The Internet has been a breeding ground for memes. They have been around since the dawn of the digital age and are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. It’s not surprising then, that they have found their way into the realm of cryptocurrency. Memecoins, as opposed to other digital currencies, focus on achieving viral status by leveraging the infectious nature of memes and their rapid spread. Recently, the PEPE-themed memecoin, Pepe (PEPE), has become the latest sensation in the memecoin market, displaying a similar early trajectory to its more established counterpart, Dogecoin.
What is a Memecoin? How does it function? Memecoins are essentially digital currencies that derive their identity from Internet humor and memes. For instance, the Doge meme featuring a Shiba Inu became the inspiration for Dogecoin. Memecoins have been around for some time, but many attribute the meme stock frenzy of late 2020, when the Reddit group WallStreetBets dramatically increased the value of GameStop’s stocks, to the current boom. Following this, another group of Redditors jokingly proposed to pump Dogecoin’s value in a similar fashion, and the joke caught on.
These cryptocurrencies are usually not intended to be taken seriously, yet they can gain momentum when community members invest in the newest one for a laugh. Retail investors often jump on the bandwagon once its value has spiked, aiding in the coin’s continued popularity. High-profile social media influencers and celebrities also add to the allure of some meme coins. Elon Musk is notably the most recognized individual for this, even having a Dogecoin spinoff, Floki Inu, named after his pet dog.
PEPE Coin: The future of memecoins?
According to its official website, PEPE memecoin aims to be “the ultimate memecoin”. The website also mentions that it is “a joke coin with no inherent value or anticipation of monetary gain. There is no formal team or strategy. The coin is entirely frivolous and solely for amusement purposes”. Additionally, there is no official link between this memecoin and any established PEPE-themed memes or creators.
Despite the team humorously asserting that they have no roadmap, they have outlined certain objectives in the form of three distinct timeline phases, as shown below:
Potential Risks to consider before investing in PEPE
Extreme caution is advised when a coin suddenly skyrockets. Since its launch, PEPE has been one of the most volatile cryptocurrencies, experiencing significant price fluctuations. For example, it surged over 100% in a single day on May 1st, more than doubling its value. While this may appear extremely enticing, there are several risks to consider.
As previously mentioned, the creators of PEPE stated that it holds no intrinsic value, meaning this coin is only as valuable as what investors are willing to pay for it. Moreover, scammers and hackers could exploit a memecoin’s popularity by promoting fake websites or compromising associated wallets. A warning from the official PEPE Telegram group, for instance:
Several members of our community have informed us about dusting/token scams occurring in our deployer wallet and the CEX wallet. Anyone can mimic a transaction and send these tokens to our wallets. Every single coin doing this should be considered a SCAM. Many scam developers are dusting our wallets to give the impression that we are airdropping or transacting with their tokens to deceive people into engaging with them. Do not purchase any of these tokens or interact with the contracts, as they pose a risk of draining your wallet.
As a rule of thumb, it’s crucial toadhere to some basic crypto security practices when dealing with the DeFi ecosystem to avoid falling prey to scams.
In conclusion, the PEPE memecoin has managed to capture interest in the current cryptocurrency landscape. However, as we have observed with other prominent meme coins, despite the boost from celebrities like Elon Musk, they often struggle to sustain their value over time. Whether this meme-inspired coin will stand the test of time is a story yet to be told.
