog, PEPE's team designed a series of brand-new cards and created PEPE coins. This simple and interesting image was quickly accepted by the crypto community, and the combination of cultural symbols and digital technology quickly achieved unexpected dissemination.
## A Market Frenzy Sparked by A Frog
The popularity of PEPE is unprecedented in the MEME field.

The anonymous development team of PEPE coins released PEPEs on April 14th, with a total supply of 4.2069 million, most of which were deposited into <a href="/id/price/uniswap-uni" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Uniswap</a>'s liquidity pool, and the remaining 6.9% were stored in multi-signature wallets.

The team subsequently created a simple MEME activity on Twitter, encouraging everyone to use PEPE for communication and interaction on social media, games, and other online applications. In the following days, coin holders quickly climbed by thousands, and by May 5th, their market value had exceeded $1.8 billion.

The PEPE coin quickly fell by half after showing its strength in the industry. However, before investors could recover from their losses, KOLs and the exchanges, which were even more called upon, once again ignited the community's enthusiasm for MEME.

On May 13th, Musk tweeted for a single order of PEPE, and PEPE immediately rose by about 10%, with a 24-hour increase of over 50%.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/16933769877871693364057_.pic_hd.jpg)
 Image source: Twitter
 
Although many analysts have warned investors that they will suffer losses in the speculation of MEME coins, the PEPE craze has not stopped, and excited investors continue to flock. PEPE's market value once became the third largest MEME token after DOGE and SHIBA.
## A Complex and Confusing Crash Drama
After the crypto market entered July, it fell into a long and boring market. As the speculative heat subsided and the market slowed, PEPE inevitably launched a deep correction.

By late August, PEPE, which had been silent for many days, had made big news.

According to a team member, the tokens of the multi-signature wallet held by the team were stolen, and three former team members sneaked back and stole the tokens from the wallet. They were accused of selling 16 trillion PEPE tokens to the exchange.

One obvious evidence is that the PEPE multi-signature wallet suddenly changed the threshold from 5/8 to 2/8, allowing only two private key holders to smoothly transfer the remaining tokens.

After the event, PEPE plummeted by 20% in a short period of time.

The PEPE team quickly clarified on official Twitter that they have taken measures to eliminate internal disputes and are planning to purchase PEPE domain names with the remaining tokens, which will be destroyed in the future.

But this explanation does not seem to solve the community trust crisis, and CryptoPhunks founder Paul angrily revealed the background of PEPE's founder.

According to Paul, Zachary Testa is the behind-the-scenes operator of PEPE tokens. He was born in Arizona in 1997 and is a landscape photographer banned multiple times. He purchased a purple Lamborghini worth $865,000 with the proceeds of $pepe tokens issued, but he and his team never paid any fees to Matt Furie, the original creator of Pepe the Frog.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/16933770437881693364075_.pic_hd.jpg)
 Image source: Twitter
 
A series of events have caused the price of PEPE to hit new lows, but there are always amplified risks and opportunities in the world of MEME. According to IntoTheBlock data, the large trading volume on PEPE has surged. While some users have abandoned PEPE, other whales seem to have begun to enter the market in a downturn, and the feast of PEPE seems not over yet.
## Conclusion
Coincidentally, PEPE tokens were born due to their rebellious and interesting frog image. They quickly gained popularity due to their simple and brainless gameplay, sparked the FOMO effect due to social hype, and fell to the altar due to internal interest disputes, becoming another legendary story in the crypto market.

Against the backdrop of the current bear-to-bull market, the emergence of PEPE has sparked a frenzy for MEME to create wealth. The parabolic growth and downward trajectory of crypto prices reflect the psychological game between users and speculators.

If short-term speculators are suitable for participating in this hundredfold frenzy, then PEPE may not be the best choice for Holders in the face of various fund games and event shocks that are often disoriented.

Regardless, in the complex crypto market, what is still important to investors is DYOR.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Peter G.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div>Translator:Joy Z.
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>

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