Memecoins
30 Solana Celebrity Memecoins Launched in June; Most Are Dead
Celebrity memecoins on Solana have become commonplace this cycle, but data shows investors are seeing virtually no return on their investment.
About thirty celebrity memecoins launched on Solana (GROUND) last month, as popular figures capitalized on the speculative investment culture taking over one of the largest cryptocurrency ecosystems.
Memecoins are a play on popular culture, combining funny images and social media themes with decentralized tokenomics to issue successful cryptocurrencies. Celebrities like Andrew Tate, Caitlyn Jenner, Davido, Iggy Azalea, Jason Derulo, and 50 Cent have indulged in the celebrity meme metaphor. Public status has done little to ensure success in the web3 world.
A member of the Jupiter exchange team said that celebrity-backed meme tokens have shown an average decline 94%. Half of the coins lost 99% of their value within 30 days of launch. Tate, Jenner and Azalea tokens performed the best, with declines in the 70-80% range.
Insiders are the ones who benefit the most from memecoins
Memecoins are inherently extremely volatile, even for cryptocurrencies. The potential for their price to quadruple in a matter of hours and fall below listing levels underscores the risk associated with these tokens.
There’s another layer to the steady downward trend seen with memecoins. According to Bubblemaps, data showed that a network of insider wallets controlled huge portions of the supply. Insiders could be anyone from celebrities themselves to team members and developers working on the project. Anyone behind the scenes with prior knowledge of the launch is an insider.
Bubblemaps noted that insiders owned between 20% and 90% of celebrity memecoin reserves for the tokens launched in June. Insiders likely sold at high prices and made the most profit from these celebrity launches.
Raj Gokal, Co-Founder of Solana describe meme tokens as an intuitive way to attract retail investors to Consensus 2024. Industry veterans like Andre Cronje and Vitalik Buterin have expressed himself against meme tokens with no utility or end goal. Nevertheless, coins powered by memetic culture do not seem to be going away anytime soon.