Blockchain data challenges PEPE’s fair launch narrative
New analysis from blockchain data visualization platform Bubblemaps is raising questions about the memecoin PEPE’s original launch story. According to their findings, about 30% of the token’s initial supply was bundled together at launch in April 2023. This contradicts the project’s branding as a “coin for the people” that launched “in stealth” with no presale allocations.
Bubblemaps made these claims in a post on X, stating that investors were “lied to” about the token’s distribution. The platform’s analysis suggests that a single entity or wallet cluster controlled nearly one-third of the genesis supply. What’s more concerning is that this same wallet cluster reportedly sold $2 million worth of PEPE tokens just one day after launch.
Early selling pressure impacted token performance
That early selling activity created significant downward pressure on the token’s price. Bubblemaps believes this selling prevented PEPE from reaching the $12 billion market capitalization milestone it might have otherwise achieved. The timing of these sales raises questions about whether insiders were taking profits immediately after launch while retail investors were still buying in.
Looking at current market data, PEPE’s price has fallen 5.7% in the past 24 hours and is down over 81% in the past year. These declines come despite some traders managing to make substantial profits from the token earlier this year. One notable example involved a trader who turned $2,000 into $43 million by holding PEPE, though they eventually realized a $10 million profit after holding through a 74% decline from the token’s all-time high.
Forensic tools reveal distribution patterns
The findings were uncovered using Bubblemaps’ Time Travel feature, a forensic analytics tool launched in May. This tool allows users to reconstruct historical token distributions to detect early insider activity or coordinated accumulation efforts. The goal is to help prevent rug pulls and memecoin scams by identifying tokens with concentrated supply across few wallets.
Spotting these concentration patterns can be crucial for investors. When large portions of supply are held by a small number of wallets, it creates vulnerability to rug pulls where insiders remove liquidity or stage mass sell-offs, leading to steep price collapses that leave other investors with worthless tokens.
Recent security issues add to concerns
Adding to investor concerns, PEPE’s website was exploited earlier in December. The site temporarily redirected users to a malicious inferno drainer, which is a scam tool used for phishing attacks, wallet draining, and social engineering scams. While the team behind PEPE hasn’t commented on these recent developments, the combination of distribution concerns and security issues creates a challenging picture.
Bubblemaps has played a role in uncovering suspicious wallet activity related to several other memecoins, including the Melania token and various fake Eric Trump-themed tokens. Their work highlights the ongoing challenges in the memecoin space, where transparency and fair distribution remain significant issues.
Perhaps the most dramatic example of these risks came in March when the WOLF token, inspired by Wolf of Wall Street, crashed 99% within hours, wiping out nearly $42 million in market capitalization. That token was created by Hayden Davis, who was also involved with the Official Melania Meme and Libra token.
As the analysis shows, tools like Bubblemaps are becoming increasingly important for investors navigating the memecoin landscape. The ability to examine historical distribution patterns provides another layer of due diligence, though it’s just one piece of the puzzle in assessing these often-volatile assets.
