CoinDesk App Icon
CoinDesk: Crypto News & Prices
BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, Crypto News & Price Tracker
View App
Logo
  • News
  • Prices
  • Data
  • Indices
  • Research
  • Events
  • Sponsored
  • Sign In
  • Sign Up
BTC logo
BTC
$116,741.70
1.88%
ETH logo
ETH
$3,928.67
7.38%
XRP logo
XRP
$3.3553
12.86%
USDT logo
USDT
$1.0001
0.01%
BNB logo
BNB
$786.55
2.60%
SOL logo
SOL
$174.72
4.62%
USDC logo
USDC
$0.9998
0.01%
DOGE logo
DOGE
$0.2220
8.79%
TRX logo
TRX
$0.3370
0.64%
ADA logo
ADA
$0.7935
7.99%
XLM logo
XLM
$0.4580
15.10%
HYPE logo
HYPE
$40.82
8.25%
SUI logo
SUI
$3.7688
9.18%
LINK logo
LINK
$19.12
15.13%
BCH logo
BCH
$575.07
0.94%
HBAR logo
HBAR
$0.2630
8.66%
AVAX logo
AVAX
$23.26
5.64%
USDE logo
USDE
$1.0006
0.02%
WBT logo
WBT
$43.80
2.60%
LTC logo
LTC
$121.40
1.58%
BTC logo
BTC
$116,741.70
1.88%
ETH logo
ETH
$3,928.67
7.38%
XRP logo
XRP
$3.3553
12.86%
USDT logo
USDT
$1.0001
0.01%
BNB logo
BNB
$786.55
2.60%
SOL logo
SOL
$174.72
4.62%
USDC logo
USDC
$0.9998
0.01%
DOGE logo
DOGE
$0.2220
8.79%
TRX logo
TRX
$0.3370
0.64%
ADA logo
ADA
$0.7935
7.99%
XLM logo
XLM
$0.4580
15.10%
HYPE logo
HYPE
$40.82
8.25%
SUI logo
SUI
$3.7688
9.18%
LINK logo
LINK
$19.12
15.13%
BCH logo
BCH
$575.07
0.94%
HBAR logo
HBAR
$0.2630
8.66%
AVAX logo
AVAX
$23.26
5.64%
USDE logo
USDE
$1.0006
0.02%
WBT logo
WBT
$43.80
2.60%
LTC logo
LTC
$121.40
1.58%
Ad
Markets
Share this article
X iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

‘Rare Pepe’ Steeped in Bitcoin History Fetches $500K on NFT Market OpenSea

Frog-themed digital collectible cards from the mid-2010s are getting retooled for fast sales in the white-hot NFT market.

By Bradley Keoun
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:45 p.m. Published Aug 31, 2021, 12:37 a.m.
An early blockchain-based digital collectible card combined the Pepe the Frog meme with the likeness of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, reported (controversially) in 2014 to be Bitcoin's founder. Now it's an NFT.
An early blockchain-based digital collectible card combined the Pepe the Frog meme with the likeness of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, reported (controversially) in 2014 to be Bitcoin's founder. Now it's an NFT.

The newest craze in the hot market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may be a vintage series built around the ubiquitous Pepe the Frog meme.

Known as “Rare Pepes,” the tokens were minted as digital collectible cards back in the mid-2010s by blockchain pioneers focused primarily on Bitcoin, and traded using a niche platform known as Counterparty.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Encouraged by the increasingly eye-popping price tags for NFTs, some Rare Pepe collectors have begun using a years-old software protocol known as Emblem Vault to reconfigure the digital cards to run on the Ethereum blockchain. Then, they’re listing these “wrapped” Rare Pepes for sale on the dominant NFT marketplace OpenSea and turning smart profits.

Over the past few days, at least one Rare Pepe has changed hands for 149.99 ether (ETH), worth about $500,000 at current prices. Another copy sold for 111.1 ETH early Monday. Such price tags fall short of the million-dollar sales netted for some CryptoPunk and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, but industry executives speculate the Rare Pepes could eventually reap even richer proceeds due to their historical significance.

“One of the things we have been witnessing is that the all-time highs for these Rare Pepes are doubling or tripling over the past couple weeks, specifically due to them having access to the capital on OpenSea and more broadly on the Ethereum blockchain,” Emblem Vault co-founder Shannon Code told CoinDesk in an interview.

The digital collectible card that sold for $500,000 was minted as one of 300 in September 2016, according to OpenSea. It bears a green-fleshed likeness of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, reported by Newsweek in 2014 to be the inventor of Bitcoin, though he denied it.

