Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy launched a meme coin called $GREED today from his official wallet.
However, he sold his entire position an hour later, causing the token’s value to crash by more than 90%.
A Social Experiment
In a February 19 post on X, the founder criticized the meme coin space, stating:
“The entire ecosystem is Greed and nothing else. Go dump on each other peasants but don’t complain to me if you lose money. You are all greedy. At least admit it.”
He then launched $GREED presenting it as a social experiment and a reflection of the true nature of the sector. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, Portnoy issued the token and purchased 357.92 million units, representing 35.79% of the total supply. Its market capitalization quickly surged to $30 million.
Despite initially claiming he would not sell anytime soon, the 47-year-old offloaded his entire position within an hour in a single transaction, causing $GREED’s value to plummet by 99% to below $3 million.
Lookonchain reported that he profited approximately $258,000 from the meme coin. Shortly after, Portnoy launched another token, GREED2. He currently holds 268.25 million of them, making up 26.8% of the total supply.
In a final twist, the media mogul returned to X, stating that he had only promised not to sell one coin, referring to the Solana meme token Stool Prisondente (JAILSTOOL). He emphasized that he was free to sell everything else and had warned people not to buy.
Portnoy first revealed his purchase of 57.16 million JAILSTOOL tokens on February 9. Shortly after, he sold the entire stack, exchanging it for roughly 586 SOL. However, he quickly bought back even more, spending over 1,000 SOL to acquire just over 23 million coins.
Following an initial spike and dip, JAILSTOOL’s market cap surged past $100 million as the entrepreneur fueled its viral appeal. The coin’s value more than doubled, reaching an all-time high of nearly $218 million.
Currently, the meme cryptocurrency is trading around the $0.0158 level, a 19.1% drop in the last 24 hours. It has suffered a more marked loss over seven days, shaving a massive 77.3% off its value.
Meme Token Controversy
The social media personality’s move with GREED comes amid a raging scandal in the meme coin space, specifically surrounding the LIBRA token.
The asset, promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, saw its market cap quickly reach $4.4 billion before plummeting massively. Its collapse fueled reports of insider trading and market manipulation with some allegedly cashing out over $100 million.
Pump.fun founder Alen Cohen criticized LIBRA’s launch, arguing that meme coin creation should be decentralized and free from developer or market maker control to ensure fairness. He warned that the situation exposed flaws in the crypto sector, highlighting how bad actors exploit investors.
Meanwhile, Meteora co-founder Ben Chow has resigned amid allegations of financial misconduct linked to the situation.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
