Mikol, the deployer of the Solana blockchain’s Meme coin, has engaged in an extreme act of publicity. In order to promote his newly issued Meme coin DARE, he set himself on fire during a live broadcast, resulting in third-degree burns on 30% of his body. After five months of rehabilitation, Mikol announced that he has withdrawn from the controversial project.
Extreme propaganda triggers market volatility
Before the incident, Mikol promoted the market performance of DARE coin through a series of live-streaming challenges. However, after six consecutive days of stupid challenges, he chose to do an extreme act: pouring highly flammable isopropyl alcohol all over his body and letting his friends light fireworks, causing his whole body to be engulfed in flames. This act quickly ignited on social media, causing the market value of DARE coin to soar 4,500% to $1.82 million in just 10 hours.
However, as Mikol was sent to the hospital for long-term treatment, he could no longer manage the project immediately, and the value of the currency fell sharply. Finally, when he recovered and was ready to return to the project, the value of the currency experienced another short-term rise, with the market value reaching a maximum of US$2.91 million, but it failed to maintain long-term and gradually slipped to a market value of US$26,000. Mikol said:
The biggest regret is seeing $200,000 in my wallet but not cashing it out.
Reasons behind the decision to withdraw
In an interview with Decrypt, Mikol said that this experience made him feel sad, and his biggest regret was that he did not cash out in time when the currency value was at its peak. Although the incident brought him a brief fame, it did not translate into actual financial returns in the end. In addition to $3,000 donated by the community to pay for medical expenses, he received almost nothing.
Since the fire incident, only two team members have remained in contact with the injured developer; Mikol said that the others "took the money and left." One of the unidentified members who came up with the idea of Mikol self-immolating was once his close friend and did not apologize for the bold act after the incident. "I learned a lesson from it. It made me less trusting of others and pay more attention to the details of every little thing." Mikol said:
“In this world, everyone is after money; everything else comes second.”
Mikol publicly announced on Twitter that he would no longer be a developer on the DARE project. He said: "I am no longer a developer on DARE, I am just a normal person who wants to get out of trouble like you. I just want to be happy and successful." He emphasized that this experience made him more cautious and wary of everyone in the cryptocurrency circle. He also added:
“I just want to be in tune with God and be a positive person who can put a smile on people’s faces with my outgoing personality.”
Extreme Trends in the Meme Coin Market
Mikol's self-immolation is not an isolated case of extreme events, but part of the extreme live broadcast culture in the Meme coin market. As the market demand for such coins increases, many developers begin to take more extreme measures to attract attention, such as live broadcasting pornography, drug use, fake death and other absurd behaviors to drive up the value of the coin. Although these behaviors attract short-term market attention, they often end in disastrous consequences.
Readers are reminded that such extreme behaviors (such as self-immolation, drug abuse, etc.) pose a serious threat to human health and may cause irreversible organ damage or multi-system failure, or even endanger life. Such behaviors are undesirable and violate the bottom line of public safety.
Such incidents reveal the deep-seated problems behind the Meme coin market: developers and investors pursue short-term profits and ignore the sustainable development and long-term value of the project.
Subsequent plans and reflections
Despite this major setback, Mikol remains hopeful for the future. He plans to turn to personal branding, hoping to interact with fans on social media in a more genuine and positive way, rather than engaging in dangerous and extreme behavior. He believes that the DARE project may still be revived in the future, but he no longer plans to personally participate in it.
This incident serves as a warning to the MEME market of cryptocurrency: short-term crazy operations may attract huge attention, but lasting value still requires sound project management and rational market behavior, otherwise it will become a PVP game for players in the attention economy.