Prepare to be captivated by the shocking tale of the Pepe coin community's recent turmoil. In a stunning turn of events on August 24, 2023, approximately 16 Trillion $PEPE tokens, worth a staggering $15 million, were stolen from the project's multisig CEX wallet. The tokens were swiftly transferred to major cryptocurrency exchanges, including OKX, Binance, Kucoin, and Bybit. But how did this heist occur?

The Pepe coin team has come forward to shed light on the situation, aiming to provide transparency amidst the chaos. They revealed that the stolen tokens were once part of the CEX wallet, which was never intended for market sales or personal gain by the team. It seems that internal tensions and conflicts within the team have been brewing since the project's inception. Egos clashed, and disagreements ran rampant, causing some team members to separate themselves from the project early on. Their refusal to sign, prolonged arguments, and unresponsiveness slowed down progress considerably.

But the situation reached its boiling point when three former team members resurfaced to orchestrate the theft of a staggering 16 Trillion tokens, making up 60% of the multisig's total holdings. These ex-members executed the transfers without authorization and erased all traces of their involvement with the project. However, hope remains as the remaining 10 Trillion tokens are now under the control of a dedicated team member committed to the project's success.

In the aftermath of this devastating incident, most, if not all, of the stolen tokens were rapidly sold on OKX and Binance exchanges. To prevent further misuse, the remaining 10 Trillion tokens will be transferred to a new wallet. The affected team member is also working diligently to acquire web domains and usernames for PEPE, with plans to burn the remaining tokens once these acquisitions are complete.

Despite the setback, there is a glimmer of positivity for Pepe coin. The price is currently experiencing a bullish trend, with a nearly 7% increase in the last 24 hours, bringing it to $0.0000009045. The market cap has also risen by 3.40%, now standing at an impressive $354.98 million.

In the wake of this crisis, the official PEPE Telegram group remains locked down due to hacking.