A market cap of about $11 million, wiped down to just over $2,000 overnight—the latest shitcoin riding a celebrity’s name has taught people another painful lesson.
A couple of days ago, a meme coin bearing a sports star’s name popped up on Solana and quickly gained traction, briefly reaching a market cap of around $11 million. Plenty of people thought the celebrity connection was real and rushed in to buy. But the truth soon came out: the star had nothing to do with it. A few accounts had simply used the name to drum up hype, then cashed out and disappeared. The market cap plunged from the tens of millions to about $2,460—a drop of roughly 99.98%. Some joked it was “the fastest rug to zero in history.”
What stings even more is that the warnings were there all along. Some people called it an unverified coin piggybacking on a famous name; others said paid accounts had pumped it to a $100K market cap before dumping. But when FOMO takes over, who has time to listen to warnings? By the time the chart turns into a cliff, there’s nothing left in your wallet but scraps.
That’s the whole playbook for celebrity-themed shitcoins: a famous name can generate hype, but it can’t protect your principal. You think you’re chasing star power, but really, you’re providing liquidity for someone else to cash out.
A couple of days ago, a meme coin bearing a sports star’s name popped up on Solana and quickly gained traction, briefly reaching a market cap of around $11 million. Plenty of people thought the celebrity connection was real and rushed in to buy. But the truth soon came out: the star had nothing to do with it. A few accounts had simply used the name to drum up hype, then cashed out and disappeared. The market cap plunged from the tens of millions to about $2,460—a drop of roughly 99.98%. Some joked it was “the fastest rug to zero in history.”
What stings even more is that the warnings were there all along. Some people called it an unverified coin piggybacking on a famous name; others said paid accounts had pumped it to a $100K market cap before dumping. But when FOMO takes over, who has time to listen to warnings? By the time the chart turns into a cliff, there’s nothing left in your wallet but scraps.
That’s the whole playbook for celebrity-themed shitcoins: a famous name can generate hype, but it can’t protect your principal. You think you’re chasing star power, but really, you’re providing liquidity for someone else to cash out.