RAREPEPE NAKAMOTO Series #1, Card #1 bought for 111.1Ξ ($352626.96) #EmblemVault $COVAL https://t.co/5mrwIpX53U

— Emblem Vault Bot 🐸 🧙‍♂️ (@EmblemVaultBot) August 30, 2021
BitcoinNFTsSatoshi NakamotoDorian Satoshi NakamotoOpenSeaCounterparty
Bradley Keoun

Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.

X icon
CoinDesk News Image

More For You

[Test one more time; LCN block] DUPLICATE

By CoinDesk
Aug 5, 2025
Breaking News Default Image

Test dek Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

Read full story
Latest Crypto News
Breaking News

[Test one more time; LCN block] DUPLICATE

Aug 5, 2025
Breaking News

[Test one more time; LCN block]

Aug 5, 2025
FastNews (CoinDesk)

[Test Article, Fast News] Digital Asset, Builder of Privacy-Focused Blockchain Canton, Raises $135M

Aug 4, 2025
Breaking News

[Test Article, Breaking News] WIF Confronts Persistent Selling Pressure Amidst Range-Constrained Volatility

Aug 3, 2025
Breaking News

Test Latest Crypto News time frame

Aug 1, 2025
Breaking News

Test Latest Crypto News block

Jul 31, 2025
Top Stories
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

JPMorgan To Allow Clients To Buy Bitcoin, Says Jamie Dimon blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

May 19, 2025
Consensus 2025: Anthony Scaramucci, Founder, SkyBridge Capital

Scaramucci Says Bitcoin Treasury Trend Will Fade Despite Saylor’s Success

Jul 2, 2025
A barman shakes a cocktail shaker with an array of drinks bottles behind him.

Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Whiplash Shakes Market as U.S. Yield Spike Threatens Bull Run

May 19, 2025
Tokyo, Japan (Jaison Lin/Unsplash)

Metaplanet Buys Another 1,004 Bitcoin, Lifts Holdings to Over $800M Worth of BTC

May 19, 2025
Protocol Village is CoinDesk's living column chronicling blockchain tech project updates (CoinDesk)

Protocol Village: Starknet Claims to Shatter Transaction Speed Record Among Ethereum Layer-2 Networks

Oct 30, 2024
A breakdown of how well the Fairshake PAC did with candidates it backed.

Crypto Cash Fueled 53 Members of the Next U.S. Congress

Dec 3, 2024

Only 1 article remaining this month.

Sign up for free

About

  • About Us
  • Masthead
  • Careers
  • CoinDesk News
  • Crypto API Documentation
  • Blog

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility
  • Advertise
  • Sitemap
  • System Status
Disclosure & Polices
CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.
EthicsPrivacyTerms of UseCookie SettingsDo Not Sell My Info

© 2025 CoinDesk, Inc.
X icon
Sign Up
  • News
    Back to menu
    News
    • Markets
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • Policy
    • Focus
  • Prices
    Back to menu
    Prices
    • Data
      Back to menu
      Data
      • Trade Data
      • Derivatives
      • Order Book Data
      • On-Chain Data
      • API
      • Research & Insights
      • Data Catalogue
      • AI & Machine Learning
    • Indices
      Back to menu
      Indices
      • Multi-Asset Indices
      • Reference Rates
      • Strategies and Services
      • API
      • Insights & Announcements
      • Documentation & Governance
    • Research
      Back to menu
      Research
      • Events
        Back to menu
        Events
        • CoinDesk: Policy & Regulation
        • Consensus Hong Kong
        • Consensus Miami
      • Sponsored
        Back to menu
        Sponsored
        • Thought Leadership
        • Press Releases
        • CoinW
        • MEXC
        • Phemex
        • Advertise
      • Videos
        Back to menu
        Videos
        • CoinDesk Daily
        • Shorts
        • Editor's Picks
      • Podcasts
        Back to menu
        Podcasts
        • CoinDesk Podcast Network
        • Markets Daily
        • Gen C
        • Unchained with Laura Shin
        • The Mining Pod
      • Newsletters
        Back to menu
        Newsletters
        • The Node
        • Crypto Daybook Americas
        • State of Crypto
        • Crypto Long & Short
        • Crypto for Advisors
      • Webinars
        Back to menu
        Webinars
        Select Language
        English enEspañol esFilipino filFrançais frItaliano itPortuguês pt-brРусский ruУкраїнська ukDeutsch deNederlands nl한국어 ko中文 zh