PEPE was one of the most widely discussed meme coins of 2023. Its official website puts it plainly: it’s a meme coin with no intrinsic value. That makes it a good example for understanding what meme coins are.
$PEPE has a total supply of approximately 420.69 trillion tokens, fixed at launch. Current price: 0.0₅4 (24h +3.36%).
■ Where Did the Frog Come From?
PEPE’s image is based on the “Pepe the Frog” meme that has circulated online for many years. Pepe the Frog was originally a cartoon character created by comic artist Matt Furie in 2005. Matt Furie has no official affiliation with the PEPE token.
The PEPE token launched on Ethereum in April 2023, with a total supply of approximately 420.69 trillion tokens.
■ The official website’s “self-description”
The PEPE website states that the token had no presale and charges no transaction tax, that the LP tokens have been burned, and that ownership of the contract has been renounced. These are common features of meme coins. They mean the deployer can no longer mint more tokens, change the tax rate, or withdraw the initial liquidity from the pool.
The disclaimer on the official website is equally direct: PEPE is a meme coin with no intrinsic value, and you should not expect financial returns.
■ Listing on Binance
On May 5, 2023, Binance listed PEPE in its Innovation Zone and noted in its announcement that PEPE had no token utility or value-support mechanism.
The corresponding Binance USDⓈ-M contract is called 1000PEPEUSDT. Its quoted price represents the price of 1,000 PEPE, since the price of a single token is so low that it would otherwise require too many decimal places.
■ How to look at it
“Zero tax, renounced permissions, and burned LP” can rule out some contract risks, but they can’t control price volatility. Meme coin prices are driven mainly by sentiment and attention. Hype can rise quickly—and fade just as fast.
There are many counterfeit coins with the same name, so always verify the contract address before trading on-chain. Before participating, be prepared for the possibility that it could go to zero.
■ Final thoughts
For a token whose own website says it has “no intrinsic value,” the most honest way to approach it is as a cultural phenomenon to learn about, not as a source of returns. Understand how it works before getting involved, and don’t make decisions on impulse.
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