Title: Celeb tokens that burned bright, then burned out in 2024
Author: Jesse Coghlan, CoinTelegraph
Translated by: Tong Deng, Jinse Finance
Crypto tokens themed around public figures experienced a fleeting moment in 2024, as celebrities sought to capitalize on the steady rise of cryptocurrencies with their fame.
However, the "celebrity meme coins" that briefly shone have seen their token values plummet since launch, or crashed significantly from their peaks.
Let's take a look at some of the meme celebrity tokens that fizzled out almost as soon as they were launched in 2024.
Caitlyn Jenner's JENNER
Former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner launched her eponymous JENNER token through the Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun at the end of May.
The launch was shrouded in controversy, as many believed Jenner's X account had been hacked.
Even a later-deleted video purporting to prove she hadn't been hacked was seen as a deepfake, as other celebrities, including her former stepdaughter Kim Kardashian, have faced harsh SEC crackdowns for promoting crypto tokens.
Bubblemaps reported that in the subsequent celebrity token offerings, a batch of wallets held a quarter of the token supply and sold out early, netting $500,000.
Jenner blamed Arora for the early price decline of the token, claiming he had defrauded her team. She then relaunched the token on Ethereum, where it has now essentially lost all value, down over 98.5% from its peak, according to CoinGecko.
Last November, Jenner was hit with a class-action lawsuit for promoting these tokens, accusing her and her manager Sophia Hutchins of "fraudulently soliciting financially unsophisticated investors [...] to purchase unregistered securities."
Mother Iggy
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (real name Amethyst Kelly), known for her hit single "Fancy" from a decade ago, launched the short-lived Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token in May, part of a series of controversial celebrity token launches allegedly spearheaded by Sahil.
MOTHER was launched after Azalea accused Arora of using her likeness to launch a token. According to CoinGecko data, MOTHER briefly peaked at 23 cents in early June but has since crashed around 87%, trading around 5 cents for most of the year.
MOTHER briefly broke above 20 cents after launch but has been unable to rally since. Source: CoinGecko
Not for lack of trying, though - Azalea, or someone on her team, has made posting about the token a full-time job, with countless posts on X and Telegram daily.
The retired rapper also tried to imbue the meme coin with "utility", launching an online crypto casino called Motherland that accepts the token just before Christmas, and relaunching her telecom company Unreal Mobile, which accepts MOTHER for phones and plans.
Crypto analytics firm Bubblemaps claimed there was insider activity around the MOTHER launch, with a small number of wallets buying 20% of the supply before Azalea's public announcement, then immediately dumping for $2 million in profits.
Earlier this year, lawyers warned that US-based Azalea and other American celebrities may face conflicts with the local securities regulator, which has claimed most crypto tokens are securities.
Hawk Tuah (HAWK)
Haliey Welch went viral in June for launching the controversial Hawk Tuah (HAWK) meme coin, with her catchphrase once again making the rounds.
HAWK launched in December, and Bubblemaps analysis found insider wallets had purchased the token, then dumped large amounts at launch.
Welch denied her team was involved in any insider activity, but by then HAWK had become a PR nightmare, with community comments on her X posts noting the token was essentially a zombie.
She had "copy-pasted" the token's distribution and launch timeline.
Welch and her token team - which included Alex Shultz, aka the "Hollywood Doctor", who runs a crypto consultancy for celebrities called Memetic Labs - then went live on X, only to be interviewed by YouTube investigator Stephen Findeisen (aka Coffeezilla).
The livestream was later deleted from X.
Sharks started circling the debacle, with lawyers rounding up HAWK buyers, filing a class-action lawsuit on December 20th against Shultz, OverHere, its founder Clinton So, and the Tuah the Moon Foundation behind the token.
Welch issued her first public statement since the token's December 20th launch to avoid being named in the lawsuit, saying she was assisting with the class action and urging HAWK holders to contact the lead law firm.
Other Celebrity Meme Coins
It's alleged there were more celebrity-promoted tokens this year, but these have now retreated from their peaks and been accused of large-scale insider trading.
Artist Jason Desrouleaux's eponymous Jason Derulo (JASON) token followed a similar launch pattern, with its price crashing and being accused of insider allocation.
JASON is down over 98% from its high, with Derulo's last post about the token being in September, two months after his previous one.
US rapper Cardi B (Belcalis Cephus) launched her WAP (WAP) token in October.
WAP has crashed 99.7% from its peak and been accused of allocating over half the tokens to insiders. So far, Cardi B has only posted around 5 X posts about the token.
