Blockchain data now casts doubt on the narrative that the memecoin Pepe (PEPE) was launched as a decentralized token "for the people." According to a new analysis by the data visualization platform Bubblemaps, almost 30% of the total genesis supply was held by a tightly linked cluster of wallets, potentially influencing the market immediately after the project launch.
What exactly did Bubblemaps discover?
Bubblemaps revealed that a group of wallets controlled nearly 30% of PEPE's genesis supply as early as April 2023. This contradicts the project’s original presentation as a stealth-launched, fair-distribution coin for the community.
Reportedly, this cluster sold off around $2 million worth of PEPE tokens just one day after launch, contributing to early downward price pressure and possibly preventing the token from reaching its anticipated $12 billion market cap milestone.
This centralized holding contrasts strongly with PEPE’s initial branding. The official website had stated the token would be launched "secretly" without any pre-sale allocations, emphasizing fairness and decentralization.
PEPE’s market performance and trust issues
Currently, PEPE is down over 5% in the last 24 hours and has dropped more than 81% over the past year. These sharp losses reflect the struggles of many memecoins during prolonged market uncertainty.
Further damaging investor confidence, the official PEPE website was compromised in December and temporarily redirected users to a malicious tool known as Inferno Drainer, a phishing utility used for draining wallets and social engineering scams.
Forensic blockchain analysis using “Time Travel”
Bubblemaps used its advanced feature Time Travel, which reconstructs historical token distributions. This tool helps uncover insider trading patterns and coordinated accumulation strategies, aiming to alert the community to potential rug pulls or manipulative memecoin launches.
Such forensic tools have previously helped expose suspicious behavior in other meme tokens, including projects associated with controversial figures and politically themed coins.
Despite losses, some traders made millions
Despite PEPE’s volatility, some early investors made substantial profits. One well-known trader reportedly turned a modest $2,000 investment into over $40 million by holding through PEPE’s rapid early ascent before selling during its peak phase.
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