What is Pepe? How the Memecoin Gained its Hype

What is Pepe?

Pepecoin is a new memecoin inspired by Matt Furie’s Pepe the Frog. The coin capitalized on the popularity of the internet meme, similar to other meme coins, and quickly gained a large following.

The official website emphasized that PEPE has no intrinsic value, was created purely as a homage to Pepe the Frog, and the team has no affiliation with Matt Furie, the creator of the meme. Regardless, the meme coin has gained the attention of meme enthusiasts and crypto participants and has seen an immense daily trading volume since its launch.

History of Pepe (PEPE)

The PEPE memecoin was launched towards the middle of April 2023, with the first entry point on Etherscan being April 18th. Despite its relatively recent introduction, it took little time for the cryptocurrency to gain significant traction and attention.

PEPE is traded on many major exchanges, giving users ample room to invest in the token. PEPE is also available on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, further expanding its accessibility to crypto enthusiasts.

How PEPE Gained its Hype

Since PEPE was inspired by Pepe the Frog, it quickly gained attention by capitalizing on the meme’s already-established community. Matt Furie’s character had already amassed a substantial fanbase, becoming a recognizable symbol in various online communities.

Pepe coin entered the crypto market on April 14, 2023, there was no pre-sale, just a low-key launch. The project started to gain traction on Twitter. PEPE now has a significant following with over 119K holders and a popular Twitter account with 307.9K followers. The project described itself as “the most memeable memecoin in existence.”

Following its launch, the team actively shared memes of Pepe, overthrowing Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, Apecoin, and Floki. Interestingly, the bold taunts of the team on social media were taken seriously, as a handful of whales jumped into the project, causing its price to appreciate by 2000% in just a few days. In April, no cryptocurrency trended on Twitter more than PEPE.

Within less than three weeks, the memecoin’s market capitalization exceeded $420 million, propelling it into the top 100 coins by total market capitalization. This rapid growth demonstrated the enthusiasm and interest surrounding the meme-inspired cryptocurrency.

As PEPE gained momentum, it secured listings on notable crypto exchanges like Gate.io, Binance, and others. This news increased the hype and visibility, drawing the attention of centralized exchange (CEX) users.

With increased accessibility and trading opportunities, more traders were drawn to the coin, hoping to capitalize on its potential for significant returns. Despite short-term fluctuations, Pepe Coin continued to gain traction, achieving an all-time high of $0.000004354. This milestone solidified the coin’s position in the crypto market and reinforced investors’ belief in its future potential.

Later in May, PEPE experienced a temporary decline of around 70% as early investors began to pull profits. Yet many understand its future potential as it is up 3,500% from its launch price. This has helped PEPE sustain its hype and price stability.

How Does it Work? The Pepe Bridge and the Meme Culture

Pepe’s official website states that the project has no utility, known team, or roadmap and was designed solely for entertainment. Thus, there is little infrastructure in the Pepe project.

The Pepe Bridge

One notable infrastructure in the Pepe project is the Pepe Bridge. The Pepe Bridge serves as a link between three blockchains, Ethereum, Binance chain, and Arbitrum. This takes advantage of the concept of interoperability, facilitating the transfer of Pepe tokens across these three networks easily.

Image Source: Pepe’s Website

The Pepe bridge enables users to utilize tokens in the OFT standard. OFT standard tokens enable users to transfer tokens across different blockchain networks without wrapping. This increases the token’s utility. Using the bridge is pretty straightforward. Users just need to connect a decentralized wallet and proceed.

Meme Culture

PEPE has emerged as a significant player in the meme culture, showing how memes can evolve to provide digital value for their holders. Its growth signifies the growing influence of memes online and in the financial domain.

PEPE tokens are positioned to tap into the viral appeal that has kept DOGE afloat and propelled its meteoric rise. The crypto space continuously expands, creating more room for meme tokens like PEPE.

Features of The Pepe Ecosystem: Staking and Redistribution System

Although the project’s official website has little infrastructure, the Pepe ecosystem leverages the Ethereum blockchain to provide vital features.

Staking

Pepe coin’s staking system allows token holders to engage with the project and earn attractive rewards actively. Stakers can unlock benefits from future Pepe merch, NFTs, and early access to upcoming projects. This unique staking mechanism encourages loyalty and excitement among token holders.

With the ability to stake PEPE tokens on reputable exchanges like Gate.io, and OKX, the staking process becomes accessible and convenient for all interested participants.

