The circumstances surrounding the mysterious $16 million withdrawal from the Pepecoin (PEPE) project’s multisig wallet have finally been revealed. According to an announcement from one of the anonymous founding members, three former team members were responsible for the theft and subsequent abandonment of the project.
On August 24, the Pepecoin community noticed a significant drop in the price of PEPE, which led to concerns of a potential rug pull. It was discovered that $16 million worth of PEPE had been withdrawn from the Pepe multisig wallet and sent to various exchanges. This withdrawal was followed by a change in the required number of signatures on the multisig from 5/8 to 2/8.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the anonymous founding member explained that the three ex-team members had stolen the funds from the multisig without their knowledge and then left the project. They further revealed that the stolen PEPE tokens were sent to exchanges for sale. The ex-team members removed themselves from the multisig, leaving the remaining member in full control.
To address the situation, the remaining member assured the community that the X account and the remaining 10 trillion PEPE tokens in the multisig are secure. They announced plans to transfer the funds to a new wallet where they will remain safe until a decision is made regarding their use or burning.
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The founding member also shared that these ex-team members had been difficult to work with since the launch of Pepecoin in April. They claimed that the former members’ behavior had hindered the project’s progress towards its goals.
Going forward, the remaining member emphasized their commitment to the PEPE community. They expressed a desire to operate in the best interest of the community and the tokens, without any negligent team members or locked multisig situations impeding their efforts.
However, the validity of these claims was met with mixed reactions from the community. Some expressed support and optimism, while others questioned the truthfulness of the statement.
Despite the controversy, the price of PEPE has seen an increase of 5.7% in the past 24 hours, reaching $0.000000895278. The current market cap of PEPE stands at $382.7 million, according to CoinGecko.
In conclusion, the recent $16 million withdrawal from the Pepecoin project’s multisig wallet was revealed to be the result of three rogue ex-team members stealing the funds and leaving the project. The remaining member assured the community of their commitment to the project’s future and the safety of the remaining PEPE tokens. The incident has sparked mixed reactions within the community, but the price of PEPE has shown resilience amidst the controversy.
