PEIPEI launched on Ethereum in 2024 as one of the most successful Pepe-derivatives of the cycle. Where the original PEPE coin used Matt Furie’s familiar frog, PEIPEI used a different cartoon style: a fatter, simpler, more cheerfully grotesque version of the frog. The name was a deliberate play on the original — close enough to ride the wave, different enough to be its own thing.
By mid-2024, PEIPEI had reached a market cap exceeding $100 million. The community built around the idea that PEIPEI was the “true” successor to PEPE — that the original had become too associated with serious traders, while PEIPEI was for people who still wanted the frog meme to feel weird and unhinged. The token positioned itself as the more degenerate alternative.
PEIPEI captured a recurring dynamic in memecoin culture. Every successful original spawned variants that competed for the same audience. Doge spawned Shiba, then Floki, then Baby Doge, then dozens more. PEPE spawned PEIPEI, HOPPY, LANDWOLF, and countless others. The memecoin economy worked the same way meme culture worked: through endless remix and competition for attention.
PEIPEI also demonstrated the power of slight differentiation. By being not-quite-PEPE, it captured holders who wanted exposure to the frog category without owning the most expensive frog. It was the budget version of a known winner. In a market where the original was already too big, the second-tier alternative could deliver bigger percentage returns to its holders. PEIPEI made that bet and won.
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