Author: David C, Bankless ; Translated by: Baishui, Jinse Finance
Up more than 100% this month and more than 1,100% so far this year, PEPE has surged to the position of the third-largest memecoin with a market cap of $6.2 billion.
Since its launch in April 2023, the infamous frog has had a significant impact on the Ethereum memecoin ecosystem and has become one of the highest consensus games in this cycle so far.
In this article, let’s take a look at PEPE’s initial development, and then dive into its more recent rise and related issues.
PEPE’s History
In April last year, PEPE debuted with the mission of replacing DOGE, and its token supply reached a maximum of 420.69T.
PEPE is one of the most famous memes on the web, and its rise can first be traced back to cultural significance. Although originally created by cartoonist Matt Furie as an apolitical character, Pepe was co-opted as a right-wing meme that showcased the dark side of online culture. Fast forward nearly a decade, and Pepe the Frog has largely faded from controversy, remaining a fixture on crypto Twitter.
At the same time, PEPE has always claimed a clear connection with MAGA culture , which the PEPE team often mentions on social media and on its website. As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has recently tried to align himself with the cryptocurrency circle through dedicated activities and policy promises, the PEPE team has tried to turn this development into a narrative driving force for the growth of the token.
Perhaps more important to this recent surge is the very important political development of Ethereum ETF approval, which boosted the trend of related blockchains and tokens. As the standout memecoin in the ETH cycle, PEPE continues to win big.
Many questioned whether PEPE could surpass its previous heights.
By early May 2023, it had a market cap of $1.5 billion. By August 24, 2023, one of the team’s multi-signature wallets accidentally transferred 16 trillion PEPE tokens to an exchange, spooking holders and causing a sell-off. Initially attributed to a hack, PEPE’s Twitter revealed that the change was due to internal turmoil within the team, not theft. The token suffered this effect for the rest of the year until it began to rise again in February.
With the recent surge, the token has climbed to the top of the memecoin and currently has a market cap of over $6 billion.
Just as a rising Dogecoin boosts all puppy-like tokens, PEPE’s surge has boosted a host of Pepe-related competitors.
While most derivatives faded away, some stood out, such as APU, a community token that has stood the test of time among developers and currently has a market cap of $215 million.
Perhaps more interesting is competitor PepeCoin, which predates PEPE, launching as a custom L1 blockchain in March 2016 and migrating to ETH in April 2023. Unlike PEPE, PepeCoin aims to build an emerging tech ecosystem that includes dApps such as Pepe Paint (an MS-Paint-style NFT creator) and Pepe Messenger (a wallet-to-wallet communication tool).
PEPE’s continued growth is a testament to the strength of memecoins in this recent cycle, as well as the continued strength of ETH-based assets.
This cycle has seen multiple waves of memecoin activity, but the most talked-about wins have often been Solana-based tokens like WIF or BONK. The appeal of ETH L2-based memecoins has drawn attention to the memecoin space on networks like Base, but amid all that traction, it’s still hard to compete with L1.
The future of PEPE
PEPE’s rise has been marked by dramatic highs and difficult lows.
From a meme coin with no utility to… still a meme coin with no utility, but now a top 20 token, PEPE’s cultural significance, political relevance, and title as an Ethereum meme have solidified it as not only the leading meme coin, but the leading token of this cycle.
However, as we have seen time and again, there are very few coins in crypto that only go up and never down, even a leading meme like DOGE, which fell from a high of $75.26 billion in market cap to $7 billion in the last cycle.
Given PEPE’s current size, it may be difficult to achieve “incredible” returns from now on. While derivatives may offer higher room for growth, they also carry higher risks due to their lower market capitalization.
While its biggest gains may be behind it, its size, increasing activity, and strong consensus status make it wise for investors to think twice before staying away from this frog.
