Hack history / 2023 / Hack or exploit
PEPE
Hack or exploit on Aug 26, 2023 · Admin Drain
SOURCES AGREE ON DATE AND LOSS · 3 SOURCES
Lost
$15.1M
sources: $15.1M to $16.9M
Returned
none listed
as the sources state it
Rank
#236
among thefts by dollars lost
What happened
PEPE team insiders including developer Zachary Testa gained control of the multisig by reducing its signature requirement from five-of-eight to two-of-eight, then transferred ~16 trillion PEPE tokens (~$16.9M gross, ~$15M net after slippage) to CEXs. Insiders subsequently deleted themselves as signers and removed social media accounts.
Details
- Date
- Aug 26, 2023
- Kind
- Hack or exploit
- Method
- Admin Drain
- How in
- Insiders: rug pulls, frauds, collapses
- Target
- Token
- Chains
- Ethereum
Related incidents
PEPE 2025 · Hack or exploit · undisclosed
PEPE 2023 · Hack or exploit · undisclosed
Kokomo Finance 2023 · Rug pull · $4M
Kannagi 2023 · Rug pull · $2.1M
MERLIN DEX 2023 · Rug pull · $1.8M
PEPE 2023 · Hack or exploit · undisclosed
Kokomo Finance 2023 · Rug pull · $4M
Kannagi 2023 · Rug pull · $2.1M
MERLIN DEX 2023 · Rug pull · $1.8M
Cite this page
SwanBluechip, "PEPE hack, Aug 26, 2023: $15.1M lost", Crypto hack history, https://swan-hack-tracker.pages.dev/history/i/ht14ffcbba40/ (data as of 2026-10-31).