From PFP NFTs to Solana memecoins, mainstream celebrities have waded into the web3 ecosystem underneath community-centric chants and short-lived hype.
Memecoins could have onboarded a brand new lifeline as celeb tokens have debuted on Solana (SOL) this previous week, including a brand new buzz layer to the memetic tradition gripping crypto.
Caitlyn Jenner not too long ago shipped a coin dubbed JENNER launched through SOL-based memecoin portal pump.enjoyable. Shortly after buying and selling opened, builders dumped on customers and tanked the token’s worth, drawing scrutiny on Jenner for allegedly orchestrating a rug pull.
Reviews later revealed {that a} infamous scammer referred to as Sahil was behind the incident. Sahil supposedly preyed on Jenner’s ignorance concerning the web3 area and used his function as a intermediary to revenue from the celeb’s memecoin.
Enter Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER memecoin
Lower than 48 hours later, Aussie rapper and OnlyFans mannequin Iggy Azalea launched a token underneath the ticker MOTHER. Per DEX Screener, Azalea’s celeb crypto surged over 30,000% and peaked at a $30 million market cap.
The person Sahil additionally launched an IGGY coin to siphon Azalea’s hype, making off with hundreds of thousands in one more pump-and-dump providing.
Azalea distanced herself from Sahil’s IGGY, becoming a member of X Areas to advertise her coin, share her admittedly rudimentary information of web3, and espouse curiosity within the decentralized meme ecosystem. “This can be a gamble, it is a sport. That’s why it’s enjoyable. Play the sport or don’t play it. That’s your choice”, Azalea mentioned throughout an internet discourse.
![Iggy Azalea memecoin](https://crypto.news/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot-467-1024x463.png)
Good for the trade or highlighting crypto’s playing underbelly?
Some could say the pattern is paying homage to the NFT growth in 2020/2021 when 10,000-piece digital collectibles dominated the crypto airwaves. Merchants spent hundreds, typically hundreds of thousands, in Ether (ETH) and different cryptocurrencies to personal so-called crypto artwork born of contentious illustrations and blockchain algorithms.
Regardless of $64.6 billion in all-time gross sales, the highs and hype from blue-chip collections like Yuga Labs’ Bored Apes Yacht Membership and Crypto Punks have since dwindled. Skeptics argue that the NFT period was a flash within the pan and used the sector’s decline as a lightning rod to throw aspersions on the broader crypto trade.
Equally, memecoins have drawn the ire of specialists and trade observers. Per crypto.information, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) CTO Eddy Lazzarin scrutinized the memecoin area and in contrast the meme ecosystem to a dangerous on line casino.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko urged builders and customers to dedicate sources to extra lasting endeavors, as rip-off and hyper-volatile meme tasks raised lots of of hundreds of thousands in hours. Additionally, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin slammed racist meme protocols and referred to as for group development past playing to assist higher tasks.
Total, professional consensus suggests doubts round memecoins however these tasks proceed to launch each. Binance reported that just about 500,000 memecoins had been launched since April 1. Meme tokens various from political satires like BODEN to animal-inspired tasks like CATWIFBAG, turning speculative merchants into in a single day millionaires and typically financially wrecking contributors.