Alleged Former Trader Donated Portion of Wealth From Gifted Meme Coins to Charity
A parody X account, Richard E. Ptardio, claiming to be a former trader, made headlines after donating meme coins to charity.
The tokens, inspired by his persona, surged to nearly $1 million in value.
On 17 December, Ptardio revealed he had received 700 million Richard Ptardio (PTARDIO) tokens via Solana's Pump.fun, initially valued at $53,250.
What the devil?! pic.twitter.com/is9is6FiU2
— Richard E. Ptardio (@RichardPtardio) December 17, 2024
Within hours, their worth skyrocketed by 1,765% to nearly $1 million.
Ptardio clarified that the tokens were created without his knowledge or consent and sought to distance himself from the project.
Gents, quite the morning. I've been inundated by messages, so first thing to say is my utmost apologies if I haven't been able to get back to you.
From what I gather, someone has rather bizarrely created a Richard Ptardio crypto-currency and sent me 700 million of these… pic.twitter.com/6llzM8Y75J
— Richard E. Ptardio (@RichardPtardio) December 17, 2024
He added:
“I shall be selling my position and donating the entire proceeds to Save the Children. A far better use of the funds.”
Although the token's value later declined, Ptardio donated 313.42 Solana, equivalent to $69,000, to a charity supporting education, health, and child welfare initiatives worldwide, after discussing with his wife.
Chaps, 313.42 Solana - a tidy $69,000 - has just been sent to Save the Children.https://t.co/5b2nwEfekJ pic.twitter.com/pZ6moXHqu9
— Richard E. Ptardio (@RichardPtardio) December 17, 2024
Ptardio's X Account in Nascent Stage But Has Over 7,500 Followers
It is quite common for meme coin creators to send tokens to individuals who inspired their creation, and the case of Richard E. Ptardio is no exception.
The parody X account, portraying an older man with 35 years of trading experience across London, Hong Kong, and New York, began exploring crypto commentary in mid-September.
I cordially invite you to join me on a journey of discovery into the weird and wonderful world of cryptocurrency. Bringing to bear my many decades of experience in the financial markets, please follow me as I inspect and interrogate the strange denizens of this encryptolated…
— Richard E. Ptardio (@RichardPtardio) September 17, 2024
To date, he has over 7,500 followers on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Ptardio often highlights meme coin investing, attributing its appeal to its "weirdness" and suggesting that "the market rewards the bold, not the logical.”
The PTARDIO token, launched barely a day ago, briefly peaked at a market cap of $4.75 million before declining to $115,810, according to GeckoTerminal.
Despite the drop, the token saw a 28.23% increase in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.000115.
