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Mikol, developer of a Solana memecoin, accidentally set himself on fire while trying to promote his cryptocurrency to a live-streamed audience.
During a marketing stunt for the Solana (SOL) memecoin, “Trust or Dare,” Mikol inadvertently set himself on fire while others shot fireworks in his direction. As the situation worsened, Mikol was set on fire and had to be rushed to a hospital in Miami.
Community members later confirmed that Mikol suffered third-degree burns to nearly three-quarters of his body. However, Solana's developer said she was x.com/lonemikol/status/1798735004836790517″ target=”_blank” rel=””>Not being upset by the accident and focused on building the daring project.
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Solana memecoins playing with fire
Mikol's fierce marketing antics underscore a growing trend around Solana memecoins and the speculative culture taking over the cryptocurrency market over the past cycle.
Solana's accessibility and low transaction costs have encouraged many creators to launch tokens on its blockchain, regardless of their practical usefulness.
Recent data from binance indicates that almost 500,000 new cryptocurrencies were launched on Solana last month.
Several of these projects were based on memetic concepts, but most of the coins may not survive the year. However, the appeal of converting small capital into massive profits in a matter of minutes or months fuels what some “crypto games” or “crypto casinos”.
An influx of celebrities like Australian singer Iggy Azalea and Nigeria's Davido has added an extra layer of hype to these Solana memecoins, even if multiple previous projects by the latter and other celebrities have mostly hit zero.
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ethereum's Vitalik Buterin expects more
ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin weighed in on the situation and expressed his displeasure with the current trend of celebrity-endorsed launches.
“I'm pretty unhappy with the celebrity experimentation this cycle so far,” Buterin wrote on x in response to an Azalea-related reference.
The OG blockchain creator hopes that celebrity memecoins will have an ultimate goal of public service or a charitable plan, where profits are donated to a cause.
Buterin too x.com/VitalikButerin/status/1798293391144366184″ target=”_blank” rel=””>He suggested more on-chain mechanisms, such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), to coordinate meaningful participation and ensure long-lasting ideas, rather than short-lived projects based on fading trends.
“The north star should be: have a project where even if eventually all the tokens involved go to zero, the average person who participated is happy they did it,” Buterin said.
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