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‘Rare Pepe’ Steeped in Bitcoin History Fetches $500K on NFT Market OpenSea
Frog-themed digital collectible cards from the mid-2010s are getting retooled for fast sales in the white-hot NFT market.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:45 p.m. Published Aug 31, 2021, 12:37 a.m.
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The newest craze in the hot market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may be a vintage series built around the ubiquitous Pepe the Frog meme.
Known as “Rare Pepes,” the tokens were minted as digital collectible cards back in the mid-2010s by blockchain pioneers focused primarily on Bitcoin, and traded using a niche platform known as Counterparty.
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Encouraged by the increasingly eye-popping price tags for NFTs, some Rare Pepe collectors have begun using a years-old software protocol known as Emblem Vault to reconfigure the digital cards to run on the Ethereum blockchain. Then, they’re listing these “wrapped” Rare Pepes for sale on the dominant NFT marketplace OpenSea and turning smart profits.
Over the past few days, at least one Rare Pepe has changed hands for 149.99 ether , worth about $500,000 at current prices. Another copy sold for 111.1 ETH early Monday. Such price tags fall short of the million-dollar sales netted for some CryptoPunk and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, but industry executives speculate the Rare Pepes could eventually reap even richer proceeds due to their historical significance.
“One of the things we have been witnessing is that the all-time highs for these Rare Pepes are doubling or tripling over the past couple weeks, specifically due to them having access to the capital on OpenSea and more broadly on the Ethereum blockchain,” Emblem Vault co-founder Shannon Code told CoinDesk in an interview.
The digital collectible card that sold for $500,000 was minted as one of 300 in September 2016, according to OpenSea. It bears a green-fleshed likeness of Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, reported by Newsweek in 2014 to be the inventor of Bitcoin, though he denied it.
RAREPEPE NAKAMOTO Series #1, Card #1 bought for 111.1Ξ ($352626.96) #EmblemVault $COVAL https://t.co/5mrwIpX53U
— Emblem Vault Bot 🐸 🧙♂️ (@EmblemVaultBot) August 30, 2021
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
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- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Bitcoin’s weakness versus gold and equities puts quantum computing fears back in focus
Some investors have revived concerns that quantum computing could threaten bitcoin, but analysts and developers say recent price weakness reflects market structure.
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- Bitcoin’s recent price stagnation has sparked a renewed debate over quantum-computing risks, with investor Nic Carter arguing that quantum fears are already shaping market behavior.
- On-chain analysts and prominent investors counter that the slowdown is better explained by large holders taking profits and increased supply hitting the market around the $100,000 level.
- Most bitcoin developers still view quantum attacks as a distant, manageable threat, noting that proposed upgrades like BIP-360 provide a path to quantum-resistant security and are unlikely to explain short-term price moves.
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