- Hogan’s posts led to HULK’s market cap dropping by 80% in 15 minutes.
- Insiders profited millions by exiting HULK before the crash.
American wrestler and multiple WWE champion Hulk Hogan was embroiled in a crypto dispute today. Hogan tweeted a promotion for the Solana-based memecoin HULK, then promptly removed all associated material.
With this abrupt move, HULK’s market value fell from $17 million to a meagre $2 million in less than 15 minutes, according to Solana Floor.
🚨 LATEST: WWE Wrestler $HULK (@HulkHogan) Solana Memecoin plummeted from $17 million to $2 million in just a few minutes after he deleted tweets about the coin. pic.twitter.com/itv2Fxt1Op
— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) June 6, 2024
The value of HULK fell precipitously when Hogan’s posts were suddenly removed. ScamEconomy host Matt Binder posted screenshots of Hogan’s previous promotional tweets, in which he was seen gleefully promoting memecoin developments on his website.
“The website hulkhogan.com is updated with the HULK information!” said one of the postings. I am so psyched up about tonight! And then, these posts were taken down since then, and Hogan later made it clear on Instagram that they were not from him.
Hulk Hogan’s social media accounts & website promoted a $HULK crypto token today, jumping on the recent celeb memecoin trend
it pumped big, millions of dollars, & then dumped
all the posts are now deleted. there’s a new post now claiming that the posts were not from him pic.twitter.com/hDuYVLgNQu
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 6, 2024
Insider Trading Allegations
Bubblemaps data after this market upheaval showed concerning insider activity. Insiders apparently purchased 15% of HULK’s supply before Hogan’s tweet and left before the crash, profiting millions of dollars.
Because these deals occurred so close to Hogan’s promotional efforts and the ensuing market crash, this information has increased suspicions of insider trading.
Previous Memecoin Controversy
There has previously been discussion surrounding a memecoin that celebrities have endorsed. Iggy Azalea’s memecoin MOTHER has previously been the subject of similar reports by ETHNews. The token first attracted a lot of interest and investment before being linked to accusations of insider trading.
The similarities between the HULK and MOTHER memecoin episodes make one wonder what moral ramifications celebrity endorsements in the erratic crypto market have.