Analysis Reveals PEPE Token's Genesis Supply Concentration and Early Sell-off Impact
Approximately 30% of PEPE's genesis supply was held within a cluster of wallets linked to a single entity at its April 2023 launch. This cluster reportedly sold about $2 million worth of PEPE tokens within one day of launch.
According to Bubblemaps, this concentration contradicts PEPE's branding as a token created “for the people” through a stealth launch and without presale allocations. The early sale allegedly added sufficient sell pressure to prevent PEPE from crossing a $12 billion market capitalization during its initial major surge.
Bubblemaps employs Time Travel analytics to reconstruct historical token distributions, highlighting potential hidden accumulation and coordination. PEPE has experienced volatile price movements, including an October rally marked by a 156% rebound and nearly $1 billion in trading volume, despite a longer-term decline exceeding 81% over a year, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
Further, Bubblemaps has linked other meme coins like MELANIA and LIBRA to similar insider-launch patterns, noting shared wallets and insider tactics. The report also references broader risks in meme coin markets, including losses related to the Kanye West YZY token and significant Sybil and liquidity-extraction incidents involving projects such as MYX and the WET presale.
