By Frank Martin (MoneyAmped.com)
Celebrity meme coin meta was in full swing this year, with several celebs looking to capitalize on their fame to make money. While hundreds of celeb-backed tokens were launched, only a few remain alive as of this writing.
This article takes a look at the celebrity tokens that rallied significantly and later faded away in 2024.
JENNER
Former Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner was among the first celebrities to step into the crypto world this year. She launched the JENNER token on Solana through the PumpFun launchpad in May. At the time, many thought Jenner’s account had been hacked and used to promote a scam token. However, she posted a series of videos assuring her followers that the token was the real deal.
JENNER would later record massive gains, with its market cap peaking at $7.7 million, according to data from DexScreener. However, its downfall began when Bubblemaps revealed insider trading. The chart shared on X by the firm’s analysts disclosed that insiders held 25% of JENNER’s total supply before the token went live. The holdings were dumped a few hours after the meme coin’s price began rising, with the insiders pocketing over $500,000.
Following the revelations, investors started selling their tokens, causing JENNER to lose more than 80% of its value within 24 hours. As you would expect, people accused Jenner of masterminding a rug pull. In her defense, she said crypto influencer Sahil Arora had played her. She then launched an Ethereum version of JENNER but failed to pick up momentum.
In November, the former Olympian was hit with a lawsuit over her involvement in promoting JENNER, with the complainant accusing her of obtaining money from innocent investors through the sales of unlicensed securities.
MOTHER
‘Fancy’ hitmaker Iggy Azalea launched her token dubbed MOTHER in early June. Notably, Arora had initially released a meme coin with a similar title and claimed that he had partnered with the rapper to launch the project. However, Azalea denied her involvement in Arora’s token.
MOTHER saw massive success in its early days, peaking at $230 million On June 7th. However, the token’s market cap has plummeted 87% to $29 million at press time. It is worth mentioning that Azalea has not abandoned her project, given that she has been posting about it every day on X. Furthermore, the Australian rapper recently launched an online crypto casino in an attempt to give her token ‘utility.’
Like JENNER, MOTHER was subject to insider trading, according to Bubblemaps. Before the token launch, a few wallets sniped 20% of the MOTHER supply and dumped it for over $2 million in profit.
While no lawsuits have been brought against Azalea as of this writing, some lawyers say the US Securities and Exchange Commission could level charges against the rapper for selling what the regulator terms unregistered securities.
HAWK TUAH
Haliey Welch, a young girl lady who gained fame in June after her response to a question on how to make men go crazy went vital, launched her HAWK TUAH token on December 4th. A few hours into its launch, the meme coin’s market cap had rallied to $490 million. However, it plunged 72% within 24 hours after analysts at Bubblemaps revealed that insider wallets dumped significant amounts of HAWK TUAH tokens at launch.
While Welch has denied insider trading allegations, several HAWK TUAH investors have already filed a lawsuit against her and Alex Schultz, the CEO of Memetic Labs, a company that helped Welch and other celebrities release their tokens.
Other Celebrity Coins That Have Lost Value
Alongside the three tokens mentioned above, several other celeb meme coins entered the market in 2024 and quickly lost value. For instance, RnB singer Jason Derulo, who launched the JASON token in June, has seen his project fall by 98%. Similarly, rapper Cardi B rolled out the WAP meme coin in October, and in two months, it had fallen by 99.7%.