Redistribution system

Added to the staking rewards, Pepe’s ecosystem stabilizes its price by rewarding long-term stakers and incentivizing holding the Pepe token through its redistribution system. In contrast, liquidity pool tokens are burnt, and the contract is renounced.

What is the Pepe Token?

PEPE is the native token of the Pepe ecosystem, inspired by the popular meme culture surrounding Pepe the Frog. PEPE, similar to other ERC-20 tokens, can be staked and allows holders to earn rewards and early access to projects shown on Pepe’s roadmap. Its unique redistribution design allows users to contribute to the stability of the ecosystem by holding the token and enjoying the benefits of partaking in its community.

The Pepe team described it as the most memorable memecoin, created to reign over all dog-themed meme coins like FLOKI, SHIB, and DOGE. Regardless of the lofty declaration, the official website also claims that PEPE has no intrinsic value for financial return, was built simply for entertainment, and would be powered solely by the popularity of the green frog meme.

Tokenomics

Pepe has a total supply of 420,690,000,000,000 tokens. About 93% of the total supply is in circulation. There are no taxes or additional fees on token sales except the regular fees charged on exchanges. During the token launch, 93.1% of its supply was used to provide liquidity. The remaining 6.9% of its supply was held in a multi-sig wallet, reserved for liquidity on centralized exchanges, bridges, and pools.

Pepe Roadmap

The Pepe project shared its three-phase roadmap on its website, detailing how it would establish itself in the crypto market. For the first phase, the project aimed to achieve CoinGeko and Coinmarketcap listings. The team also had the goal of attracting over 1,000 holders and leveraging its community to make the PEPE token trend on Twitter. Interestingly, these goals were achieved in record time!

The second phase focuses on expanding the community through strategic partnerships. Using the Pepe Times newsletter and the Pepe Palace, a token-gated Discord group, the project aims to secure listings on popular exchanges, surpassing the 10k holders milestone. Again, these goals have been smashed just like that of the first phase. PEPE has now been listed on many leading crypto exchanges, including Gate.io.

The final phase aims to be a “meme takeover,” solidifying Pepe’s place in the crypto market. Pepe has the potential to surpass SHIBA INU and DOGE in market capitalization. The project wants to gain more community acceptance in the crypto ecosystem. The team will achieve this by launching the Pepe Academy and Pepe Merchandise.

Is Pepe Token a Good Investment?

Investing in any cryptocurrency, no matter how certain, has its risks and uncertainties attached. And with the nature of meme coins that lack intrinsic value, the token’s value is based on some speculation and vital features.

Historical Performance

Similar to the impressive growth of DOGE in 2020, PEPE also shows a promising opportunity for growth. According to the data provided by CoinMarketCap, PEPE has an all-time low of $0.00000002764 and an all-time high of $0.000004354.

The growth of the memecoin from its low to its ATH is over 16,000%. So far, early investors have raked in huge profits, similar to that earned by Dogecoin investors in 2020 and 2021. Historical price action proves PEPE has been a great investment, especially for early adopters. However, new developments have to trigger the hype if the token is to continue on its path.

Community

Pepe coin emerged and took flight in a very short time due to its thriving community and meme culture. Its ascension to the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the world was also due to its massive community.

With over 100k unique holders and a total market valuation of over $400 million, the meme token shows tremendous popularity in the crypto space.

How can you own PEPE?

To own and hold the PEPE token requires some simple steps.

Create a Wallet

To begin owning PEPE, each user must have a wallet to store them securely. The first step is to create a Gate.io account and complete the KYC process. If you’re using a desktop, you can access the platform through the PC browser.

Get Some ETH

Before acquiring PEPE tokens, ensure you have some Ethereum (ETH) in your wallet. You can obtain ETH by purchasing it directly on the exchange platform or trading some other token or asset in your possession for ETH tokens.

Swap ETH for $PEPE

Once you’re on the Gate.io platform and have selected the PEPE token, you can exchange your ETH for $PEPE. It is explicitly stated on the official PEPE website that there are zero taxes associated with each transaction. However, there may be some fees associated with the Gate.io platform. During periods of market volatility, it’s also advisable to use slippage as a precautionary measure.

By following these steps, you can become the proud owner of PEPE tokens and participate in its community.

Take Action on PEPE

As the adoption of the crypto space continues to expand and mature, the influence of meme tokens is likely to surge, driving the value of the PEPE token.

Users can sign up and purchase or trade PEPE tokens here.