Hunter Biden's memecoin LAPTOP crashed by 99% shortly after its launch, while major cryptocurrencies experienced minor declines.
Today's cryptocurrency market saw a general decline, with major players dropping between 1-3% as oil and bond prices increased. Bitcoin is currently valued at $76,923.
In a notable event, Hunter Biden's memecoin, LAPTOP, launched on Base but quickly experienced a dramatic crash. Initially peaking at $190.81 shortly after its launch, the token plummeted by 90% within half an hour, falling to around $4.77 after an hour and hitting approximately $1.80 by the afternoon, translating to a staggering 99% loss from its peak.
The launch aimed to support wallets struggling due to the popularity of Trump's meme coin, but it resulted in significant losses for many investors. One individual managed to withdraw $249,800 from Binance before the launch, purchasing 9,124 tokens at about $27 each, later selling them for around $129 each and netting a profit of approximately $930,000 in just five minutes. Conversely, another investor who bought 919 tokens for about $200,000 saw their value plummet to below $3,000 an hour later, incurring a 98.5% loss.
Despite the volatility of LAPTOP, the broader crypto market remained relatively stable initially, although it did experience a downturn later in the day.
Macro Crypto and Markets
- Overall losses in major cryptocurrencies: BTC -1% at $77.8k; ETH -1% at $2,460; SOL -3% at $101.
- Top altcoin performers: KAS (+9%), STABLE (+4%), and RAY (+2%).
- Oil prices rose by 2% to $97, while gold decreased by 1% to $4,420.
- Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Kraken’s parent company, Payward, valuing it at $21 billion.
- Consensys is restructuring, with the wallet service MetaMask being separated from the main company, which will retain Linea and its institutional services.
- The Secret Service froze $52.8 million in USDT linked to the Xinbi Guarantee scam marketplace.
- Bitcoin ETFs saw $120 million in net outflows, while ETH ETFs experienced $35 million in outflows on Wednesday.
Overall, while some investors profited from the volatile launch of LAPTOP, the event has raised concerns about the viability of celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies, potentially deterring similar projects in the future.
