Pepe (PEPE), a cryptocurrency with a frog-based meme theme, has witnessed a surge of over 85% in the last 24 hours. PEPE, which was launched on April 14, 2023, has exceeded a market cap of $1 billion. Ironically, the token’s core value proposition is that it has none. The official website of the cryptocurrency comes with a disclaimer that indicates that investing in the token has no intrinsic value or expectation of financial returns. There is no formal team or roadmap, and the coin is entirely useless and for amusement purposes only.
PEPE’s Market Trajectory
PEPE is currently following a similar market trajectory to Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), two other meme coins that are more well-known. In 2021, DOGE had a surge of over 23,000%, thanks to the vocal support that the token received from billionaire Elon Musk on Twitter. Similarly, SHIB experienced a surge of over 1,250% during the 2021 crypto bull market after using Dogecoin as a springboard for its popularity.
However, investing in meme coins is high-risk due to the lack of underlying fundamentals, and they are infamous for their extreme volatility and significant swings in value. A closer look at some of the on-chain activity from Pepe insiders reveals some concerning trades. According to data from the blockchain analytics service Lookonchain, five addresses allegedly linked to the Pepe team made $1.23 million in a thin liquid market. These insiders purchased 8.87 trillion PEPE at a low price and sold over 90% of their holdings on Uniswap for a profit.
It is worth nothing that some of the top PEPE holders are centralized exchanges. However, according to data tracked by analyst “008.eth,” non-exchange PEPE whales have recently reduced their positions, suggesting that there has been profit-taking that coincided with a price correction on May 3.