In a nutshell: No government has publicly supported PEPE, but the “indirect involvement” of celebrities, politicians, institutions, and KOLs is far more complicated than you might think. Below, events are listed in order, making it easy to distinguish what’s suspected, what’s confirmed, and the connections behind the scenes.
I. Celebrity tier: Musk is the most cryptic; Sun Yuchen is the most definitive
1. Musk: symbolic interaction, never publicly endorsed it (actions confirmed, intent suspected)
He once changed his X account name to “Kekius Maximus” and his avatar to Pepe the Frog; PEPE rose 14%–20% in a single day.
He posted Pepe the Frog images multiple times, and each time PEPE rose 3%–12% in the short term.
Sequence: Using a meme symbol to stir emotions → the market automatically associates it with PEPE → he has never claimed to invest in or support PEPE; his public support has always been for DOGE.
2. Justin Sun: On-chain holdings confirmed, but they were internal transfers (confirmed)
An address received 7.2 trillion PEPE worth approximately $28.44 million from a Poloniex multisig wallet.
Sequence: Internal transfers between controlled addresses → not open-market purchases → does not constitute a public statement of “support.”
II. Politicians: Trump’s symbolic association; South Korean politician directly holds PEPE
3. Trump: Pepe the Frog appears in the background of an image; PEPE is not mentioned (image confirmed, association suspected)
On May 29, 2025, he posted an image on Truth Social with Pepe the Frog in the background and the caption, “He is on a mission from God.” PEPE rose 8.5% within hours, surpassing a $6.1 billion market cap.
Sequence: Indirect association through a visual symbol → automatic market interpretation → Trump himself did not mention PEPE or any cryptocurrency.
4. South Korean opposition leader Jin Jong-oh: Direct family holdings (disclosure confirmed)
His mother holds more than 3.2 billion PEPE, as well as other digital assets.
Sequence: Personal/family financial disclosure → personal participation by political elites → not political endorsement.
5. Mark Moran, U.S. Senate candidate from Virginia: Proactively included PEPE in campaign fundraising (action confirmed)
Included PEPE and other meme coins in a campaign fundraising experiment and pledged to transparently disclose meme coin donations.
Sequence: Politician leverages PEPE community cohesion → reaches younger voters → instrumental adoption, not endorsement of its value.
III. Institutions: ETF applications are the only substantive action
6. Canary Capital: First spot PEPE ETF application (filing confirmed, not yet approved)
Filed an S-1 with the SEC on April 8, 2026, proposing a trust that directly holds PEPE, with up to 5% of assets allocated to ETH for gas fees.
The filing acknowledges that PEPE is “purely a meme coin,” that the top ten wallets hold approximately 41% of the circulating supply, and that there is a risk of market manipulation.
Sequence: Attempt to create a financial product → test regulatory boundaries → does not mean active accumulation in the secondary market or a long-term bullish outlook.
7. T. Rowe Price: Disclosed plans for an ETF application that includes PEPE (disclosure confirmed)
The relevant plan was disclosed in regulatory filings.
Sequence: Same as above—a test of product development, not investment endorsement.
IV. KOLs: The group closest to “public support”
8. James Wynn: Vocal bullish stance (public promotion confirmed)
Switched from bearish to bullish, calling for PEPE’s market cap to rise from $1.7 billion to $69 billion; PEPE surged 34% in the short term.
Sequence: Influencer promotes the coin → sentiment-driven movement → not institutional or political endorsement.
9. @degenharambe: Self-described “PEPE maximalist” (confirmed, ongoing advocacy)
Continues to advocate for PEPE.
Sequence: Community KOL → sentiment management → no backing from substantive resources.
V. Government: No official support; the only connection is regulatory classification
10. Saudi Crown Prince MBS “supports PEPE”: Rumor, no evidence (debunked)
Multiple sources confirmed: No confirmation from Saudi authorities, no reliable news sources, and no evidence of large-scale accumulation by Saudi-linked wallets on-chain.
Possible origins: A Saudi-related X account was hacked in February 2025 to promote a meme coin; an opinion bubble fueled by bot accounts.
Sequence: Hacking and impersonation + opinion manipulation → social media rumor → no factual basis.
11. U.S. SEC: Classifies typical meme coins as “digital collectibles,” not securities (confirmed regulatory classification)
In March 2025, SEC staff formally classified them, providing a legal basis for PEPE’s development as a compliant product.
Sequence: Clarification of the regulatory framework → not government support → paves the way for ETF applications.
VI. Controversial leads: Suspected and unconfirmed (brief overview)
Founder Zachary Testa’s military background: He reportedly served as a cryptologic technician in the U.S. Navy → fodder for the “government created PEPE” conspiracy theory; no evidence shows the project was directed by the government.
Allegation that MrBeast indirectly funded the founder: TruthLabs claims he may have indirectly provided funds to Testa through Ethereum transactions → not acknowledged and not independently verified.
Alleged money-laundering connection to AnubisDAO: Early PEPE holder addresses are linked to the flow of stolen funds → a conclusion made unilaterally by investigators, with no judicial confirmation.
Source of funds from Tornado Cash: Multiple whale wallets withdrew ETH from Tornado Cash before buying PEPE → a suspected money-laundering trail, not yet confirmed.
North Korea’s Lazarus Group may have used stolen funds to buy PEPE: After the Bybit hack, ETH was transferred to Tornado Cash, followed by the purchase of approximately 437.6 billion PEPE (about $3.1 million) → on-chain tracing assessed as “high confidence”; no official accusation.
30% of the initial supply under concentrated control: Bubblemaps alleges that a cluster of wallets belonging to a single entity controls about 30% of the initial supply and sold $2 million worth the day after launch → contradicts the “fair launch” claim; PEPE’s official team has not directly responded.