A major feature of the current cryptocurrency market cycle has been the repeated success of investors seeking to take advantage of temporarily viral memes to turn hundreds of dollars into thousands if not millions.
The latest such success was achieved by a trader who purchased the new Moo Deng (MOODENG) meme coin on September 10 for 6 Solana (SOL) – worth approximately $800 at the time – per data gathered by Finbold from blockchain intelligence platform Arkham on September 23.
The trade quickly exploded in value, as did the virality of the meme on which it was based. By September 18, the trade rocketed to $400,000 in value, and by press time on September 23, it surged up to $1.3 million – meaning the original investment was multiplied more than 1,600 times in value.
Moo Deng’s price today, at press time, stands at $0.00001747 after rising 316.50% since September 19, the day CoinMarketCap began tracking the meme coin’s performance.
MOODENG price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
The 1,600x MOODENG swap not without critics
The highly successful swap was executed on Raydium, an automated market maker (AMM) platform built on Solana, on the eve of what would have been, under more normal circumstances, a common new token pump.
The crypto community, however, had a somewhat mixed reaction to the X post in which Arkham shared the details of the trade. Indeed, multiple commentators appear convinced that the lucky trader is an insider or a developer and have, despite acknowledging the success of the maneuver, taken exception to them being called a ‘trader.’
The MOODENG trade on September 10, and the swap’s performance by September 18. Source: Arkham
Meme coin success in the 2024 crypto market
Whatever the case may be, there have been multiple examples of meme coins exploding in value soon after their creation. MOODENG, in particular, appeared to be fertile ground from the very beginning.
The cryptocurrency is based on the baby pygmy hippo at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, which has quickly become a sensation. This is partially due to it being extraordinarily cute – with the cuteness being one of the best qualities to gain internet virality.
Another earlier example of a meme turning into a highly successful meme coin was the ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’, with the cryptocurrency inspired by her skyrocketing more than 1,300% within the first week of its existence.
Still, the lucky MOODENG trader would also likely be wise to sell soon if they are able as such crazes seldom last. Once again looking at Hawk Tuah (HAWKTUAH), its popularity started fading just two weeks after first gaining momentum.
Finally, despite the number of success stories of trades betting on a popular meme, this cycle has also seen its fair share of such cryptocurrencies that have gotten nowhere. A prime example is a digital asset, MBAPPE, which has managed to erase some $990,000 of one trader’s wealth within a single hour.
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