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The Wild West of cryptocurrency just witnessed another saloon brawl, this time courtesy of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and his ill-fated meme coin, HULK. Hogan allegedly rug pulled his investors, wiping out millions in a digital bodyslam.
The story goes like this: HULK tokens were riding high, with a market cap of $17 million, thanks in part to a social media blitz on Hogan’s accounts. Investors were giddy, primed for a moonshot.
Then, quicker than a leg drop off the top turnbuckle, Hogan’s posts promoting HULK vanished into thin air, taking the token’s value with them. HULK crashed faster than a folding steel chair, plummeting to a measly $11,000. Investors were left reeling, their dreams of financial bliss shattered like glass jaws in a steel cage match.
Hogan claims he never authorized the promotional posts in the first place. Was it a rogue social media manager channeling their inner “Hollywood Hogan?” A case of mistaken identity? The plot thickens faster than instant mashed potatoes.
Hulk Hogan’s social media accounts & website promoted a $HULK crypto token today, jumping on the recent celeb memecoin trend
it pumped big, millions of dollars, & then dumped
all the posts are now deleted. there’s a new post now claiming that the posts were not from him pic.twitter.com/hDuYVLgNQu
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 6, 2024
Savvy crypto enthusiasts smelled a scam from the get-go. Incriminating evidence surfaced – recycled videos from December promoting a karaoke event, and a glaring lack of endorsement on the other platforms linked to Hulk Hogan. This wasn’t a strategic body slam, it was a piledriver onto investor trust.
Hulk Hogan. Source: Marca.com
Hogan’s supposed rug pull isn’t an isolated incident; it’s the latest body blow in a string of celebrity-endorsed meme coin meltdowns. Just weeks ago, TV personality Caitlyn Jenner pulled a similar stunt with her Jenner coin, leaving fans feeling bamboozled. Boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather also entered the ring. After hyping the token “FLOYD” on social media, Mayweather abruptly deleted his promotional posts, sparking fears of another potential rug pull.
The only one seemingly immune to the takedown is Iggy Azalea, whose MOTHER coin is still being aggressively promoted to her millions of followers. But with the stench of celebrity shilling hanging heavy in the air, investors are right to be wary.
Related Reading: New York Atty. General Goes After Crypto Crooks In $1 Billion Scam Bust
Buterin Slams Shady Memecoin Projects
This whole fiasco has drawn the ire of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who’s about as impressed with these memecoins as a referee is with a chair shot. He lambasted these projects for their lack of innovation and blatant attempts to exploit fans for a quick buck.
I’m feeling quite unhappy about with “this cycle’s celebrity experimentation” so far.
“Financialization as a means toward an end”, I can respect if the end is worthy (healthcare, open source software, art, etc). Financialization *as the final product*, 🤮
Ashton and Mila’s…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) June 5, 2024
So, what’s the takeaway from this crypto cage match? If a celebrity is shilling a meme coin with promises of riches beyond your wildest dreams, approach it with the same skepticism you’d have towards a wrestler promising world peace.
Featured image from EL PAÍS, chart from TradingView
