A recent surge of celebrity-launched meme coins on Solana has ignited a debate within the crypto community about increasing crypto awareness among the general public. However, these efforts have been marred by signs of insider trading.
According to Crypto Briefing, the on-chain data tracker Bubblemaps detected "significant insider activity" surrounding the token Mother Iggy (MOTHER). An address accumulated the token before Australian rapper Iggy Azalea promoted it through her X profile, resulting in the insider pocketing a $2 million profit. A similar pattern was observed with the token JENNER, endorsed by former athlete Caitlyn Jenner, who is credited with initiating this trend of celebrity-associated tokens.
DAVIDO Coin Rug Allegation
The recent proliferation of celebrity-launched meme coins on Solana has sparked a heated debate within the crypto community regarding promoting crypto awareness among the general public. However, these initiatives have been marred by suspicions of insider trading.
Nigerian singer Davido joined the trend by launching his token, DAVIDO. However, as noted by X user Wazz, Davido held a portion of the token supply and gradually sold it whenever the price surged. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT further accused Davido of endorsing previous projects, such as RapDoge, Echoke, and Racksterli, which resulted in investor losses.
Rapper Trippie Redd also entered the fray with his token, BANDO. ZachXBT highlighted that the addresses with the largest holdings of BANDO were funded before the contract was publicly announced.
In response, a segment of the crypto community on the X platform began expressing concerns about spotlighting celebrities to create tokens for quick profits. However, prominent figures like the Solana enthusiast Ansem believe celebrity involvement in crypto is a positive development despite the evident signs of insider trading in their token ventures.
Edward Wilson, an analyst at Nansen, shared his perspective on the matter with Crypto Briefing. While he does not categorize these celebrity efforts as scams, he believes their intentions are dubious.
Edward Wilson from Nansen said that:
“Meme coins can be fun. But they can vary. For example, we have ‘blue-chip’ meme coins like DOGE, PEPE, and WIF which are forms of tokenizing culture or communities, then you have meme coins that are outright scams. While these recent low-tier efforts by celebrities who are way beyond their prime aren’t scams, their intentions are not good. Their goal is to extract as much as they can in as little time as possible. This isn’t a good thing.”
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