What is PEPE, crypto’s latest hot memecoin?

The internet’s most famous frog, Pepe, is making waves in the crypto space since a memecoin created in its honor, PEPE, soared into the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Just weeks after launch, the coin was rubbing shoulders with top tokens Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) with a market cap well north of $400 million. But what is the PEPE project all about?

A brief history of Pepe the Frog

PEPE the coin spawned as a tribute to the Pepe the Frog character that first appeared in 2005. Pepe was the creation of American cartoonist Matt Furie for his comic ‘Boy’s Club’, and soon after grew in prominence across the dominant social networks of the time in meme form. Pepe has even been used as a symbol by online political movements.

About PEPE the coin

The PEPE coin only hit the market on April 15, 2023, despite Pepe’s almost two decades of popularity and the previous meteoric rise of selected memecoins. However, the coin has no association with the character’s creator Matt Furie. As the coin’s website states “this token is simply paying homage to a meme we all love and recognize.”

In the weeks after launch, the coin had surged by more than 2,000 percent to a market cap above $500 million before settling lower.

The tokenomics

PEPE is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain with a circulating supply of 420.69 trillion. The coin follows a redistribution system to reward and incentivize long term holders, which is intended to bring some stability to the project.

On launch, 93.1% of the tokens in supply were sent to the liquidity pool, with the remaining 6.9% of coins held in a multi-signature wallet to be used for future centralized exchange listings, bridges, and liquidity pool. Meanwhile, the LP tokens were burnt, and the deployer contract was renounced.

The future of the PEPE project

PEPE’s creators have outlined an informal three-part roadmap for the coin’s future, but stress on the website that $PEPE is "a meme coin with no intrinsic value or expectation of financial return. There is no formal team or roadmap. the coin is completely useless and for entertainment purposes only.” Here's what the tentative roadmap looks like:

• Phase one: Focus on the coin's launch, major listings, and getting PEPE trending on X.

• Phase two: Secure community partnerships and launch a digital newsletter, form a token gated Discord group called PEPE’s Palace for holders, and aim for more than 10,000 holders across centralized exchanges.

• Phase 3: Launch of a PEPE academy, tools, merchandise, and, if successful, reach more than 100,000 holders across tier one exchanges.

How can I buy PEPE?

Pepe’s creators have made clear that the coin holds no intrinsic value and is intended for entertainment purposes. Its early surge in price can be attributed to the enduring popularity of the Pepe the Frog meme, but as is typical of memecoins, high volatility should be expected.