I wonder how a simple meme from a comic strip turned into a cultural phenomenon that still sparks debates and inspires entire communities. Of course, I’m talking about Pepe.

It all started in 2005 when artist Matt Furie drew this frog in his comic Boy's Club. The first meme was completely accidental — when Pepe was taking a leak with his pants down and saying "Feels good, man." It sounds a bit strange, but that scene became the starting point for everything else.

What happened next on 4chan is already history. Users began remixing his facial expressions, changing phrases, creating new versions. Sad Pepe, Smug Pepe, Feels Bad Man — the variations kept growing. The meme became a universal language for expressing emotions online. Sadness, loneliness, anger, even happiness — everything could be expressed through Pepe.

But then something happened that changed how people perceived him. In 2015–2016, some political movements in the U.S. appropriated this meme for their own purposes, including Trump support campaigns. The Anti-Defamation League even listed certain versions of Pepe among hate symbols. The artist disapproved, but the damage was done — the meme had become a tool in political battles.

However, the crypto community decided to restore Pepe’s original meaning. "Rare Pepe" emerged on 4chan — unique, rare versions of the meme that people collected as collectibles. Then the era of blockchain arrived, and Pepe naturally transitioned into NFTs and crypto projects. Tokens and digital assets inspired by this legendary meme appeared on platforms like Counterparty and others.

In the end, Pepe is not just a sad face in a picture. It’s a story about how internet culture lives, evolves, and is reinterpreted. From a comic to a meme, from a meme to a political symbol, and then to crypto assets. Each stage added new layers of meaning. And who knows what new incarnations of this meme will appear next.