The Pepe meme coin project has been shaken by a heist of around 16 trillion Pepe tokens, equivalent to a stunning $15 million. The discovery was made by the project’s lone remaining crew member. Three former coworkers were identified as the perpetrators of the heist, according to their testimony.
These ex-members not only took the tokens but also painstakingly arranged a series of activities that included selling the tokens on several cryptocurrency markets and then deleting their internet presence. The tokens were taken from the project’s multi-sig wallet and transmitted to well-known cryptocurrency exchanges including OKX, Binance, Kucoin, and Bybit. Concurrently, the multisig’s control was greatly reduced, falling from a 5/8 signer count to just 2/8.
The Rise and Fall of Pepe
Pepe had an explosive entrance in the memecoin sector, experiencing a spectacular increase in value of almost 1,500% immediately after its April launch. This stratospheric ascent catapulted the company’s market valuation to a staggering $1.5 billion in May. Unfortunately, the token’s value dropped immediately after, leaving the top 15 Pepe token holders with significant paper losses. The lone remaining controller of the project’s multi-sig wallet revealed details about the project’s turbulent history. They recognized the existence of negative individuals in the initiative from the start, motivated by personal agendas of self-importance and financial gain. These negative effects allegedly hampered productive growth, particularly in areas involving the use of multisig money for donations or purchases.
Betrayal and Deception
The theft unfolded when the three ex-team members secretly reactivated their access to the multisig, contravening the project’s protocols. This allowed them to pilfer 16 trillion Pepe tokens, effectively 60% of the entire supply stored within the multisig. After conducting the theft, they promptly removed themselves from the multisig and wiped their digital footprint clean, leaving behind a message proclaiming their departure.
Path to Redemption
The remaining team member issued an apology to the community, acknowledging the anxiety and potential losses caused by these actions. While the stolen tokens were intended for purposes other than sale, the project now aims to shed this burden and move forward.
The spokesperson revealed plans to transfer the remaining 10 trillion multisig tokens to a fresh wallet. These tokens will be safeguarded until opportunities for utilization or token burn arise. This includes potential acquisitions of web domains and usernames to bolster the project’s integrity.
The incident had immediate repercussions, with the Pepe token witnessing an 18% decline to $0.00000088 following the theft. However, a subsequent announcement led to a brief 10% recovery to $0.00000096 before sliding once again. Presently, Pepe is trading down by 1.5% over the last 24 hours, as per CoinGecko data.
Despite the adversity faced by Pepe, its memecoin counterparts, including Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, have managed to maintain more favorable positions, each registering modest gains over the past 24 hours.
