A memecoin inspired by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson’s pet pig Nike has attracted public attention. Within just 12 hours of Hoskinson’s post on X, NIKE’s market capitalization rose to $1 million, underscoring the volatility of the often unpredictable crypto market.
Founder of Cardano Sparks New Memecoin
The genesis of the NIKE token was a simple, unusual tweet by Hoskinson, featuring his pig, Nike. The tweet quickly captured the imagination of the Cardano community, leading to the creation of a new memecoin called NIKE.
Fun fact: I have a pig named Nike pic.twitter.com/53KeeYD1Sf
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) June 17, 2024
Within hours of its launch, NIKE showed a dramatic increase in its inventory. According to data from TapTools, the price of the token is increasing rapidly. Trading metrics painted a picture of frenetic activity: the price of the token rose by an unprecedented 60,200% when it reached $0.00089.
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The market’s reception to NIKE has been overwhelming, with the token quickly climbing the ranks to become one of the most traded within the Cardano ecosystem. According to the latest taptools.io metrics, NIKE’s 24-hour trading volume stood at $616,000, including 2,304 buys and 1,432 sells. The buying volume reached $316,955 while the selling volume was slightly lower at $284,505, indicating strong but moderate trading interest.
Liquidity figures were equally compelling, with the token maintaining a pool of $47,900. The main NIKE token holder commands a significant 19.37% of the total offering, something that adds a layer of risk regarding possible price manipulation or future sales. This seller is followed by owners with 5.58%, 3.35% and 2.93% respectively of the 1 billion token supply. Currently, there are 668 NIKE owners.
NIKE’s rapid rise has sparked a flurry of reactions from the crypto community. While some enthusiasts are optimistic about gaming engagement and profit potential, others express concern about the prospects of such developments.
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One user commented on the incident, saying, “It’s everything wrong with Crypto and why most people will never feel comfortable investing in it.” One user jokingly asked: “What other animals do you have?”, which might have triggered the creation of another memecoin if farm owner Hoskinson had answered.
Hoskinson expressed his shock and wrote on X, “Confused that my pig picture led to nearly a million dollars in memecoin in less than 12 hours.”
I lost that my pig picture led to almost a million dollars in memecoin in less than 12 hours. pic.twitter.com/Hzhe0qjkI0
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) June 18, 2024
As NIKE continues to gain attention and trading volume, it could become a challenger to SNEK, the previously dominant memecoin in the Cardano ecosystem with a $74 million market capitalization. While SNEK remains far behind in terms of absolute value, NIKE’s sudden rise highlights the dynamic and changing place of memecoins within the crypto market.
At press time, ADA traded at $0.373.
Featured image from X @IOHK_Charles, chart from TradingView.com
