In a recent report, crypto investigator ZachXBT uncovered that nearly 12 Solana presale meme coins have been “completely abandoned” within the past month, collectively raising 180,650 SOL, equivalent to approximately $26.7 million.
Despite the major fundraising, many of these meme coin projects have experienced sharp declines in value post-launch, with one project failing to launch a token.
Solana Meme Coin Projects Experience Significant Declines After Controversial Presales
I was interested to see how much SOL has been sent as a result of the presale meta and calculated >655,000 SOL ($122.5M) raised from 27 presales. pic.twitter.com/dvsW4TSoov
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 19, 2024
According to a post dated March 19, ZachXBT shared insights on 27 meme coin presales on Solana since March 12. The total funds raised during these presales were estimated to be 655,000 SOL, equivalent to $122.5 million then.
Only 1 month has passed and 12 of the Solana presale meme coins have been completely abandoned after raising >180,650 SOL ($26.7M).
Would avoid any future projects launched by these founders. https://t.co/J0zFldRIa6 pic.twitter.com/K610MAEPMn
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 21, 2024
However, in an X post dated April 21, ZachXBT highlighted 12 Solana meme coin projects that utilized the controversial presale method, with many experiencing large declines in value since their launch. Notably, one project appears to have not launched any token at all.
The most costly of these abandoned presale projects was a meme coin named “I like this coin,” with the ticker LIKE. Its pseudonymous founder, pokeee.eth, raised 52,220 SOL tokens (equivalent to $7.7 million at current prices) for the meme coin, launching it on March 17 with a market capitalization of $577 million.
However, LIKE’s value plummeted rapidly, dropping over 90% in the first eight hours since launch. As of the latest update, LIKE has seen a 99.2% decrease from its initial price, and activity from its official X account and its founder, pokeee.eth, has ceased since March 31.
The second-largest abandoned presale reportedly belongs to a Solana meme coin with the ticker MOONKE. Launched by the X user @RockyXBT on March 20, it raised 37,470 SOL for the MOONKE token, with an initial market cap of nearly $500 million, which similarly plummeted by nearly 100%.
Another notable instance is the FROG token by X user @Pepecasso1, which was abandoned after raising 29,761 SOL tokens. Additionally, X user @Jared_eth, who raised 4,567 SOL tokens, failed to launch a token.
Blockaid Study Reveals Concerning Trends in Solana Presale Tokens
A recent study by cybersecurity firm Blockaid unveiled findings regarding presale tokens launched on the Solana blockchain between November 2023 and February 2024. According to the study, 50% of these presale tokens were identified as malicious.
Ido Ben-Natan, the co-founder of Blockaid, pointed out that this surge in scammer activity coincides with the rise in the adoption of presale tokens during February and March, driven by the popularity of legitimate meme coins. Ben-Natan emphasized how scammers exploit users’ fear of missing out (FOMO) during heightened interest in these tokens.
The study specifically highlighted individuals like Jared_eth and Bluekirbyftm, also mentioned by ZachXBT in a recent post, as being involved in scam activities.
One notable incident involving a Solana presale token occurred in March, where the developer of a meme coin named Slerf claimed to have mistakenly burned the entire presale allocation due to a “fat finger” burn error.
Recent weeks have witnessed a decline in market enthusiasm for meme coins, with several Solana-based tokens, including dogwifhat (WIF), experiencing declines of over 40%. This downturn in market sentiment may reflect growing caution among investors following the proliferation of scam tokens and fraudulent activities within the ecosystem.
Similarly, another popular meme coin on Solana, BOOK OF MEME (BOME), fell by 2.3% over the same period. However, leading Solana-based meme coins like BONK and MEW have witnessed substantial surges over the past week, with BONK growing by over 33% and MEW surging by more than 15% in the last 7 days.