I just realized that the history of Pepe images is actually much deeper than most people think. It’s not just a sad face on the internet — it’s a real cultural phenomenon.

The story begins in 2005 when Matt Furie, an American artist, created the character Pepe in his comic Boy's Club. At first, it was just an ordinary frog, but there was a very special scene — Pepe says "Feels good, man" while... you know. That was the very moment the first meme was born.

But the real explosion happened in 2008 when Pepe images appeared on 4chan. The community there started creating wildly — they redraw expressions, change the sayings, create Sad Pepe, Smug Pepe, Feels Bad Man, and hundreds of other variations. Pepe became a common language to express all emotions — sadness, loneliness, anger, even happiness.

What’s interesting is that from 2015 to 2016, Pepe images began to be used in political campaigns, especially by right-wing groups in the U.S. This caused major controversy — some organizations even considered certain versions of Pepe as hate symbols. But Matt Furie, the original creator, opposed this usage.

And here’s the best part — on 4chan, "Rare Pepe" started to appear. These are unique, one-of-a-kind versions of the meme, even sold as collectible art. As the crypto community grew, Pepe became an inspiration for NFTs and tokens. There are projects based on Counterparty that created crypto versions of Pepe.

I find this fascinating because it shows that memes are not just jokes — they can become a real cultural movement. Why not create your own Pepe version for your community? Maybe "Pepe Zát" with a philosophical take on blockchain, or a rare Pepe unique to your group. The opportunities are limitless.