In the fall of 2016, while Bitcoin was quietly climbing past the $730 mark and Ethereum sat at just under $9, a curious experiment was unfolding on the Bitcoin blockchain that would eventually reshape how we think about digital ownership. Rare Pepe trading cards — digital collectibles featuring the infamous cartoon frog — were being minted and traded on Counterparty, a protocol built on top of Bitcoin. Nobody called them NFTs yet, but that is exactly what they were.
TL;DR
- Rare Pepe cards launched on Counterparty (Bitcoin) in September 2016, predating the term “NFT” by years
- The first cards were mined in Bitcoin block 428,919
- 36 series of 50 cards each were released with varying rarity levels
- The project was created by an open-source group called the “Pepe Scientists”
- These are widely considered the first blockchain-based digital collectibles
From Internet Meme to Blockchain Asset
Pepe the Frog originated as a character in Matt Furie’s comic “Boy’s Club” back in 2005. Over the following decade, the character became one of the internet’s most recognizable memes. By 2015, “Rare Pepe” variations began appearing online, often stamped with watermarks reading “RARE PEPE DO NOT SAVE” to signal exclusivity. At one point, 1,200 Rare Pepe images were briefly listed on eBay for $99,000.
The leap from meme to blockchain happened in September 2016, when a group of anonymous developers and artists known as the “Pepe Scientists” began issuing Rare Pepe cards on Counterparty. Counterparty (XCP) is a protocol layered on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that enables the creation and execution of smart contracts. It allowed users to create and trade digital assets while benefiting from Bitcoin’s security and immutability.
How the Rare Pepe System Worked
The Rare Pepe project was organized into 36 series, each containing 50 unique Pepe designs with different rarity levels and supply caps. Artists from around the world were invited to submit their designs through the Pepe Directory, a curated submission portal. The Pepe Scientists evaluated each submission and decided which designs would be included in the next series drop.
Notable contributors included the artist known as @MyRarePepe, who created six cards including the famous Nakamoto Card — a Pepe-themed tribute to Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator. Another prolific artist, Mr. Hansel (@bettidlomas), designed 31 cards, while Rare Scrilla contributed 40 designs to the collection.
Trading on Bitcoin’s Infrastructure
What made the Rare Pepe project remarkable was its use of Bitcoin’s blockchain as the settlement layer. Each card was a Counterparty asset, meaning its ownership and transfer history were permanently recorded on Bitcoin. At a time when Bitcoin was trading around $732 and Ethereum hovered near $9, the idea of using blockchain for anything beyond currency was still radical.
The cards were traded on Counterparty’s decentralized exchange and later on specialized platforms like the Rare Pepe Wallet. Transactions required small amounts of Bitcoin for miner fees, making every trade verifiable on the public blockchain.
The Cultural Moment
The Rare Pepe phenomenon emerged during a politically charged moment for the Pepe character. In 2016, the meme had been co-opted by various political groups, prompting Matt Furie to collaborate with the Anti-Defamation League on a #SavePepe campaign to reclaim the character’s original playful spirit. The blockchain collectibles project became part of this broader cultural reclamation, transforming a contested meme into provably scarce digital art.
Why This Matters
The Rare Pepe cards are now recognized as the direct precursors to the NFT explosion that would follow years later. When CryptoPunks launched in June 2017 and CryptoKitties debuted that December, they built on concepts that the Rare Pepe project had already proven: that digital scarcity on a blockchain could create genuine collectible value. In 2020, Rare Pepe holders gained the ability to wrap their Bitcoin-based collectibles as ERC-721 tokens on Ethereum using Emblem Vault, connecting these earliest digital collectibles to the modern NFT ecosystem. For anyone tracing the history of digital ownership, November 2016 marks the moment internet culture and blockchain technology first converged at scale.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and historical purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice. Digital collectibles and NFTs carry significant risk, and past trends do not guarantee future results. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.