Is Pepe a scam?
LOW RISK · 21/100Pepe (PEPE) has an automated risk score of 21/100 — low risk. No single factor dominates Pepe's assessment — the score reflects several converging measurements. Down 88% from its all-time high — anyone who bought at the peak is far underwater. Volume at 17.1% of market cap — within normal range.
Automated assessment · updated 31 August 2026
Pepe
pepeLOW RISK$0.000003390
-1.88% (24h)
updating live price…
Risk Assessment
Risk Score
LOW RISK
Driven primarily by drawdown from all-time high (20 of 25 points). Every contributing factor is itemised below.
measured 2026-08-31 · 7 factors evaluated
Here is what the public data shows about Pepe, ordered by how strongly each factor contributes to the score:
- Drawdown From All-Time High: Down 88% from its all-time high — anyone who bought at the peak is far underwater.
- Volume Anomaly: Volume at 17.1% of market cap — within normal range.
These are automated, opinion-based indicators from public data — not financial advice or an allegation of wrongdoing. See our methodology.
Risk Factor Breakdown
Each factor is scored independently and weighted to calculate the total risk score.
Drawdown From All-Time High
Price Action
20/25
80%
How far the price sits below its peak. Deep drawdowns are common to abandoned and post-collapse tokens, but also to assets in a prolonged bear market — on its own this measures price history, not conduct.
Volume Anomaly
Trading Signals
1/20
5%
Abnormal volume-to-market-cap ratio is the primary indicator of wash trading or liquidity traps
Not contributing (5): Market Cap Risk, Supply Structure, Price Volatility, On-Chain Holder Concentration, Transparency Gaps — 0 points.
Key Metrics
Protect Yourself
- • Never invest more than you can afford to lose entirely
- • Check token concentration — if top 10 wallets hold >50%, be cautious
- • Verify the team is public and doxxed
- • Read the smart contract audit before buying
- • Be wary of unrealistic APY promises
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Community Comments
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What the contract allows
Ethereum · measured 2026-09-12
Pepe’s deployed contract grants its owner 2 privileges that can affect your position. These are properties of the code itself, not allegations about anyone’s conduct — many legitimate projects retain them deliberately.
Owner can pause all transfers
Trading and transfers can be halted, locking holders in place.
Owner can blacklist wallets
Specific addresses can be barred from transferring the token.
Checked and not present: change any wallet balance, mint new tokens, ownership can be reclaimed after renouncing, contract has a hidden owner, contract can self-destruct.
Source code: published and verified, so the deployed bytecode can be independently reviewed.
Contract analysis from GoPlus Labs · verify on-chain. An upgradeable contract can change after this reading.
How we counted holders here
Ten largest wallets
38.7%
including custodial
Largest private wallets
24.5%
after excluding 4
4 of Pepe’s ten largest holders are labelled exchange, market-maker, treasury or vesting, liquidity-pool, staking, bridge, multisig or burn addresses — supply that is custodied, pooled or destroyed rather than sitting in one person’s wallet. Separating them out moves the top-10 figure by 14.2 points. We report the private-wallet figure because that is the supply someone can actually choose to sell today.
Wallets excluded from the top 10
| Address | Classified as | Label | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x5a52…efcb | Exchange wallet | Binance · Binance 28 | 9.19% |
| 0xf977…acec | Exchange wallet | Binance 8 | 7.13% |
| 0xc671…f271 | Exchange wallet | Bithumb · Bithumb: Hot Wallet | 1.95% |
| 0x0000…dead | Burn address | Burn Addresses · Burn Address: 0x00...dEaD | 1.64% |
Classification applied to the 100 holder records returned for this contract; 85 remained after exclusions · measured 2026-08-31. Custodial wallets are identified by public address labels, so an unlabelled one may still be counted as private — this correction is a floor, not a guarantee.
Pepe holder-concentration history
15 daily measurements · -0.1 pts over the period
FraudCoins.com has measured the share of Pepe’s supply held by its top 10 non-exchange wallets on 15 days since 18 Jul 2026. The highest reading was 25% on 27 Aug 2026; the most recent reading is 24.5% on 31 Aug 2026.
Composite risk score (0–100)
Recorded measurements (15)
| Date measured | Top 10 hold | Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| 24.5% | No | |
| 24.5% | No | |
| 24.5% | No | |
| 25% | No | |
| 24.5% | No | |
| 24.4% | No | |
| 24.2% | No | |
| 24.1% | No | |
| 24% | No | |
| 23.4% | No | |
| 24.3% | No | |
| 24.2% | No |
Each row is an automated measurement taken on the date shown, using public on-chain holder data with burn and labelled exchange, staking, bridge and liquidity wallets excluded. Historical readings describe what our model measured on that date — they are not statements about the project’s conduct then or now, and are not financial advice.
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Frequently asked questions about Pepe
Is Pepe a scam?
We do not allege that Pepe (PEPE) is a scam, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone associated with it. What we can tell you is what we measured: Its ten largest private wallets hold 24.5% of supply (exchange, staking, bridge and burn addresses excluded). That places it at 21/100 on our automated scale, which we label low risk. A high score means the asset has structural characteristics that have historically preceded losses — not that fraud has occurred. These are automated, opinion-based indicators from public market and on-chain data — not statements of fact, financial advice, or allegations of wrongdoing.
Why is Pepe flagged as low risk?
Pepe's risk score is driven mainly by: drawdown from all-time high — Down 88% from its all-time high — anyone who bought at the peak is far underwater; volume anomaly — Volume at 17.1% of market cap — within normal range.
Who controls Pepe's supply?
On-chain data shows the top 10 holders of Pepe hold 24.5% of the supply (burn and labelled exchange, staking and liquidity wallets excluded). This is shown for transparency and sits below our 50% manipulation-flag threshold.
Is Pepe safe to buy?
FraudCoins.com does not give buy or sell recommendations, and no cryptocurrency is safe. Pepe scores 21/100 (low risk) on our automated risk model. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.