Share this article
Pepecoin’s Bewildering Rise Turned a Pittance Into an Almost 5,000,000% Meme Coin Profit
A pseudonymous crypto trader bought trillions of the meme coin three weeks ago on UniSwap for $263, and still holds about $9 million of PEPE after selling several million dollars worth, according to data from blockchain platform Arkham.
Updated May 11, 2023, 8:30 p.m. Published May 5, 2023, 6:29 p.m.
The bewilderingly fast rise of pepecoin (PEPE), a meme coin introduced mere weeks ago that’s now worth more than $1 billion, is making gigantic fortunes for those undeterred by warnings this is a fad that will end badly.
A perfect example: a pseudonymous trader named dimethyltryptamine.eth spent $263 just three weeks ago to buy trillions of PEPE tokens. That former pittance has turned into $3.8 million in profits from tokens they’ve already sold, and their remaining holdings are worth about $9 million, according to data by blockchain research firm Arkham Intelligence. That’s an almost 5,000,000% profit.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The trader is benefitting from the breakneck rally of a coin based on the “pepe the frog” meme, a popular symbol in crypto circles. Launched in April, the meme coin’s market capitalization astonishingly surpassed $1 billion on Friday and, according to CoinGecko, at one point was worth more than Arbitrum’s ARB, which is also among the hottest newly issued tokens of 2023.
Analysts, however, have raised concerns about the concentrated ownership of pepecoin, pointing to a handful of traders acquiring substantial amounts of PEPE when the token was released last month. Blockchain sleuth Lookonchain unveiled five accounts connected to a wallet belonging to pepecexwallet.eth, which received funds directly from the token’s deployer contract, acquired over 8.87 trillion PEPE after issuance for just $385.
Dimethyltryptamine.eth, which wasn’t cited among the insider wallets by Lookonchain but belongs among the earliest buyers, purchased 5.907 trillion of PEPE tokens for $263 in two transactions on April 14 using UniSwap, Arkham shows. The trader also paid $17 for gas fees.
Since then, the trader has been gradually taking profits by sending smaller amounts multiple times a day to UniSwap, and receiving ether (ETH) in exchange. The wallet has sent $3.8 million of PEPE to UniSwap in the past month, per Arkham data, presumably to take profits, with $2.4 million of that transferred in the past 24 hours.
Read more: Pepecoin Short Sellers Lose Millions as PEPE Nears $1B Valuation
Mais para você
Exchange Review - March 2025
CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.
O que saber:
Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
- Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
Mais para você
This article is created to test tags being added to image overlays
Dek: This article is created to test tags being added to image overlays
O que saber:
- Ethena's USDe becomes fifth stablecoin to surpass $10 billion market cap in just 609 days, while Tether's dominance continues to slip.
Top Stories
