In a recent development within the Pepecoin (PEPE) community, allegations have emerged pointing to three former team members who reportedly absconded with funds worth $16 million from the project’s multisig wallet. This incident has raised concerns and led to a significant drop in PEPE’s price, prompting a clarification from one of the founding members.
Unveiling the Alleged Theft
an announcement to the $PEPE community:
Yesterday on August 24th, 2023, a series of unexpected transactions took place from the $PEPE multisig CEX
Wallet in which ~16 Trillion $PEPE tokens (worth roughly $15m USD) were transferred to various crypto exchanges (OKX, Binance,… pic.twitter.com/iZmXV1TAvw— Pepe (@pepecoineth) August 26, 2023
Amid suspicions of a potential rug pull, the price of PEPE experienced a sharp 15% decline as the community noticed the substantial withdrawal of $16 million worth of PEPE tokens from the project’s multisig wallet. The focus quickly turned to three ex-team members who are believed to be behind this incident.
Details from a Founding Member
Addressing the situation, an anonymous founding member shared insights via a community announcement from the official Pepecoin account. The post elucidated the sequence of events: the three team members supposedly seized the funds and then deserted the project, leaving it under the sole control of the remaining member.
Future Direction for PEPE
The remaining founding member assured the community that the remaining PEPE tokens and the corresponding account are now secure. Plans are underway to transfer these funds to a new wallet, where they will be safeguarded until they can be utilized or potentially burned.
The telegram group for $PEPE is currently locked down, the old telegram account for the group owner was hacked and the group was taken over. In the process of trying to regain access or make a new one. All official communication for $PEPE will take place via the @pepecoineth… pic.twitter.com/lQFTu02jub
— Pepe (@pepecoineth) August 26, 2023
While some community members expressed support for the announcement and exhibited bullish sentiment, others remained skeptical about the claims made. As the aftermath unfolds, the PEPE project aims to navigate a more positive course, free from the obstacles posed by the rogue team members.
As of the latest update, PEPE’s price has shown a 5.7% increase in the past 24 hours, reaching $0.000000895278, and its market capitalization stands at approximately $382.7 million, according to data from CoinGecko.
