2024 saw the birth of the "celebrity memecoin meta" with multiple public figures cashing in on their fame to launch memecoins, though many quickly fizzled out not long after launch.
The self-proclaimed hacker behind Sydney Sweeney’s X account also claims they were behind similar recent hacks on 50 Cent and Hulk Hogan.
The celebrity memecoin mania has added a new player with the recently launched Daddy Tate (DADDY). The token, promoted by the controversial figure Andrew Tate, has gained traction, surpassing Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER. However, Tate is now accused of some concerning activity for crypto investors. Related Reading: Dogwifhat To Tumble? Analyst Sets $1 Target For WIF Andrew Tate Endorses DADDY On June 11, former pro kickboxer and controversial online figure Andrew Tate started promoting a new memecoin. The DADDY token was marketed as the direct competition to Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER, the most successful celebrity launch. Before he endorsed DADDY, Tate stated he held zero tokens but was aware there were hundreds of memecoins related to his likeness. Days later, he invited popular crypto trader Ansem to fight him in a boxing match, claiming this was “his cycle.” He also suggested that the loser donates $10 million to a token of the winner’s choosing. Tate’s approach received mixed reactions from the members of the crypto community. Content creator Jakey jokingly claimed that Crypto Twitter was the new YouTube. Another user stated, “Every day we get further away from god.” On Tuesday, Tate promoted the Daddy Tate memecoin, which was also received with mixed feelings and some criticism. The promotional posts targeted Azalea’s MOTHER while making sexist “jokes” and using domestic violence as a punchline. I heard about a coin called mother so now I’m supporting a coin called $DADDY to flip it for the patriarchy. We’re bringing the Gs back make me a fucking sandwich females. Tate’s Memecoin Called Out For Insider Trading On Wednesday, crypto analytics firm Bubblemaps accused the token of having “huge insider activity.” According to the firm, they found suspicious activity before Tate started promoting DADDY. Bubblemaps revealed that insiders allegedly bought 30% of the token’s supply at launch. On June 9, Daddy Tate’s team sent 40% of the total supply to the former kickboxer, which he promised not to sell. Additionally, he bought $10,000 worth of DADDY and burned it. Despite this, the token seems to “have a catch.” Per the report, 11 wallets are holding 20% of the supply. These wallets were founded through Binance with “nearly identical amounts at the same time.” Moreover, they bought the tokens, worth around $30 million, on June 9, before the team started to promote the token on X. The firm claims that the timing and amounts “strongly suggest” the wallets belong to the same group. Similarly, two other clusters hold an additional 10% of the supply and seem to be linked through a third wallet. Bubblemaps urged investors to remain cautious as the insiders “seem to be active on $DADDY and are trying to cover their tracks.” The firm warned that “one of these wallets could nuke the liquidity pool.” DADDY Surpasses MOTHER After Tate’s post about DADDY, the crypto community called him out for his posts. Some users suggested he returned when the token was a MOTHER’s level. At the time, Daddy Tate had a $45 million market capitalization and was trading at $0.1499. Nonetheless, DADDY gained traction on Wednesday, surging to $0.36. In 24 hours, the token increased by 143% to a new all-time high (ATH) and reached a $280 million market capitalization. This performance saw the memecoin surpass MOTHER despite the controversial promotion and insider activity allegations. Since then, the token has retraced to the $0.24 price level, a 32% decline in the last 12 hours. DADDY had a market cap of $240 million at the time of writing. Meanwhile, MOTHER saw a 46% surge on Wednesday, which propelled the price from $0.15 to $0.22. In the following hours, the memecoin’s price declined 36% to the $0.14 range before recovering. Related Reading: FET, OCEAN, And AGIX Drop 8% After ASI Token Merger Delay As of this writing, Azalea’s token is trading for $0.17 and has a market capitalization of $169 million. Despite retracing nearly 40% since its June 5 all-time high, MOTHER still exhibits a 1,900% increase from its launch two weeks ago. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Bubblemaps’ analysis claims a handful of wallets purchased 30% of the supply of the memecoin DADDY before Andrew Tate promoted it online.
