Most recently, meme cryptocurrency Pepe was involved in a scandal involving allegations of insider trading and a fairly significant allegation of token misappropriation.
According to an expert in blockchain transactions known as Yazan, the unfolding Pepe saga has forced a significant number of people with privileged access to initiate the sale of PEPE assets.
This series of transactions resulted in a cascading sale of a significant amount of over 665 billion PEPE tokens. Yazan called on prominent cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Binance and OKEx to take proactive measures to curb suspected insider trading.
Statement by Yazan👆
Misappropriation and liquidation of Pepe tokens
The situation worsened after a public statement published on PEPE's official social media account. The statement detailed a certain “fraudulent” transfer of a significant amount of 16 trillion tokens, with a total equivalent value of approximately $15 million. The transfer took place to cryptocurrency exchanges, including OKX, Binance, Kucoin and Bybit. The subsequent sale of these tokens led to accusations of fraud.
Against this backdrop, former Pepe marketer Jeremy “Pauly” Cahan made serious allegations of insider trading in Memcoin after the unaccounted “disappearance” of 16 trillion PEPE tokens. In particular, Kaen decided to draw attention to individuals affiliated with memcoin.
Calling his actions "insider trading allegations," Cahan took a strong stance by revealing the identities of the PEPE team members involved. He identified a complex network of wallet-to-wallet transactions conducted by each participant in the scheme. On-chain analysts later identified a series of Pepe transactions believed to have been orchestrated by insiders.
How was insider trading discovered?
Caen's August 26 disclosure shed light on a significant reserve of approximately $16-$17 million worth of PEPE coins held in nine different Pepe team wallets. Instead of deciding to completely liquidate PEPE tokens, insiders came up with an unexpected tactical solution. By gradually unloading tokens from the wallet on the centralized exchange (CEX), they took a significant short position and this turn took many by surprise.
Kahan stated his intention to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to clarify all the circumstances. He vowed to take action against the pepecoineth team, which he accused of spreading misinformation in the cryptocurrency community for personal gain. Kahan also stressed his determination to initiate legal proceedings against the team involved.
How is PEPE doing today?
According to statistics provided by Coinmarketcap, Pepe's price has dropped significantly since the scandalous incident and is currently hovering at $0.0000008 at the time of publication. At the moment when Grayscale won the ETF case, there was a short-term increase in the crypto markets, with a subsequent return to previous levels. There are no significant reasons for the growth of $PEPE yet.