Three weeks after its launch on April 14, 2023, the frog-themed memecoin Pepe (PEPE) has soared more than 85% in the past 24 hours, taking its market cap above $1 billion. Ironically, PEPE's core value proposition is no. The official website of the cryptocurrency has a disclaimer describing the investment in the coin in the following way:
"$PEPE is a memecoin with no intrinsic value or expectations of financial return. No formal team or roadmap. Coin is completely useless and for entertainment purposes only."
Currently, Pepe appears to be following a similar path to its better-known memecoin counterpart, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu SHIB. In 2021, DOGE has soared more than 23,000%, mainly due to billionaire Elon Musk's strong support for the token on Twitter.
Likewise, SHIB surged more than 1,250% during the 2021 crypto bull run after using Dogecoin as a springboard to its popularity. Lacking any underlying fundamentals, memecoins are risky investments, and they are notorious for extreme vo latility and wild swings in value. A closer look at some of the on-chain activity of Pepe insiders reveals some worrisome transactions. According to blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, five addresses allegedly associated with Pepe's team raked in $1.23 million in a thinly liquid market. They bought 8.87 trillion PEPE at a low price and sold over 90% of their shares on Uniswap for a gain. Notably, some of the top PEPE holders are centralized exchanges.
However, according to data tracked by analyst “008.eth,” non-exchange PEPE whales recently reduced their positions, suggesting that profit-taking coincided with the May 3 price correction.
