Dave Portnoy, the outspoken founding father of Barstool Sports activities, is not any stranger to controversy. This time, his foray into the meme coin sector has left a path of monetary wreckage and confusion.
The case provides to the flurry of controversies round new token launches, drawing debates about ethics in crypto buying and selling.
Dave Portnoy and the Rug Pulls to the Group
It began with Portnoy’s launch of GREED, a meme coin he promoted as a collectible token. Based on on-chain analyst Lookonchain, Portnoy bought 357.92 million GREED tokens, representing 35.79% of the full provide.
Then, in a single swift transfer, he bought his whole holding, inflicting the worth of GREED to plummet by 99%. Regardless of the market crash, Portnoy walked away with a revenue of roughly $258,000.
Whereas Portnoy cashed out, others have been much less lucky. One investor misplaced $101,000 in three hours, buying GREED with 911 SOL (price $153,000) earlier than promoting for 309 SOL ($52,000) amid the worth collapse.
“Dave Portnoy’s sell-off precipitated this man to lose $101K on Greed in 3 hours! This man spent 911 SOL ($153K) to purchase Greed, and bought it for 309 SOL ($52K), shedding 602 SOL ($101K),” Lookonchain reported.
The fast devaluation raised questions on market manipulation and the ethics of holding a good portion of the token’s provide.
In the meantime, this isn’t Portnoy’s first brush with crypto drama. Simply days earlier than launching GREED, he was embroiled within the LIBRA meme coin scandal. Reportedly, Portnoy was provided over 6 million LIBRA tokens pre-launch however returned them upon studying he couldn’t disclose his involvement.
“Dave Portnoy revealed he was provided over 6 million LIBRA tokens pre-launch Nevertheless, he despatched them again after being instructed he couldn’t disclose receiving them. There are doubtless dozens of influencers who accepted tokens with out disclosure. He’s the one one who got here ahead,” BlockNews revealed on X.
He stays one of many few influencers to confess being approached with undisclosed tokens, sparking hypothesis about different influencers who might have secretly taken the deal.
Portnoy’s Transfer From GREED to GREED2
Unfazed by the backlash, Portnoy launched GREED2, securing 268.25 million tokens, or 26.8% of the full provide.
“Don’t make investments on this collectible coin with greater than you may afford to lose. It will likely be unstable. I cannot promote 1 penny till at the very least midnight EST or possibly by no means. Watch out,” he warned potential consumers in a submit.
Regardless of the warning, many considered the transfer as one other potential “rug pull” ready to occur, with some customers on X voicing their frustrations.
“IDC [I don’t care] if he desires to purchase and promote cash when he’s clear about it Encouraging individuals to carry and never promote and saying he’s not going to promote, then full stacking, is disgusting,” Liv, a preferred person on X, commented.
The person additionally highlighted Portnoy’s hypocrisy, criticizing different crypto figures whereas seemingly replicating comparable techniques.
On the identical time, Portnoy started selling one other token, JAILSTOOL, listed on the Kraken trade. He stated all his GREED income have been reinvested into JAILSTOOL, which he by no means vowed to promote.
Nevertheless, customers rapidly known as him out, noting inconsistencies in his narrative. One identified that whereas Portnoy deployed GREED, he had no direct involvement with JAILSTOOL, resulting in extra skepticism about his intentions and transparency.
“…greed was truly deployed by you. Jailstool was not, and also you additionally stated you weren’t going to promote greed, lol,” crypto and NFT fanatic moonpie666 remarked.
In response to the mounting criticism, Portnoy took to X to defend his actions and make clear the darker facet of the meme coin market.
“There are many individuals within the meme coin world who attempt to act like they’re the ethical authority when all they wish to do is dump on you and make straightforward cash. All the ecosystem is Greed and nothing else. Go dump on one another peasants however don’t complain to me in the event you lose cash,” he expressed.
His blunt feedback did little to quell the backlash, with critics accusing him of exploiting his affect and perpetuating the GREED he claimed to criticize. Some customers argued that Portnoy’s ventures in GREED and GREED2 have been no completely different from different pump-and-dump schemes prevalent within the meme coin area.
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