No matter how absurd, David Portnoy’s meme coins just keep working

Meme cash are pure chaos, and Dave Portnoy is flourishing in it. Mistaken trades, wild flips, and token launches — he’s turning insanity into hundreds of thousands. Right here’s how.

The unsuitable LIBRA gamble

Dave Portnoy has by no means been one to shrink back from the highlight. From turning Barstool Sports activities right into a media empire to his viral pizza evaluations and high-stakes playing, he has constructed a model round being loud, unpredictable, and unapologetically himself.

These days, although, his title has been making the rounds for a distinct motive — crypto. And never simply any crypto, however meme cash, unintentional trades, and a deal he finally walked away from.

One of many largest tales revolves round Libra (LIBRA), a token that gained traction after Argentina’s President Javier Milei seemingly endorsed it. Nonetheless, Portnoy’s involvement started with a distinct type of LIBRA deal.

Portnoy revealed that he had been paid roughly 6 million LIBRA tokens to advertise the venture, however after its founder, Hayden Davis, allegedly requested him to maintain quiet in regards to the association, Portnoy determined to return the cash.

Then, in one in all his most weird funding blunders, he mistakenly purchased almost $170,000 value of the unsuitable LIBRA token — one with a totally completely different contract tackle than the high-profile model making headlines.

Realizing his mistake, Portnoy took to X together with his trademark mixture of self-deprecation, writing, “Anyone wanna purchase some pretend Libra? Warning: This can be a meme coin. I purchased it by chance… Will probably be unstable. It would finally go to zero.”

In the meantime, the precise LIBRA token that Milei had helped pump reached a staggering $4.5 billion market cap — solely to crater by 95% when the president abruptly withdrew his assist.

Milei himself is now dealing with accusations of monetary misconduct, with some political opponents even calling for his impeachment.

However that hasn’t slowed Portnoy down. If something, it appears to have solely fueled his full-throttle dive into meme cash. Let’s break down the swirling speculations and the way the crypto group is reacting to the chaos.

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Portnoy’s meme coin frenzy hits overdrive

Simply days after mistakenly shopping for the unsuitable Libra token and returning 6 million value of the unique LIBRA tokens, Portnoy determined to take issues into his personal arms — launching his personal tokens, flipping them inside hours, and using the wild volatility that defines the house.

On Feb. 18, Portnoy launched a brand new token referred to as GREED by Pump.enjoyable, a Solana (SOL)-based platform designed to simplify meme coin creation.

The branding was as on-the-nose because it will get, that includes a picture of Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko from Wall Avenue, the character notorious for the road, “Greed is sweet.”

And for a short second, it was. The token skyrocketed, reaching a peak market cap of $41.5 million in just some hours.

As the thrill constructed, Portnoy embraced the second, posting on X: “I stored listening to how meme cash had been useless? I’m capable of flip 2k into nearly one million in quarter-hour if I felt prefer it. Doesn’t appear useless to me.”

However inside a day, he moved all his GREED tokens into one other venture he had beforehand endorsed — JAILSTOOL — publicly declaring, “Simply put all of #Greed into #jailstool which I’m by no means promoting ‘trigger I mentioned I wouldn’t promote.”

Then, on-chain information revealed that Portnoy had swapped each single GREED token he owned for JAILSTOOL tokens in a single transaction, value an estimated $250,000 on the time, immediately crashing the value of GREED by 99%.

His choice to money out sparked backlash, with many accusing him of a “rug pull” — a time period used when builders or influencers drain liquidity from a venture, leaving late buyers holding nugatory tokens.

Portnoy rapidly defended himself, posting: “I’ve actually solely mentioned I can’t promote 1 coin. That coin is #jailstool till it hits the 1 billion market cap.”

He continued, claiming that he may have remodeled one million {dollars} from the sale however as an alternative let GREED drop by 75% earlier than exiting.

“A lot of folks made cash. I took the income + poured it into #jailstool, which I can’t contact. I didn’t make a dime on it. Some folks received, some misplaced. Solely the losers preserve bitching.”

Then, moderately than retreating, Portnoy leaned into the controversy, boasting that he may create one other token simply as simply, and it will nonetheless “moon,” as a result of, as he put it, “No person has ideas. Simply greed.”

