The management of Afro-pop star Davido’s newly launched meme token, DAVIDO, has faced criticism from the Nigerian crypto community. Many people believe that he may soon engage in a token dump.
On May 29, Davido made a significant profit of 2,783 SOL ($473,000) in just 11 hours by selling his DAVIDO memecoin, according to Lookonchain. He still has an unrealized profit of $207,000.
Davido initially received an investment of 7.5 SOL (worth $1,275) and used 7 SOL ($1,190) to create and launch his DAVIDO token on the pump.fun platform. He purchased 203 million DAVIDO tokens, which represent 20.3% of the total supply.
The blockchain tracking firm, Lookonchain, also revealed that Davido sent 20 million DAVIDO to “dead1111…1111,” leaving him with 61.12 million DAVIDO ($207,000).
While Davido has remained silent on the matter, his fans and the crypto community have criticized him for withdrawing significant amounts from his DAVIDO token stash while encouraging others to buy. Local crypto expert Rume Ophi believes that Davido could have taken a more strategic approach by advocating for regulatory clarity and exchange licensing in Nigeria’s crypto space instead of launching his own token. Ophi expressed concerns that Davido’s memecoin could become a pump-and-dump scheme, damaging the industry’s credibility and attracting scrutiny from regulatory authorities.
Cointelegraph reached out to Davido for comment, but received no response at the time of publication. This move by Davido could lead to widespread financial harm and increased regulatory pressure on legitimate players, especially considering that many of his followers may be inexperienced in cryptocurrencies.
Some users expressed disappointment that Davido and his team did not allow the new memecoin to gain momentum. They believe that Davido could have made even more money if they had handled the launch more strategically.
This is not the first time Davido has been accused of dumping digital coins on his fans. In 2021, he promoted RapDoge before dumping over $300,000 on his followers.
Davido’s actions in the cryptocurrency world coincide with the growing popularity of celebrity meme assets. Iggy Azalea recently introduced her own token, MOTHER. However, these celebrity-backed cryptocurrency launches have generated controversy and made investors vulnerable to potential pump-and-dump schemes, resulting in financial losses.
In related news, the price list of the “mastermind” behind Caitlyn Jenner’s meme coin has been leaked, adding to the controversy surrounding celebrity meme coins.