Sotheby’s VP’s memecoin allows trader to make $1M in 30 mins

A second Solana memecoin created by the vice president of the Sotheby’s auction house enabled a trader to cash in $1 million in crypto in just 30 minutes.

On Dec. 4, Michael Bouhanna teased another art-themed memecoin in his X account. Then, a wallet address associated with the executive minted a new memecoin called Nothing (VOID). 

After the memecoin’s launch, one trader spent 35 Solana (SOL), worth roughly $8,200, to purchase 462 million VOID tokens, accounting for 44% of the total supply. Just 30 minutes after purchasing the token, the wallet sold 439 million tokens for 4,604 SOL, worth over $1 million. 

Bouhanna previously launched a different memecoin called Comedian (BAN), inspired by the $6-million banana artwork that was eventually purchased by Tron founder Justin Sun. However, his first attempt at memecoins was met with insider trading allegations.

Related: Solana memecoin trader turns $160 into $5.6M with viral token

Bouhanna’s memecoin “insider” controversy

The executive’s first foray into memecoins with BAN drew scrutiny, as blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain claimed that Bouhanna profited through insider trading.

Lookonchain alleged that the Sotheby’s executive made $1 million on the BAN token with one “insider” wallet. The company claimed that Bouhanna bought many memecoins before launching his own but “made almost no money,” implying that this prompted the executive to launch his first memecoin.

However, Bouhanna denied the allegations that he used an insider wallet to make $1 million. The Sotheby’s executive stated:

“Recently, a tweet suggested that I made $1 million in profit, which is completely false. The wallet in question does not belong to me, and most of this amount was unrealized value.”

The executive also said that the token was a “personal hobby” unrelated to his role at the Sotheby’s. He clarified that the Comedian memecoin has no connection to the auction house. 

Bouhana claimed that he initially wanted to launch BAN anonymously to avoid associating it with his personal profile or professional affiliations. “I didn’t even verify if my wallet could be traced, which shows how little I anticipated the token would attract attention,” he wrote. 

The executive said that when the community noticed his affiliation, the narrative that it may be related to Sotheby’s was pushed to promote the token “without” his approval. 

Community responds to Bouhanna’s memecoins

Some crypto community members weren’t too happy about Bouhanna’s Solana memecoin hobby. An X user wrote that while most people try to cover up fraud, the user alleged that Bouhanna has “embraced the lifestyle.” 

Some tagged the auction house and questioned the firm if they were fine with their employees “rugging people on memecoins.”

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