Benzinga - A significant amount of the Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE) meme coin, valued in the millions, was observed entering crypto exchanges on Thursday.
This sudden influx alarmed investors, leading to a decline in its price and raising concerns about unusual activities related to the project's multisig, one of the primary holders of this satirical cryptocurrency.
The token's market value decreased by $100 million, dropping from $444.4 million to a low of $344.7 million, following the widespread news of the multi-million-dollar token transactions on social media.
A staggering 16 trillion tokens were transferred from the PEPE multisig wallet around noon, heading to addresses linked with Binance, OXK and Bybit.
1/4This transfer was detected shortly after crypto analysts identified unsettling modifications in the management of the multisig wallet's transaction approvals.1 hour ago, the Pepe multisig wallet, changed the amount of signatures required on their multisig from a 5/8 to 2/8. This comes after sending $15.7 million worth of $PEPE to exchanges.
A breakdown of what we know: pic.twitter.com/bxBxp6Nzqz
— ASXN (@asxn_r) August 24, 2023
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The updated protocol indicated that now only "two out of eight" wallets were needed for transaction authorization, a shift from the previous "five of eight" requirement.
This marked the first instance of the project's crucial multisig dispatching of the meme coin.
Following these revelations, PEPE's value experienced a 16% drop.
Miles Deutscher, a crypto analyst, stated that while profit-taking in crypto was normal from a team's perspective, the suddenness/obscurity of the transactions, coupled with the lack of communication raised some red flags.
"However, for those willing to take on some risk — it's important to note that PEPE is sitting on major support. From a technical perspective, if we see a decent response here — it may be a good buy," he said.
"But for the majority, the safest thing to do (as usual in these situations), is to let the dust settle and reassess in a week or so when we have more clarity," he added.
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