"You are either building capitalism or planned socialism," said Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, pointing the finger at Vitalik Buterin, Hayden Adams, and the wider Ethereum community.
Celebrity memecoins have been the talk of the town for the past two weeks. A trend that resurged at the end of May quickly became one of the biggest narratives around the crypto community. Related Reading: GMX Soars 20% Amid Crypto Whale Frenzy, Is It Back In ‘Turbo Mode’? The industry has seen controversies, rug pulls, and Vitalik Buterin’s thoughts on the celebrity token frenzy. In the phenomenon’s most recent development, WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan beefed with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. Celebrity Memecoins A Week Later Despite the trend starting around May 20 with influencer tokens, celebrity tokens didn’t gain mainstream traction until reality TV star and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner launched her JENNER memecoin. Alongside Jenner, rapper Rich the Kid joined the crypto community with RICH. However, both tokens were surrounded by controversy after it was revealed that alleged serial scammer Sahil Arora was involved in the launch. Several other artists and personalities joined the crypto space to launch their memecoins, including Lil Pump, Davido, Trippie Red, and MoneyBagg Yo. Some of these launches appear to be linked to Arora’s scams. A week later, most celebrity memecoins saw a significant price decline or ended up as a rug pull scam. JENNER, which kickstarted the celebrity mania, is currently 81% down from its all-time high (ATH) registered on May 27. The Olympian’s token, described as “the goddess of Solana,” went from trading around $0.04273 to $0.009072. This significant decrease has also cut its market capitalization from its $30 million peak to $7.5 million. Hulk Hogan Wrestles MOTHER And Dumps His Fans On Thursday, former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan took X to announce the launch of his Hulkmania (HULK) token. The memecoin skyrocketed 500% within two hours and quickly reached a market cap of $17 million. The launch turned sour when investors found Hogan had sold his HULK bag and deleted his posts mentioning the token. In minutes, the token’s market cap plummeted to $2 million. During the hours that Hogan’s X account promoted the token, the retired wrestler seemingly targeted Azalea and MOTHER. In an X post, Hogan replied to Azalea, saying, “You suck at pumping. $HULK has the real milk.” Additionally, he shared two now-deleted Instagram posts beefing with the Australian rapper. In one of them, Hogan Azalea’s profile picture and captioned it, “Sahil does it best.” Before deleting all his HULK-related posts, Hogan shared an Instagram story claiming that he had been hacked. According to the post, none of the publications came from him and soon would be removed. Later, his X account was wiped completely, and Instagram comments were limited. The crypto community grew concerned as the mention of Arora’s name suggested his involvement in the scam. However, it remains unclear whether Hogan’s website, Instagram, and X account were all hacked or if the retired wrestler’s team was involved. Vitalik Buterin Vs Koala Vitalik? Earlier this week, Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, criticized the ongoing celebrity token phenomenon. On X, Buterin stated he is “quite unhappy” with the crypto space’s celebrity experimentation. Buterin explained his concern regarding the launch of tokens with no purpose other than being a get-rich-quick scheme. Additionally, he suggested some features that celebrity memecoins should have for him “to be more willing to respect it.” The list included a “public-good goal that it’s serving.” To his criticism, Azalea responded by claiming that Buterin “was just hangry.” Moreover, she seemingly named a Koala after Ethereum’s founder. The rapper uploaded a video announcing the donations saved another Koala. Its name? Koala Vitalik. Azalea launched a “MOTHER fund” to help save Koalas infected with chlamydia. For the past week, the rapper has received donations in memecoins and several cryptocurrencies for the Koala cause. Related Reading: Get Ready For Altcoin Explosion: Anlayst Reveals Key Months For Massive Gains Additionally, Azalea is giving her token utility. The rapper launched a Mother merchandise store that accepts MOTHER as payment. Ultimately, the token continued to soar after reaching new ATHs and recently breaking above the $200 million market cap. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Buterin responded to a post about Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy token potentially leading the celebrity crypto trend toward sustainable value creation.