Nigerian Artist Davido’s Meme Coin Plummets Shortly After He Pockets $474,000 From Token Sale
Nigerian artist Davido has been accused of perpetrating an “outright scam” after pocketing over $468,000 from selling his recently launched meme coin. A prominent Nigerian crypto enthusiast claims Davido’s actions create problems for many legitimate crypto businesses and startups operating in good faith.
Davido Offloads Meme Coin Hours After Promoting It to Followers
The Nigerian musician and celebrity, Davido, stands accused of orchestrating another pump-and-dump scheme after his latest crypto token surged by 200% before plummeting 56% just an hour later. According to a report, the Nigerian celebrity purchased 203 million DAVIDO or 20.3% of the token’s total supply using seven SOL tokens. Davido subsequently sold 121.88 million of these and pocketed a profit of 2,791 SOL (approximately $474,000).
The Nigerian singer, known for his substantial social media following, reportedly launched the token on May 29 using the meme coin launchpad Pump.fun. He actively promoted the meme coin to his followers before offloading millions of it on May 30.
In July 2021, Bitcoin.com News reported that Davido vigorously promoted the so-called deflationary token rapdoge, encouraging his followers to buy it. The token’s value briefly surged by 100% before returning to pre-promotion levels. Prior to that, Davido also promoted another token, racksterli, which suffered a similar fate.
An ‘Outright Scam’
Meanwhile, reports that Davido may have offloaded the meme coin just before it crashed sparked a furious reaction from Nigerian crypto enthusiasts, who have branded the celebrity a scammer. Rume Ophi, a prominent crypto and blockchain educator, strongly criticized the Afrobeats superstar Davido for perpetrating an “outright scam.”
Hours before the meme coin’s spectacular collapse, Ophi had informed Davido’s followers who purchased the token that they were likely victims of the singer’s latest crypto scam.
“If you bought the $DAVIDO meme coin expecting to cash out profits, I’m here to tell you that you were outright scammed by Davido himself. This is textbook behavior for a crypto rug pull scam,” Ophi, who is also known as the cryptopreacher, warned.
Ophi noted that if U.S. citizens also invested in the meme coins, there is a distinct possibility that U.S. regulators would pursue Davido. In addition to his troubles, Davido’s token event is likely to cause issues for “many legitimate businesses and startups operating in good faith across our crypto markets.”
As the backlash over his latest “pump and dump scheme” continued to unfold, a South African online publication revealed that Davido was vacationing in Cape Town. The publication also shared pictures of Davido as he toured the city.
Do you agree that Davido’s promotion of his meme coin amounts to a pump-and-dump operation? Share your opinions in the comments section below. #Write2Earn