From its origins in a comic book by artist Matt Furie, Pepe the Frog has undergone a remarkable transformation. The meme originated from blog posts on Myspace, where Furie initially shared his comic. Within the comic, Pepe was depicted as a frog urinating with his pants down, accompanied by the catchphrase “feels good man.” However, those posts were removed when the printed edition of the comic was published in 2006. What began as a harmless character has become a symbol embraced by the alt-right, a popular internet meme, an NFT sensation, and even a viral coin. This captivating evolution showcases the intricate and multifaceted impact Pepe has had on culture.
Pepe the Frog emerged as a cartoon character created by artist Matt Furie in his comic book “Boy’s Club,” which was initially published in 2005. Pepe started off as a gentle and kind-hearted frog and quickly gained popularity as an internet meme, spreading across various social media platforms. However, during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Pepe the Frog took on a new identity when different online communities appropriated the character and used it in memes promoting hate speech, racism, and other forms of discrimination.
Witnessing this misuse, Furie took action by launching the #SavePepe campaign on social media, successfully rescuing Pepe from the hands of extremists. Following this victory, Pepe found a new place in the world of cryptocurrency, where he became an integral figure in online culture.
Notably, Pepe now has an exclusive collection of NFTs featuring him in the likeness of iconic figures such as Homer Simpson or Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. These NFTs have fetched prices exceeding $100k.
The Pepe meme gained popularity on the Gaia Online community and was later uploaded to 4chan’s /b/ board in 2008, becoming its “permanent home.” The 4chan community embraced Pepe, using his appearance and catchphrase to convey various emotions. The meme expanded with different variations like “sad frog” and “smug Pepe” and even spread to Chinese social media platforms.
As Pepe’s popularity grew, the term “rare Pepes” was coined by 4chan users to describe unique versions of the meme. These rare Pepes, sometimes in the form of physical paintings, gained a devoted following. However, as Pepe gained mainstream attention, efforts were made to keep the meme exclusive by creating shocking and offensive versions.
Despite these attempts, Pepe became a significant meme in 2015, ranking high on influential meme lists and gaining widespread circulation on platforms like Twitter and Tumblr. It became notorious for being among the most retweeted and reblogged content.
Unfortunately, Pepe was co-opted by internet trolls as a symbol associated with the alt-right movement, promoting hate and extremism. During the 2016 US presidential election, Pepe became linked to Donald Trump’s campaign, further solidifying its association with white nationalism. As a result, Pepe was included in the Anti-Defamation League’s hate symbol database.
Becoming an NFT Icon Pepe the Frog and its derivative, Rare Pepes, entered the realm of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Counterparty marketplace. As early as 2016, Rare Pepes were tokenized on the Bitcoin blockchain, preceding the popularity of Ethereum-based NFT collections like CryptoPunks. The increasing demand for digital collectibles led to the emergence of platforms where artists could publish their art as tokenized assets, enabling trading and storage of these digital images.
One notable development in the Pepe NFT ecosystem was the creation of the Rare Pepe Wallet, a secure digital storage solution for trading and collecting Rare Pepes on the Counterparty network. The wallet also introduced PepeCash as a medium of exchange within the Pepesphere community. PepeCash, with a supply of approximately 700 million, can be acquired on decentralized exchanges or platforms like Zaif and TuxExchange.
To assist newcomers in navigating the world of collectible Pepes, resources such as the Rare Pepe Directory exist. Despite the complexity, collectors and traders have shown great enthusiasm, with some rare Pepes fetching high prices. For instance, in 2018, a one-of-a-kind Homer Pepe sold for $39,000, and its value soared when it was later resold for $312,000 in 2021. Pepe’s journey even made its way to the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 with the documentary “Feels Good Man,” which chronicled Matt Furie’s efforts to reclaim Pepe’s image from the alt-right.
In 2021, the NFT marketplace chainsaw.fun collaborated on the release of an NFT card called “FEELSGOODMAN Rare Pepe” to commemorate Pepe’s crypto legacy. The card was launched on both the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, symbolizing the unity between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities while acknowledging Pepe’s significance in the NFT space.
$PEPE: The Pepe Meme Coin The introduction of NFTs allowed Pepe to flourish as a digital collectible, and the community continues to evolve through new creations and collaborations, solidifying Pepe’s position as an icon in the crypto world. Enter Pepe Coin.
Within just three weeks after its launch, Pepe Coin achieved a market capitalization of over $1 billion, a milestone that took the DOGE memecoin four years to reach. This achievement demonstrates the immense potential of memes in the crypto market. Despite its price volatility, the number of individual $PEPE holders continues to grow steadily.
Interestingly, the official website of Pepe Coin emphasizes that it is purely for entertainment purposes. The coin itself holds no intrinsic value or financial return. Nevertheless, over a hundred thousand investors have purchased $PEPE, and major exchanges like Bybit, Gemini, and Binance recognize and list the memecoin on their platforms.