- Five wallets bought 611 billion PEPE tokens.
- Raised security concerns in crypto market.
- Potential hacker involvement flagged by analysts.
Lede: PEPE tokens experienced a massive purchase on April 16, 2025, as five Ethereum wallets, potentially linked to hackers, acquired $4.28 million worth of PEPE within eight hours, raising security concerns.
Nut Graph: The event highlights potential risks in cryptocurrency security and demonstrates the vulnerability of token markets to large, suspicious purchases, creating instability and speculation in the market.
Suspicious Wallet Activity
A notable order by five Ethereum wallets has drawn attention as they spent $4.28 million to amass 611 billion PEPE tokens. The wallets reportedly withdrew funds from Tornado Cash, a service linked to obfuscating hacked funds. Lookonchain, an on-chain analytics provider, observed:
5 wallets spent $4.28M to buy 611B $PEPE in the past 8 hours. All 5 wallets withdrew $ETH from #Tornado ~15 days ago—possibly linked to a hacker.
Experts, including Lookonchain, have noted these purchases may involve illicit funds, given the origin traced to Tornado Cash. Despite the surge, PEPE leadership has not commented on the matter, keeping investors on edge.
Market Implications
The move has injected liquidity into PEPE, resulting in a short-term price spike and increased trading volume. However, the potential dump of accumulated tokens by these wallets fuels volatility concerns.
According to analysts, the incident reflects past hacker behavior of channeling stolen ETH into meme coins, impacting other tokens like DOGE and SHIB. Bitcoin market trends from recent data show similar speculative patterns.
Such incidents prompt caution among traders and investors, emphasizing the need for vigilant monitoring of transactions and investigating potential security loopholes. Observing market trends aids in understanding the financial and regulatory repercussions of large, suspicious trades.