Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate on Thursday poked the proverbial hornet's nest by proposing the idea of creating a cryptocurrency and backing it with $100 million of his funds.
What Happened: Tate floated the proposal with an idea to offer early access at a discount to members of University.com, a learning platform he owns. The tweet quickly went viral, leading to the creation of a memecoin named "$TOPG."
Within hours of the announcement, TOPG's market capitalization soared to $6.5 million.
However, the situation took a dramatic turn when Tate deleted his original tweet and replaced it with a message from May 17, 2023, vehemently denying any endorsement of "s**tcoins" and distancing himself from the cryptocurrency space.
"I DO NOT ENDORSE S**TCOINS. I’m not a scammer like every other 'influencer'. I don’t need to rob my fans. I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY CRYPTO," Tate clarified in his follow-up tweet.
In a separate issue, Tate's request to ease judicial controls was rejected by a Romanian court on Tuesday due to charges against him for human trafficking, rape, and forming a group for sexual exploitation. As a result, he's restricted from leaving Romania while the investigation proceeds, the Associated Press reports.
Following Tate's disavowal, TOPG experienced a significant drop, with its market capitalization plummeting to $550,000. The coin is currently trading at a market cap of $1.3 million and its price hovering around $0.001416, according to data from Dexscreener.
Why It Matters: The incident elicited a range of reactions on Twitter, with users expressing skepticism and criticism towards Tate's initial proposal and subsequent retraction.
Coffeezilla, a well-known YouTuber, juxtaposed Tate's old tweet with his latest idea, saying "Andrew Tate is launching a crypto scamcoin." Another user drew parallels between Tate's casino ownership and the proposed cryptocurrency venture, recalling Tate's previous promotion of the Floki token, which resulted in losses for many.
Crypto influencer Ashley D Can questioned Tate's understanding of his fan base's perception, while DUP accused him of behavior typical of a "pump and dumper" influencer.
Following Tate's tweet deletion and repost of his old tweet, the odds of him launching his own cryptocurrency in February have plummeted to 5% on prediction markets.
What's Next: It remains to be seen if this episode will have any lasting impact on Tate's reputation or online presence. However, as the example of Elon Musk shows, the next viral memecoin sensation is only one celebrity tweet away.
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
