Coinbase listed Pepe, a meme token created from a frog internet meme that gained popularity in the early 2000s. The long-awaited listing followed the recent bull market that drove most cryptocurrencies to unprecedented levels.

The crypto rally also pushed the valuation of PEPE to more than $9 billion, making it the fifteenth largest digital asset. According to CoinMarketCap, the meme token was up 20% in the past day and 118% on the weekly chart at the time of writing. Currently, PEPE trades at $0.00002275.

Coinbase Embraces Meme Tokens

On Wednesday, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal informed the crypto community that the exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term was soon listing the token.

“You have long wanted the frog. Well, soon you'll get the frog. @coinbase is adding PEPE to our listing roadmap with the goal of listing later today. Thanks for your patience,” he wrote. Interestingly, Pepe’s description on CoinMarketCap states that it aims to capitalize on the popularity of other meme tokens like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin.

You've long wanted the frog. Well, soon you'll get the frog. @coinbase is adding PEPE to our listing roadmap with the goal of listing later today. Thanks for your patience.

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) November 13, 2024

Interestingly, Coinbase faced criticism from the crypto community on Twitter after it published a newsletter article criticizing the meme token. In the publication, the author described an Ethereum-based meme coin as a coin “that has been co-opted as a hate symbol by alt-right groups,” citing the Anti-Defamation League for the description.

Past Criticism

The tussle came after PEPE reportedly became the fastest Ethereum token to hit $1 billion amid a rise in the popularity of meme tokens. “For a few, speculation on meme coins has led to massive profits, but that doesn’t come without risks too, sometimes meme coin frenzies even precede broad declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum Ethereum Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, Ethereum is an open source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Created in 2014, Ethereum now stands as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap at the time of writing.As a decentralized cryptocurrency network and software platform, Ethereum represents the most prominent altcoin. Ethereum also enables the creation Distributed Applications, or dapps. Understanding EthereumEthereum boasts its own programming language, Read this Term,” the article added.

Like most meme tokens, PEPE founders are anonymous. The token is described as a deflationary meme coin based on Ethereum. The meme project reportedly has three phases in its roadmap, including listing on CoinMarketCap and making the token trend on X. The project’s team also seeks to list on centralized exchanges.