In a recent turn of events, the enigmatic withdrawal of $16 million from the Pepecoin (PEPE) project’s multisig wallet has shed light on its mystery, implicating three former team members in the maneuver.
The value of PEPE experienced a sudden plummet of approximately 15% on August 24, stoking concerns within the community about a potential rug pull.
These fears arose when it became apparent that a substantial amount of PEPE tokens, totaling $16 million, had been withdrawn from the Pepe multisig wallet and promptly dispatched to multiple cryptocurrency exchanges.
Addressing these concerns in an announcement shared on August 25 via X (formerly Twitter), a key anonymous figure from the project’s inception revealed insights into the situation.
According to the statement, three ex-team members executed an unauthorized withdrawal from the multisig, subsequently departing from the project, thereby leaving it solely under the control of the remaining team member.
The announcement detailed the mechanics of the breach: “The multi-sig was set up to require 3/4 signers present for an approval.
Yesterday these 3 ex-team members came back behind my back, logged onto the multi-sig, stole 16 Trillion/ 60% of the 26 trillion multi-sig tokens, and sent them to exchanges to sell.”
The defectors then distanced themselves from the multisig, erasing any links to $PEPE and even vanishing from social platforms, save for a message asserting the transfer of control.
The founding member further asserted that the X account and the remaining 10 trillion PEPE tokens in the multisig were now safeguarded, destined for relocation to a new wallet until a purpose or reduction strategy emerged.
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The statement also emphasized the disruptive influence of these rogue members on Pepecoin’s progress since its April launch, while expressing a renewed commitment to the project’s positive trajectory in the absence of such hindrances.
While the discordant telegram group for $PEPE remains inaccessible due to hacking, the remaining member pledged to align with the community and prioritize the tokens’ welfare, now that the rogue actors have departed.
Amid a diverse array of reactions to this revelation, which ranged from supportive to skeptical, the value of PEPE has displayed fluctuations.
At the present juncture, the token’s price has surged by 5.7% over the past 24 hours, settling at $0.000000895278.
CoinGecko data confirms a current market capitalization of $382.7 million.
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