Solana

All In

Elon Musk

The crypto community has started to warn of “peak degeneracy,” with memecoin founders raking in millions worth of Solana’s SOL (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/solana-price-index">SOL</a>) through token presales in the last 72 hours alone.
At the time of publication, crypto traders have sent around $100 million worth of SOL in an attempt to buy into new Solana memecoins in the last 72 hours, per aggregated data viewed by Cointelegraph and <a href="https://twitter.com/0xGumshoe/status/1769407082908832193" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">cited</a> by crypto researcher 0xGumshoe.
These tokens have been raising money for unreleased coins by way of a controversial presale model, most notably including Book of Meme (BOME), Nap (NAP), Nostalgia (NOS) and many others. 
“This is legit peak degeneracy. Aping $180k and $90k into memecoins,” wrote pseudonymous crypto investor Nick in a March 18 <a href="https://twitter.com/NCashOfficial" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">post</a> to X — attached to a screenshot of outsized buys on an undisclosed memecoin. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/6a557652-794c-4358-85ae-7e2f535bb73f.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Buyers are throwing serious capital at memecoins on Solana. Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/NCashOfficial" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">@NCashOfficial on X</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The memecoin presale mania was kicked into gear when a memecoin called Book of Meme launched using the controversial crowdfunding model.
Launched on March 14 by pseudonymous artist Darkfarms1 at an initial value of around $4 million, BOME rallied more than 36,000% to reach a peak market capitalization of $1.45 billion in less than 56 hours. 
One early investor, Sundayfunday.sol — a personal friend of BOME’s creator — turned an initial investment of 420.69 SOL — worth $72,000 at the time — into a staggering $32 million in less than three days, according to a March 17 post from blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/c4d6ca5d-2505-4ae7-a505-0c95a9a8ed2b.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 One investor turned $72,000 into $32 million on BOME. Source: @lookonchain on X
 </figcaption>
</figure>
A “pre-sale” involves crypto investors sending a cryptocurrency to a wallet address and then receiving a weighted distribution of tokens in return when the token goes live. 
There is no guarantee that an investor will receive tokens in exchange for the cryptocurrency sent to a presale wallet address, making presales an extremely popular model for frauds and scammers to steal money from unwitting investors. 
Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano lashed out at the presale model, saying anyone who sent their money to a random wallet address in the expectation of receiving a token was “dumb as hell.” 
“2 years later and everyone is right back to bidding ponzis. People can do what they want with their money but sending money to a ‘memecoin presale’ that has a 99.9% chance of rugging is actually just dumb as hell.”
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/d38ff9de-8ea4-4f25-a919-7c6ba7c770d0.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Sassano called out investors sending money to presales. Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/sassal0x/status/1769569241110622564" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">@sassal0x on X</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Meanwhile, the memecoin mania has gone well beyond the niche realm of crypto X. 
Entrepreneur David Sacks, well-known for his role as the All In podcast co-host, saw the drama around his memecoin escalate, allowing one lucky user to reportedly profit roughly $39,000 from the situation.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-03/3cdadf10-05a4-468e-9aa7-2808d69f2680.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 David Sacks did his part to help fuel the memecoin insanity. Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/DefiRabbitHole/status/1769436428835189059" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">@DavidSacks on X</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Pseudonymous X user DeFiRabbitHole said when Sacks first began posting about his memecoin on X, they expected another All In memecoin to also appreciate. 
So, when Elon Musk tweeted, “Ok fine, I will buy ur coin,” to fellow All In podcast host Jason Calacanis, the affiliated JASON coin skyrocketed, turning their initial investment from 1 SOL into 200 SOL. 
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/pink-drainer-security-researcher-steals-millions-from-participants/">Inside Pink Drainer — Security analyst defends his crypto scam franchise</a>

Memecoin presales hit ‘peak degeneracy’ with over $100M raised in 3 days

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Mar 18, 2024

Big Eyes Coin Scam – 2024 Update

WIF Price Surges Following Elon Musk’s St. Patrick’s Day Post

SEC hit with sanctions for its ‘gross abuse of power’ in Debt Box case

Monitok Unveils Points Program To Promote Self-Custody Between Crypto Users.

Top FTX claim holder Attestor sues seller amid Bitcoin rally

$XRP Long-Awaited Rally Delayed as Price Pumps 20%, Then Dumps; This Memecoin Poised for 100X

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!