Australian Gamer Allegedly Behind Major Meme Coin Scandals

Former Biance CEO Changpeng Zhao is also not very happy with what is happening in the meme coin industry. He criticized the hype around meme coins, and advocated for blockchain projects with real utility. Despite the risks associated with meme coins, a Solana meme coin trader turned a $160 investment into millions. Dogecoin also recently surpassed Porsche’s market cap. DOGE’s momentum was driven by Elon Musk's endorsements and a new Dogecoin-based ETP. 

Cybersecurity Expert Turned Scammer Exposed

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT accused a former professional Fortnite player from Australia, who is known as ‘Serpent,’ of orchestrating multiple meme coin scams that allegedly stole more than $3.5 million. In a detailed thread that was published on Nov. 27, ZachXBT tied Serpent to a number of Pump.fun meme coin scams that relied on compromised social media accounts to target victims. 

Serpent was previously expelled from the esports organization “Overtime” in 2020 for alleged cheating. He was also recognized as a blockchain security analyst and the founder of a threat mitigation system called Sentinel.

ZachXBT revealed that wallet addresses linked to Serpent’s project “ERROR” were directly connected to hacked accounts belonging to high-profile entities, including McDonald’s, Usher, Andy Ayrey, Dean Norris, and Enoshima Aquarium. The investigator also revealed that proceeds from these scams were gambled away in online casinos, and provided evidence of a deposit and withdrawal address linked to the compromised accounts. ZachXBT then shared that Serpent started deleting posts from his new X account after the release of the initial findings on Nov. 26.

Serpent attracted a lot of attention in the crypto community in 2022 by sharing cybersecurity tips on avoiding phishing and scam schemes targeting crypto users. He warned about vulnerabilities in Google ads and other fraudulent methods, which gave him credibility as a security expert. 

However, this latest investigation paints a starkly different picture, and suggests that Serpent exploited his knowledge to his own advantage. 

Former Binance CEO Criticizes Meme Coin Hype

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao recently called on the crypto community to shift focus from meme coins to building meaningful blockchain applications. On Nov. 26, Zhao shared his dissatisfaction with the current state of the meme coin ecosystem, and even described it as “weird” compared to its humorous beginnings. Since stepping down as Binance’s CEO in November of 2023, Zhao decided to redirect his efforts toward supporting grassroots Web3 development and education.

Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), which became very popular in 2021 because of hype from people like Elon Musk and the crypto community, have struggled to maintain their appeal. While some of Zhao’s followers backed his call for a focus on building decentralized applications with real utility, others criticized Binance for listing meme coins that lack clear use cases. 

Binance Futures, which is the exchange’s derivatives platform, still caters to public demand by listing meme coin trading pairs. However, recent additions like Why (WHY) and Cheems (CHEEMS) saw their prices plummet in just a day of listing. Naturally, this attracted a lot of criticism from seasoned investors who partially blame Binance for exposing their investors to volatile assets.

Despite the waning interest in individual projects, the meme coin ecosystem itself has reached a combined market capitalization of $110 billion, which represents about 3.44% of the $3.19 trillion crypto market. However, the sector has faced increasing scrutiny. 

On Nov. 25, Pump.fun, which is a decentralized platform for creating Solana-based meme coins, faced backlash after a user threatened suicide during a livestream. While the platform defended its moderation efforts, it ultimately removed the live streaming feature in response to the community’s concerns.

Trader Turns $160 Into Millions with Solana Meme Coin

Despite the risks associated with them, not all meme coins are bad. A Solana-based meme coin trader turned a $160 investment into millions by taking advantage of the popularity of a viral internet meme. 

Blockchain data from Solscan reveals that on Nov. 15, the trader bought Just a chill guy (CHILLGUY) meme coin tokens by making two transactions on Pump.fun. The initial investment included 0.50 Solana (SOL), worth approximately $107 at the time, in exchange for 9.6 million CHILLGUY tokens. This was followed by another purchase of 0.246 SOL, valued at $51, for 2.8 million tokens.

CHILLGUY was launched on Nov. 15, and quickly gained momentum due to the viral success of the “Just a chill guy” meme. Its value surged, and hit a peak market cap of $643 million by Nov. 27. The trader sold 2.8 million tokens early for 149 SOL, or roughly $35,000, and ended up missing out on a potential profit of $1.6 million. However, the trader still holds 9.62 million tokens, which is currently valued at approximately $5.6 million.

On the other hand, the success of CHILLGUY has not been without controversy. PhillipBankss, the artist behind the “Just a chill guy” character, is very unhappy with the unauthorized use of his artwork. On Nov. 21, he even announced that he plans to pursue takedowns for commercial use of the copyrighted character.

Despite these objections, some members of the crypto community argue that enforcement against decentralized and anonymously launched tokens will be challenging. Others claim that the CHILLGUY token has now become a permanent fixture on the blockchain, regardless of the artist's opinions.

Dogecoin Outpaces Porsche

Meanwhile, Dogecoin recently surpassed the market cap of luxury automaker Porsche. This milestone was fueled by endorsements from Elon Musk and the anticipated launch of a Dogecoin-based exchange-traded product (ETP). 

Over the past month, Dogecoin surged by close to 147%, and reached a market cap of $57.8 billion on Nov. 27, overtaking Porsche’s $56.1 billion valuation. At press time, DOGE was worth about $0.4055, and its market cap settled at $59.63 billion.

DOGE price action over the past month (Source: CoinMarketCap)

The meme coin’s momentum in 2024 was boosted by Musk’s continued social media support and his role in founding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is an agency that plans to reduce government spending and regulatory complexities. The agency’s acronym, which matches Dogecoin’s ticker symbol, caused a lot of excitement among retail investors.

Dogecoin’s rise has also been supported by the launch of Valour DOGE ETP on Nov. 26. The ETP was announced by Valour, a subsidiary of DeFi Technologies. The asset manager decided to launch the ETP due to the increased interest in Dogecoin, driven by influential figures like Musk and the recent U.S. presidential election.

Over the past year, Dogecoin’s market cap grew over 395%, which is in stark contrast to Porsche’s decline of more than 34%. Porsche was once valued at $117 billion in April of 2023, but its market cap fell to $56.1 billion. 

Market pattern analyst Trader Tardigrade suggested in an X post that Dogecoin is following a historical price trajectory that is based on the Gaussian channel. This channel is an indicator that is used to analyze price distribution. Some traders are forecasting a potential 1,000% rally for the meme coin.