Crypto trader turns $160 into $6m for 38,399x return

This November, one cryptocurrency trader pulled off something of a perfect move as they picked up on a meme coin in the early days of the underlying meme’s now-ubiquitous virality.

Specifically, this investor spent 0.75 Solana (SOL) on November 15 to purchase 12.5 million of the Just a chill guy (CHILLGUY) token based on the explosive rise of the Chill Guy meme.

The meme coin has since exploded in popularity and the investment grew to a staggering value of $6.1 million.

However, most of the profits are, at press time, unrealized, as the trader was spotted selling some 2,8 million CHILLGUY for a total of $35,400, and they still hold 9.62 million of the cryptocurrency.

The CHILLGUY trades. Source: Solscan & Lookonchain

This trade was executed at Pump.fun, a Solana-based marketplace designed to help launch new meme coins. Finally, the platform recently became the center of a controversy as it shut down its live streaming feature after a ‘not safe for work’ (NSFW) – raunchy or disturbing – race among creators to ensure virality for their cryptocurrencies.

Is the CHILLGUY meme coin facing extinction

Along with Pump.fun, CHILLGUY is itself at the center of a controversy as the creator of the original drawing – Phillip Banks – warned they have copyrighted the image and will issue takedown notices and take other legal action against any for-profit project using the picture.

Banks, who originally showcased the now-famous dog in late 2023, specifically targeted cryptocurrency projects when announcing his litigious intent.

The artist likely has decent chances of success with the notices – at least de jure – as the age-old argument of memes as ‘fair use’ under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) can’t be used for investment vehicles.

Additionally – and perhaps evidenced by the meme’s resurgent popularity outside the crypto community – digital assets remain mostly unpopular in many corners of the internet. 

This is partly due to the persistent perception of them as scams that truly emerged during the ‘crypto winter’ and partly due to the resistance to the tendency to financialize memes, games, and similar just-for-fun expressions.

Meme coins find fertile soil in 2024

Whatever the future of the Chill Guy meme and the CHILLGUY meme coin may be, the trade is the latest in the long line of successes cryptocurrency traders have enjoyed when finding the new viral thing in its nascency.

Some of the most prominent examples of 2024 came in September with Moo Deng – a pygmy hippo in a Thai zoo – in September and the ‘Hawk Tuah girl’ and the meme coin inspired by her in June.

Interestingly, cryptocurrency traders might again benefit from the Hawk Tuah meme as Haliey Welch – the girl behind the meme – is reportedly set to launch an official meme coin.

Featured image via Shutterstock