Soccer’s Biggest Star Joins the Solana Celebrity Memecoin Craze
The Solana memecoin endorsement bandwagon has onboarded two football stars.
The celebrity memecoin cycle has drawn criticism from the industry.
The celebrity memecoin trend is once again picking up pace after a brief lull. This time, the wave has swept from the usual social media influencers to the world of football, championed by one of the biggest soccer stars, Lionel Messi, with the promotion of the Solana-based memecoin, WaterCoin (WATER).
However, the Inter Miami player’s entry into the cycle has raised eyebrows across the community, prompting fresh speculation and concern.
Solana Memecoin Water Gets Messi’s Boost
On Tuesday, an interesting post to Lionel Messi’s official Instagram account was the latest to spark a frenzy across the crypto community when the football player seemingly promoted the ‘Water on Solana’ project via story to his over 500 million follower base. Sponsored
The Water coin, which was launched only a month prior, is described as “the next big dogecoin on Solana with a mission to have net-positive impact on the real world.” While the post simply featured an image of Messi with the mascot of the token on his shoulder, it quickly gained attention across the crypto community, igniting a 350% for the ‘charity’ token.
However, things got even more interesting when another football figure, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, took to his official Instagram account with a similar post on July 9, 2024. The Brazilian former footballer player made an almost look-alike post to his nearly 77 million followers account. Ronaldiho’s post sparked a 38.8% surge for the token, hitting a trading price of $0.0012 before plummeting to its current $0.00088 value.
Both Messi and Ronaldinho’s promotional posts have since been reposted to the official Instagram account of Water on Solana, expanding their reach to an additional 223,000 followers. However, neither post has received a warm reception from the community.
Community Response
Several individuals have taken to the official Water. Solana Instagram account, condemning the football stars’ sketchy promotions. Many asserted that the token is part of a “pyramid scheme” and urged investors to refrain from participating in the project. Sponsored
Social media platform X has been abuzz with similar reactions. X user Emperor Osmo echoed the broader sentiment of surprise, raising questions about why Messi, one of the highest-paid athletes globally, has been associated with a controversial crypto project.
Concerns about the distribution of the Water token have also emerged, with reports indicating that 30% of the entire supply is controlled by insiders. However, no additional comments from either Messi or Ronaldinho have surfaced regarding the Water token, and whether or not the footballers will continue with the promotions remains to be seen.
On the Flipside
The legal disclaimer of the Solana memecoin states that “WATER is a memecoin with no intrinsic value or expectation of financial return. WATER is completely useless and for entertainment purposes only.”
Social figures such as Iggy Azalea and Caitlyn Jenner have also recently faced controversy for launching and promoting memecoins.
Why This Matters
Messi and Ronaldinho’s promotion of the Solana-based Water coin follows a familiar pattern of developers employing influential figures to boost fleeting project success. This raises concerns about the possibility of history repeating, potentially causing investors to lose money.
Read more about Ethereum co-founder Vitalik’s sentiment about the celebrity dogecoin trend:Vitalik Buterin “Unhappy” with Celebrity Memecoin Cycle
Rapper Doja Cat is the latest to get caught in the dogecoin frenzy; read more in this article:Doja Cat Cries Wolf Post $1.6 Million Memecoin Crash
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