Written by: Pzai, Foresight News

In the world of cryptocurrency, MEME coins are often seen as symbols of speculation and entertainment, but the emergence of MIRA seems to break this stereotype. It is not just a token; it carries the deep affection and hope of a father raising research funds for his daughter Mira, who suffers from a rare brain tumor. What kind of spark will be created when the consensus of crypto meets the expectations of a family?

Community-initiated 'donation drive'

On December 25, Siqi Chen, CEO and CFO of the startup financial platform Runway, posted that his four-year-old daughter Mira had been diagnosed with a rare craniopharyngioma, which, although benign, is located in a critical area of her brain, posing significant risks. In despair, he sought hope and collaborated with the Hankinson lab at the University of Colorado in an attempt to find a treatment through research.

After the successful surgery, Mr. Chen turned his attention outward, encouraging kind-hearted people to contribute to research on childhood brain tumors. However, the high costs of rare disease research became the biggest obstacle on this journey. At this time, an anonymous user Waddles created the MIRA token on the Solana chain and donated 50% of the tokens to Siqi Chen, hoping to raise funds for Mira's research through the power of the crypto community. Waddles wrote on X: 'When I saw the story about Mira and her illness, I thought it would be nice to buy and send you tokens, hoping to get the Solana community to support a charitable cause this Christmas.'

With the power of the community and a continuous influx of attention, the MIRA token surged to a market value of $80 million within just one day, with trading volume exceeding $100 million. At its peak, Chen's holdings alone were worth over $14 million.

Chen pledged to sell $1,000 worth of MIRA tokens every 10 minutes and donate 100% of the raised funds to the laboratory's rare cancer research. He also initiated a community vote to decide whether to continue selling tokens, with 65.7% of participants supporting his plan.

He stated: 'I have been online for 30 years and have seen some things, but this is by far the craziest day of my life.' However, after the MEME frenzy, Chen called on profit-makers to donate a portion of their profits and emphasized that the original intention of fundraising was to help rare disease patients, not to speculate, which also sparked profound discussions about whether 'emotional MEMEs' are easily exploited by speculators.

For donations towards rare diseases, the funds raised far exceeded expectations. By December 30, MIRA had raised over $1 million for the lab, far surpassing the initial goal of $200,000.

The original GoFundMe page for this work is also close to its $300,000 goal, with cryptocurrency donations further supporting this goal. MIRA's success is also inseparable from the active participation of the Solana community. Well-known Web3 figures like ai16z founder Shaw have also donated 100,000 DegenAI tokens to support Mira's treatment and related research, while Bio Protocol believes that funding DeSci will become a major use case for crypto in the next cycle.

In real life, rare disease research is rarely funded, and use cases like BIO and Pump.science are providing a funding basis for DeSci, while MIRA just proves this necessity at this crucial juncture.

Conclusion

MIRA's rapid rise not only showcases the unique advantages of cryptocurrency in the charitable field—transparency, speed, and global participation—but also sparks profound discussions about the intertwining of goodwill and speculation. Although MIRA's market value has experienced severe fluctuations in a short time, Siqi Chen has always adhered to the original intention of fundraising, calling on profit-makers to donate a portion of their profits and to use all proceeds for rare disease research. This community-driven charitable miracle not only brought hope to Mira but also provided valuable experiences and insights for the future of crypto philanthropy.

The story of MIRA tells us that when technology meets humanity, cryptocurrency can transcend speculation and entertainment to become a force for change in the world. It shows us that goodwill and innovation can go hand in hand, igniting a light of hope for those who need help the most.

MIRA is not just a MEME coin; it is a community-driven charitable miracle. It harnesses the power of cryptocurrency to bring hope to rare disease research and also provokes deep reflections on the future development of crypto philanthropy. Perhaps the true miracle lies in the fact that when we consistently choose goodwill in different ways, the world really can become a better place.