Key Points
- Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has launched her own Solana-based memecoin, Mother Iggy (MOTHER).
- Despite criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, MOTHER’s price surged by 1,200%.
Iggy Azalea, an Australian rapper who was previously unfamiliar with Solana [SOL], has now entered the crypto-market with her own memecoin, Mother Iggy (MOTHER).
This development comes in the wake of a growing trend of celebrities launching their own cryptocurrencies. In 2021, several celebrities made their mark in the crypto-market by releasing their own NFTs. The year 2024 has seen a further increase in the number of celebrity-backed memecoins.
Buterin’s Criticism and Community Reaction
Not everyone, however, is happy with this trend. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his dissatisfaction in a post on X, stating he was unhappy with the current cycle of celebrity experimentation in the crypto space.
In response to Buterin’s critique, Azalea shared a photoshopped image of herself with Buterin, which was well received by the community. Buterin had emphasized the need for more meaningful projects in the crypto space, but his views were largely disagreed with by the community.
Price Surge and the Memecoin Trend
Despite Buterin’s criticism, the price of Mother Iggy surged by 1,200% to approximately $0.20, achieving a market capitalization of over $190 million. However, at the time of writing, the value of $MOTHER had dropped by 29.21% in just 24 hours. This raises questions about whether the drop was due to Buterin’s comments or simply the volatile nature of memecoins.
The trend of celebrities using memecoins to directly engage with their fans and monetize their popularity, bypassing traditional intermediaries, continues to grow. Critics may find this trend meaningless, but it has proven to be a lucrative strategy for some celebrities.
Azalea, who has been observing the cryptocurrency space since 2020, found memecoins with their unique culture to be the perfect fit for her venture into crypto. She believes that the landscape of memecoins drives virality, community engagement, and market cap, which is her main focus.
