Doge Pepe ($DOPE), a memecoin on Ethereum (@ethereum), has surged 50% in 24 hours to reach a market cap of about $22 million. The token's origin is unusual: it grew out of a coding error that
Doge Pepe ($DOPE), a memecoin on Ethereum (@ethereum), has surged 50% in 24 hours to reach a market cap of about $22 million. The token's origin is unusual: it grew out of a coding error that left its creator with a bill of roughly $1,900 in API fees.
According to the project's website, a script was pointed at the wrong API endpoint during a small 3D graphics experiment and kept running unattended. The site says it consumed more than 400 million API tokens, resulting in a bill of about $1,900.
The output was a low-poly Shiba Inu with the face of Pepe the Frog, a blend of two of the best-known characters in meme culture. The creator shared the image on Reddit in a post titled "I accidentally made a $1,900 meme," according to the project site. Commenters nicknamed the character "dope," which became the token's ticker.
The project site also notes that the 400 million tokens and the $1,900 figure describe the API bill from the mishap. They are not a statement about the memecoin's supply or price, so readers should not confuse the two sets of numbers.
DOPE joins a crowded field of Ethereum-based memecoins. The best known is Pepe ($PEPE), an ERC-20 token that CoinMarketCap describes as launched on Ethereum in 2023 as a tribute to the Pepe the Frog meme. Like many tokens in the category, DOPE draws its appeal from internet culture and a viral backstory rather than any stated utility.
A 50% daily gain and a $22 million valuation put DOPE well below the established names in the sector, and moves of this size in new memecoins are often volatile. Market cap figures for newly launched tokens can shift quickly and vary between data providers, so traders should check live data and the token contract before acting. Nothing here is investment advice.
The token's contract address on Ethereum is 0x73df7018cbcb919ccde48c3f12f4326688ac4446. Readers should verify it independently, as imitation tokens are common after a memecoin gains attention.
Doge Pepe project website (origin story, API bill and Reddit post details)
CoinMarketCap: Pepe (PEPE) price and background (context on Ethereum-based Pepe memecoin)
