Memecoins featuring poorly drawn caricatures of celebrities and politicians. These tokens launched on the Solana blockchain, are captivating a niche group of investors seeking potentially explosive returns despite inherent risks and a lack of underlying utility.
Memecoin speculators are gravitating to a new trend in degen tomfoolery: Solana-based currencies based on “poorly drawn” celebrities and political figures.
Newly listed memecoins like “Jeo Boden” and “Danold Tromp”—with purposefully janky imagery to match—have earned 174,900% and 59,900%, respectively, since their launches.
One trader even claims to have generated significant gains on these tokens despite the fact that the coins have no public founder, no roadmap, and no use.
In a March 6 X post, a pseudonymous crypto investor named “Barkery” claims to have transformed an initial investment of only $260 into $42,000 in two days by purchasing 11.73 million tokens of “Jeo Boden” with the ticker “BODEN” – themed after a crudely drawn version of US President Joe Biden.
In a follow-up X post on March 7, Barkery informed their 17,000 followers that their BODEN holdings were now worth $423,000 — a 165,285% increase — but that they had sold approximately 3 million of the tokens at the time.
The Jeo Boden coin began on March 4 with a market valuation of $20,000, but it has now increased to $35 million at the time of publication, representing a 174,900% growth in just three days, according to Birdeye.
The memecoin appears to have been inspired by the “Spooderman” meme format, which gained popularity in 2012.
Other similar-themed tokens have been produced, with many depicting important personalities, such as former US President Barack Obama as “Berik Obema,” MicroStrategy chief Michael Saylor as “Michael Seylor,” and Andrew Tate as “Androo Tete.”
Few other similar memecoins have performed as well as BODEN, but others have made decent increases.
Danold Tromp (DANOLD), a memecoin, rose from a market valuation of roughly $15,000 when it started on March 6 to a high of $15 million on March 7. Its price has now plummeted, dropping more than 88% from its all-time high, according to Birdeye.
While more serious investors regard memecoins as a fundamentally “stupid” investment, crypto natives see them as a potential source of outsized returns, as long as prospective investors are willing to take the risk of losing their principal.
Financial advisors recommend approaching memecoins with extreme caution. Only invest what you can afford to lose, and thoroughly research the project before committing any funds. Remember, the allure of massive gains often overshadows the high probability of significant losses.
