Coinbase Sparks Controversy With Pepecoin And BRC-20 Token Endorsement

Key Points:

• Meme coins are taking the crypto market by storm, with trading volume surging to $2.3 billion last week, according to Coinbase.
• Pepecoin (PEPE) has grown an incredible 55,000% since April and is now one of the fastest-growing tokens.
• However, large gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain and the rise of Bitcoin-based meme coins have some traders concerned about the fundamentals of the market.

Coinbase (COIN) called attention to the astonishing growth of pepecoin (PEPE) and other Bitcoin-based meme coins in its latest newsletter.

This is a significant development given the recent drop in the crypto market, which has led traders to seek profits by focusing on jokes instead of fundamental plays. As a result, gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain have surged to extremely high levels.

According to the Coinbase newsletter, trading volume on meme coins surpassed $2.3 billion last week, more than six times higher than the week prior, and the highest level since May 2021. The newsletter highlighted the rise of PEPE as a leading force behind the ongoing meme coin mania. PEPE has grown nearly 55,000% since its issuance in mid-April, resulting in a market capitalization of $1.8 billion in just under three weeks, making it one of the fastest-growing tokens of all time.

The newsletter also tracked the growth of Bitcoin-based meme coins following the introduction of the ‘Bitcoin Request for Comment’ (BRC-20) token standard, which enables developers to issue tokens directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. However, most of these tokens turned out to be meme coins, and recently reached a cumulative market capitalization of $1.8 billion.

While the newsletter highlighted the impressive growth of these meme coins, it also pointed out a lesser-known link of the original Pepe the Frog meme to political groups. “The token is based on the Pepe the Frog meme, which first surfaced on the internet nearly 20 years ago as a comic-strip character,” the Coinbase newsletter stated. “Over time it has been co-opted as a hate symbol by alt-right groups, according to the Anti-Defamation League.”

Despite the disclaimer that distances its author and does “not necessarily reflect the views of Coinbase or its employees,” the sentence became the centerpiece of Crypto Twitter commentary and riled up some members of the community.

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