While far from the wildest cryptocurrency trade of the 2024 bull market, the maneuver executed by an investor who recently turned $169 into $435,000 is nothing to scoff at.

Specifically, a crypto trader spent only 1 Solana(SOL) – worth approximately $169 at the time – to purchase 19.79 million Salvator Mundi (MUNDI). 

The trade was also interesting as it was, based on the timing on October 25, triggered by the launch of a meme coin called Ban, but saw the investor resist the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) surrounding the token that quickly hit a market cap of $60 million.

Instead, the trader opted for MUNDI – at the time being valued at a total of $8,500 – and held on to the purchased cryptocurrency for approximately a month.

Near the end of November, the digital assets investor offloaded 18.19M Salvator Mundi for 1,428 Solana (~$336.9K), retaining 1.6M MUNDI (~$99K), per the data shared by the blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain on December 1.

Salvator Mundi is based on a Leonardo Da Vinci painting of the same name, dated to between 1,499 and 1,510 and uses the image as its logo. The painting is itself interesting as it was considered for some time to be a copy of a lost original, and it is, to this day, disputed whether the famous polymath painted it himself in its entirety or if only some of the elements are his.

Meme coins remain the most high risk-high reward play of 2024

In general, art-related meme coins have spawned multiple ‘overnight’ cryptocurrency millionaires.

For example, Finbold reported on November 27 that a trader who spent only 0.75 SOL on the Just a chill guy (CHILLGUY) meme coin achieved a staggering 38,399x return, turning $160 into $6 million. 

Though the token has generated one incredible ‘rags to riches’ story, it is dubious if such a maneuver can be replicated since the artist behind the image that became the Chill Guy meme – Phillip Banks – warned the illustration is protected and threatened legal action against any digital asset projects that use it.

The fate of another art-related meme coin – FRIC (FRIC) – could have more staying power as it was launched by the South Korean artist dricstudio themself. The cryptocurrency not only generated at least one new millionaire by November 25, but the journey from $6,300 to $1.5 million was made in one hour, as reported by Finbold.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that despite the meme coin space being filled with stories of investors swiftly turning hundreds or thousands into millions, it remains an exceptionally risky section of the already-risky cryptocurrency market. 

For example, a Binance report from early November found that 97% of all meme coins ever made ‘have died,’ showcasing the extreme danger for traders.

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