According to CoinDesk, the pepe memecoin [PEPE] experienced a 31% increase in value over the past 24 hours, following a 6.9 trillion ($5.5 million) token burn. The burn, which permanently removes tokens from supply, has led to the popular frog-themed memecoin trading at a two-month high. The pepe team now holds 3.79 trillion tokens ($3.72 million), which would have minimal impact if sold on the open market as 24-hour trading volume has surged to $397 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

A new team of advisors has been brought on to guide Pepe forward, with potential uses for the remaining 3.79 trillion tokens being explored. The decision to burn tokens came after a series of unexpected transfers out of the project's multisignature wallet by rogue pepe developers, effectively stealing millions of dollars worth of pepe, as alleged by a team member. The tokens burned equate to 1.6% of the memecoin's total supply.

The rise in PEPE coincided with bitcoin rallying to a 17-month high of $35,000, fueled by optimism around the potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). Bitcoin dominance is at its highest point since April 2021, with the original cryptocurrency outpacing the majority of altcoins aside from pepe.