Khamzat Chimaevs Smash token faces allegations of insider trading

Insiders and developers hold a significant portion of the Smash (SMASH) cryptocurrency, causing concerns about insider trading in yet another celebrity memecoin, according to onchain investigator ZachXBT. Smash is a memecoin based on the Solana blockchain and was launched by popular mixed martial artist and UFC contender Khamzat Chimaev. An analysis by ZachXBT revealed that up to 78% of the Smash token supply was purchased by insider and developer-related wallets, raising worries about price manipulation. The Smash token experienced a sharp decline of over 91% in one day, trading at above 0.004 SOL, or $0.53 per token, down from its all-time high of 0.01 SOL. Large token holders who are insiders have the power to significantly impact a cryptocurrency’s price by selling off a substantial portion of their holdings. Cointelegraph has reached out to Chimaev’s team for comment. ZachXBT’s analysis indicates that at least 71% of the supply can be directly traced back to insider wallets funded by the same Ethereum address that funded the Smash token’s developer address on Solana. After purchasing 71% of the supply, these addresses distributed the tokens across smaller addresses. The launch of celebrity memecoins has been met with mixed reactions, as their poor price performance has damaged the industry’s reputation. In the first week, most celebrity-backed memecoins experienced significant declines, including JENNER, DAVIDO, and RICH tokens. Jason Derulo’s token also faced controversy when it was alleged that he sold a large amount of his JASON token, despite claiming that he would never do so. The Daddy Tate (DADDY) memecoin, launched by former kickboxing champion Andrew Tate, was also implicated in insider trading allegations. Despite these allegations, Tate’s token surpassed Iggy Azalea’s Mother token in terms of market capitalization.