Hours later, he adopted by, launching GREED2 and warning buyers to not put in additional than they might afford to lose.

In contrast to its predecessor, GREED2 struggled to realize traction. It briefly climbed to a $7 million market cap earlier than plummeting 90% over the following 5 hours.

On Feb. 20, he was again on X once more, sharing screenshots of his Phantom Pockets balances, revealing staggering positive factors — 1,923% on GREED, 344% on GREED2, and varied smaller income throughout different meme cash.

Critics condemned Portnoy’s actions as reckless, pointing to the injury they trigger to retail buyers who leap in late. As for Portnoy, he doesn’t appear involved. If something, he seems to be absolutely embracing the chaos.

SEC warmth or simply noise?

As Portnoy’s meme coin antics escalate, social media has turn out to be a hotbed for hypothesis, accusations, and unverified rumours.

One of many largest claims making the rounds is that Portnoy could also be dealing with authorized hassle. “Rumors rising that court docket paperwork reveal Dave Portnoy is dealing with a number of SEC securities violations costs,” posted one consumer.

Nonetheless, no precise filings or statements from regulators have emerged to verify this.

Including to the hypothesis, the SEC just lately unveiled the creation of a cybercrime unit aimed toward tackling fraud within the crypto trade. The timing of this transfer has led some to counsel a direct hyperlink between Portnoy’s current token flips and the regulatory shift.

“Portnoy rugs 5 tokens dwell on a stream, two days later the SEC launches a cybercrime unit,” wrote one consumer.

One other submit adopted a extra sarcastic tone: “Portnoy scammed so arduous the SEC needed to launch a brand new cyber division.”

Moderately than addressing the allegations head-on, Portnoy opted to mock the scenario, flipping the SEC’s announcement to jab at his critics.

“Find it irresistible! So many scammers and liars on the market. Let’s clear this house up! Take out the trash,” he posted, earlier than taking a swipe at these calling him a fraud. “Can we arrest the crybabies who’re instructed meme cash are a threat after which cry foul too?”

To this point, it’s all simply noise—no official actions or formal accusations. However the rising uproar reveals how deeply his actions have divided the crypto group. Nonetheless, Portnoy isn’t backing down. If something, he’s doubling down.

Hype over fundamentals, chaos over warning

Portnoy’s foray into the meme coin market is rapidly shaping as much as be a masterclass in how hype, moderately than fundamentals, can drive worth in crypto.

Whereas most merchants deal with returns, Portnoy appears extra intrigued by the mechanics of consideration. He leverages his huge following to set off market actions, all whereas watching the real-time ripple impact unfold.

“He’s found an infinite cash glitch — he tweets a ticker to his 3.5M followers, and it immediately moons, then he does it once more,” mentioned Punk, the pseudonymous CCO at Memecoin (MEME), capturing how Portnoy’s attain alone is sufficient to spark rapid volatility.

Nevertheless it’s not simply in regards to the cash. “He’s amused by the hamster wheel of merchants blindly following his strikes, so he retains spinning it.”

Portnoy creates a token, watches it surge, then both exits or strikes on to the following. Merchants know the chance however dive in anyway — not as a result of they imagine within the token, however as a result of the exercise itself is the draw.

This phenomenon is much from remoted. Platforms like Pump.enjoyable have made meme coin creation nearly easy. Since launching in January 2024, over 7.8 million tokens have been created on the platform as of Feb. 21, most providing little past speculative thrills.

Because of this, the market has turn out to be a revolving door of viral developments, the place the following massive token isn’t decided by innovation, however by how rapidly it could possibly unfold.

“Actually, belief in crypto isn’t precisely at an all-time excessive,” mentioned Tobin Kuo, CEO of Seraph Studios, in an interview with crypto.information. “At this level, even veterans are joking that the house is popping into the world’s largest on line casino.”

That would clarify why Portnoy has gone past simply buying and selling — he’s creating. As Punk places it, “Each authorized professional warning him solely pushes him to do extra. The backlash fuels his subsequent transfer.”

Whether or not this mannequin can final or finally collapse below its personal weight stays to be seen, however so long as the hype retains driving the market, the cycle isn’t stopping.