Pepe crypto, traded as PEPE, is a memecoin built as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and named after the Pepe the Frog internet meme. The project states that the token has no utility, no governance and no roadmap, and that it exists for entertainment. At the time of the market snapshot, PEPE traded at $0.000005027, up 0.25% over 24 hours.
Core technology and blockchain architecture
PEPE is deployed at contract address 0x6982508145454Ce325dDbE47a25d4ec3d2311933 with 18 decimals. It has no blockchain of its own, so every transfer uses Ethereum gas. The contract source was submitted to Etherscan on 14 April 2023.
A separate project, PepeCoin (PEPECOIN), runs its own blockchain and foundation at pepecoin.org and is not the same token.
An EtherAuthority audit dated 5 February 2024 describes a PepeToken contract with blacklisting, trading-rule and burn functions. Those features do not match the renounced, no-tax contract described elsewhere, and the sources do not reconcile the two. Another review of the verified source found no reflection, fee or automatic-burn logic in transfers.
Primary use cases and real-world applications
PEPE has no operational use case. The project's website describes it as "the most memeable memecoin in existence" and says it launched "stealth with no presale, zero taxes, LP burnt and contract renounced." The whitepaper states that the token has no intrinsic value or expectation of financial return.
The token has no staking, governance or DeFi integrations. Canary Capital's S-1 describes PEPE as a highly speculative asset whose value is driven mainly by online popularity, cultural relevance and social sentiment.
Who is behind Pepe and where is it based?
- Founders and developers: The creators are anonymous and have never been publicly identified.
- Project history: PEPE launched in April 2023. Trust Wallet reports a launch on 14 April 2023, two weeks after the pepe.vip domain was registered.
- Country: No country of operation has been publicly confirmed.
- Legal entity: Blockworks states that PEPE has no labs entity, no development company and no foundation. No jurisdiction of incorporation has been published.
In August 2023, the multisig wallet holding the team's 6.9% allocation was involved in a security incident. Canary's S-1 states that three former team members accessed the wallet and moved 16 trillion tokens to exchanges. On 24 August 2023, the signing threshold was reduced from five-of-eight to two-of-eight. The sources do not independently verify who was responsible.
Tokenomics
- Total supply: 420,690,000,000,000 PEPE, all minted at launch.
- Circulating supply: 420,690,000,000,000 PEPE.
- Initial distribution: 93.1% went to a Uniswap V2 liquidity pool, and the LP tokens were burned. The remaining 6.9% was held in a team multisig for exchange listings, bridges and liquidity.
- Burns: On 24 October 2023, 6.9 trillion PEPE was burned.
- Inflation and deflation: The token has no minting function. Ownership is renounced to a null address, so supply can only decline through burns.
- Concentration: As of January 2026, the ten largest wallets held 41% of circulating supply, according to Canary's S-1. Several of these are exchange-designated addresses.
- Taxes: There are no buy or sell taxes.
Consensus mechanism and network security model
PEPE has no consensus mechanism of its own. Ethereum validators confirm its transactions, and the token inherits Ethereum's security. Because the contract is renounced and the LP tokens are burned, no party can withdraw the primary liquidity.
A website front-end attack that redirected users to malware has been reported, but the sources give no further detail on that incident (Crypto.com).
Key partnerships and ecosystem integrations
The sources do not identify any official partnerships or ecosystem integrations. Exchange listings include:
- Binance: PEPE/USDT and PEPE/TUSD in its Innovation Zone on 5 May 2023.
- Coinbase and Robinhood: Both announced listings on 13 November 2024.
- Bitkub: A PEPE/THB listing on 29 May 2026, according to ListedOn.
Coinranking lists 65 exchange listings, 50 centralised and 15 decentralised. Solana Compass reports that a canonical PEPE SPL token was deployed on Solana via Wormhole NTT, with $40 million in trading volume within 24 hours of a Sunrise listing on 18 September 2026. This is a single aggregator's report.
Competitive position and value proposition
PEPE's value proposition is the absence of utility. It has no presale and no taxes, and its supply is fixed. Commentary describes it as a memecoin that "deliberately built nothing."
Against Dogecoin, OneBullEx describes an established brand, while PEPE draws traders through its community and liquidity. CoinStats data shows a market capitalisation of $2.11B (rank #56) and 24h trading volume of $500.00M. The all-time high is $0.00002803, and the current price is 82.07% below it.
Development activity and roadmap
No formal development team or roadmap is published. The pepe.vip website lists "Phase 1: Meme" and "Phase 2: Vibe and HODL." Trust Wallet's 2023 guide described an earlier three-phase version that included CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap listings and reaching 1,000 holders.
Three 2026 developments stand out:
- ETF filing: On 8 April 2026, Canary Capital filed an S-1 for a spot Canary PEPE ETF that would hold PEPE directly, with up to 5% in ETH for network fees.
- Amendment: On 2 October 2026, Canary filed a pre-effective amendment naming BitGo custody and a planned Cboe BZX listing. The amendment is not an approval, and the fund cannot sell shares until the SEC declares the registration effective.
- Exchange wallet incident: On 29 October 2026, Binance reported unauthorised access to exchange-controlled wallets. Lookonchain identified a sale of 7.77 trillion PEPE from the affected wallet.