This week, a wave of celebrities have jumped on the memecoin bandwagon, launching their own tokens on the Solana blockchain. Using the Pump.Fun launchpad, notable public figures like Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, and Rich the Kid have released their memecoins over the past three days.
Amid this surge, other celebrities known for previous crypto endorsements have re-entered the scene. Former NFL player Antonio Brown and rapper Soulja Boy, both with histories of promoting questionable crypto ventures, are among them.
Celebrity influence in the crypto space was highly visible during the peak of the 2021 bull market, leaving some investors wary about what this new influx of celebrity-endorsed tokens might signal for the current cycle.
Looking back at the last bull market, many recall “obvious” top signals, such as Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton flaunting their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, or Kim Kardashian promoting the scam token EthereumMax. Celebrity-backed products in the Web3 space have a notoriously mixed track record, causing skepticism within the crypto community about the recent memecoin launches. However, despite the lack of trust, some of these tokens have performed surprisingly well. Iggy Azalea’s token, MOTHER, reached a market cap of $30 million, while Caitlyn Jenner’s token, JENNER, peaked at $40 million before dropping 65% following Jenner’s decision to launch a new token on Ethereum.
Opinions are divided within the crypto community. Some see these celebrity token launches as a mix of adoption and extraction. Well-known trader Crypto Mckenna tweeted, “Celebs always looking for a way to penetrate Web3 as prices rise; this was evident w/ many purchasing and flexing NFTs peak prev cycle. Expect this to shift to launching their own tokens.”
