Musk's 'Harry Bolz' profile change triggers memecoin chaos
Elon Musk's temporary Twitter profile name change to "Harry Bōlz" set off a flurry of activity in the cryptocurrency market as memecoins bearing the name experienced rapid fluctuations in value.
A Solana-based token named HARRYBOLZ, which was created on February 7, witnessed its price soar to $0.025, reaching a market capitalization of roughly $25 million.
The surge was short-lived, as the price plummeted by 97% to $0.0008, equivalent to a market cap of about $800,000. This dramatic drop occurred after Musk reverted to his original name on Twitter. The token had generated nearly $100 million in 24-hour trading volume prior to the decline, as reported by DEX Screener.
A notable transaction was made by a wallet identified as "LeBron," known for previous large profits from official TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins. "LeBron" purchased 128.8 million HARRYBOLZ tokens for 25 SOL ($4,900) on the day of the token's launch and later sold 109.9 million tokens for 3,649 SOL ($737,000) on Tuesday. This information was detailed by blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
Another Solana-based HarryBolz token, which emerged following Musk's name change, also experienced a surge, reaching a market cap of $8.4 million before collapsing by more than 99% to a mere $75,000. The top trader of this particular token managed to secure a profit of around $10,000, according to data from DEX Screener.
The market saw the launch of numerous other HarryBolz copycat tokens on the Solana blockchain. These tokens mirrored the pattern of quick surges followed by sharp declines, albeit with significantly lower trading volumes.
This incident is not the first instance of Musk influencing the memecoin market with his social media antics. In April 2023, he previously changed his profile name to Harry Bōlz, and on New Year's Eve, he briefly adopted the name "Kekius Maximus (NYSE: MMS )." Following the latter change, the main Kekius Maximus memecoin's market cap skyrocketed over 30 times from approximately $12 million to over $380 million at its peak, only to plummet over 75% after Musk returned to using his real name.
Musk's recent use of the Harry Bōlz moniker is also believed to be a show of support for Edward Coristine, a staff member at the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, who has assumed various roles within the U.S. government. Critics have raised concerns about Coristine's potential access to sensitive data, citing his age, lack of experience, and a past incident involving a leak. Coristine has also worked briefly for Musk's Neuralink.
Amid the social media frenzy, Polymarket humorously suggested that Harry Bōlz had taken a 94% lead over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the fictional 2040 presidential election odds, showcasing the playful nature of the online community's response to Musk's actions.
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