- Khamzat Chimaev introduced a memecoin called SMASH, which dropped 95% after being hyped.
- Analysis revealed that Chimaev’s team controlled over 71% of SMASH through insider wallets.
- This event reflects a broader trend of celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrencies crashing after initial hype.
It all started with a now deleted post to his followers on social platform X. UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev – who is undefeated and hasn’t had a fight in nine months – asked his followers which crypto he should invest in. Just the next day it was Chimaev who dished out advice.
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Chimaev’s motto is to “smash everyone” and any opponent facing him, and so he thought he’d name a memecoin after that: SMASH.
There is one crypto coin about me—they call it SMASH. Let’s ‘smash’ together guys—let’s go.
Khamzat Chimaev In what looks like a classic pump-and-dump, the token, which had been hyped up just a day prior, dropped by 95%.
Crypto Sleuth: Team Bought 71% of Supply
According to ZachXBT’s analysis, the team behind Chimaev had bought most of the token supply. The sleuth found out that at least 71% of SMASH can be directly linked to 24 insider wallets. And Zach mocked the seemingly botched scam:
Khamzat your team is incompetent as you directly linked the team wallets with the insider wallets buying up 78%+ of the supply.
ZachXBT The 24 addresses collectively received 86.2 SOL, valued at US$11,500 (AU$17,072), and used these funds to acquire 71.2% of the total Smash tokens supply, amounting to 712 million tokens. According to an analysis by ZachXBT, these addresses later redistributed the tokens among various smaller addresses.
Celebrity Memecoins Cause for Concern
It’s an all too familiar scenario: Celebrity hypes coin. Coin price drops. Everyone is upset.
The latest celebrity-driven cryptocurrency craze has involved memecoins linked to figures like Andrew Tate, Iggy Azalea, Lil Pump, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, among others. Some coins have been promoted by controversial figures, with Martin Shkreli identified as the creator of the Trump-related DJT token.
Despite initial price increases, several coins have significantly dropped in value, with some losing over 90% since their launch. This decline is consistent with historical patterns of pump-and-dump schemes, where tokens are hyped for quick profits, often harming less-informed investors.
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This trend has negatively affected the altcoin market and reduced the overall cryptocurrency market cap by about 15% since May.
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