Participants become juice men? Yua Mikami's meme coin was issued in the middle of the night and the market crashed, causing public outrage: It was a trap set for Asian investors

Japanese adult film star Yua Mikami's meme coin $MIKAMI recently sparked controversy, raising over $2.5 million in pre-sales in just two days, but was criticized by Asian investors for its "unsightly" behavior due to a midnight token launch and subsequent price crash. Besides being exposed as a "money-grabbing scheme targeting Asians," experts also urged investors to rationally approach the high-risk meme coin market under a celebrity's halo. As a former SKE48 idol group member and well-known Japanese actress, Yua Mikami has a large fan base in Asia through diverse development and social media management. A few days ago, she entered the blockchain field, announcing the launch of her personal meme coin "$MIKAMI", focusing on fan interaction and exclusive real-world merchandise. $MIKAMI attracted significant attention during the pre-sale phase. According to crypto KOL @BroLeonAus's recent tweet, it raised over 17,000 SOL (approximately $2.57 million) in just two days, demonstrating Yua Mikami's strong influence in the crypto community. The controversy stemmed from the token launch timing. According to the official account @Mikami_Coin, $MIKAMI officially went online at 2:43 AM Taiwan time on May 8th, with promised airdrops to be distributed according to schedule. However, this timing meant most Asian investors were already asleep. Quickly, awake Asian investors began criticizing on X, accusing the project of deliberately avoiding peak Asian time to facilitate a dump. Some questioned whether the project had already established the contract but delayed the announcement, causing pre-sale investors to miss their opportunity. Worse, after launch, $MIKAMI's price briefly rose before crashing in less than 20 minutes. Some investors hadn't received airdrops, while others who did couldn't trade, watching helplessly as the price plummeted. @BroLeonAus revealed that pre-sale participants' cost basis was around 0.245, meaning participants would wake up to significant losses. He pointedly noted that $MIKAMI's issuance structure was inherently problematic: no fundraising cap, no fixed exchange price, and no refund guarantee, making it riskier than other pre-sale tokens. Many already knew this was a money-grabbing scheme targeting locals, with Mikami serving as a mascot who could directly take a cut. The game was negative-sum from the start. He urged investors to "separate 'investment' from 'desire satisfaction'," which is basic financial literacy.

Celebrity Tokens Expose Pitfalls, Investors Should Learn the Lesson

Looking back at the issuance of celebrity tokens, while they can quickly attract market attention, their value entirely depends on fan emotions and popularity fluctuations, often ending in a sell-off. As the $MIKAMI official website clearly states:

$MIKAMI token does not have investment value, is purely for entertainment purposes, is not a financial product, and is not open to the Japanese market.

This event once again highlights the potential risks in the meme token market, warning investors not to overlook basic cautionary principles due to a celebrity's halo, as these incidents are neither the first nor the last.