The cryptocurrency community is in a stir following a recent announcement from the official $PEPE coin account detailing unexpected transactions. On August 24th, 2023, approximately 16 trillion $PEPE tokens, valued at around $15m USD, were transferred from the $PEPE multisig CEX Wallet to various crypto exchanges. The required signer count was also altered. The announcement delved into internal conflicts within the $PEPE team, pointing fingers at bad actors and greed.
However, the announcement was met with skepticism. Not Larva Labs Founder Pauly (@Pauly0x) responded sharply, stating, “This little fuck @degenharambe just implicated himself in major financial crimes. He is in deep shit now.”
Another user, CryptoNoddy (@Crypto_Noddy), highlighted potential inaccuracies in the official statement, pointing out, “In my opinion, there are several misleading/incorrect statements made here. Firstly, there is not one signer remaining. The multisig remains a 2/8, having been decreased from 5/8. No signers have been removed. It has not been updated other than the threshold changing to 2.”
The official $PEPE statement painted a picture of a coin marred by internal strife since its inception. It alleged that a majority of the team began distancing themselves shortly after the project’s launch, obstructing progress due to disagreements. The multi-sig, initially requiring 3 out of 4 signers for approval, saw three ex-team members allegedly transfer 60% of the tokens to exchanges for sale, subsequently distancing themselves from the project.
The announcement expressed shock at these actions and extended an apology to the community for the ensuing fear, uncertainty, and potential losses. It emphasized that the CEX-wallet tokens were never intended for sale on the market. The announcement also assured the community of the safety of the remaining 10 trillion tokens.
In response to the events, plans were shared to transfer the remaining tokens to a new wallet, with intentions to burn any residual tokens after potential purchases or donations. The aim is to position $PEPE as a decentralized meme-coin asset.
Following the official announcement by Pepe coin, the cryptocurrency experienced a short-term surge of over 10%. However, shortly after this spike, $PEPE witnessed a pullback in its value.
After Pepe explained the circumstances surrounding the Pepe token transfer, the official Twitter account announced that its Telegram account had been hacked.
While the official statement seeks to provide clarity, reactions from community members like Pauly and CryptoNoddy underscore the challenges and trust issues in the cryptocurrency domain. As events continue to unfold, the crypto community will be keenly observing the next steps for $PEPE and its team.
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