Solana memecoin dev sets self on fire: master marketing or madness?

Mikol, a developer of a Solana memecoin, accidentally set himself on fire while trying to promote his cryptocurrency to a live-streamed audience.

During a marketing stunt for the Solana (SOL) memecoin “Trust or Dare”, Mikol inadvertently set himself on fire while others shot fireworks in his direction. As the situation escalated, Mikol was set ablaze and had to be rushed to a hospital in Miami.

Community members later confirmed that Mikol suffered third-degree burns to nearly three-quarters of his body. However, the Solana developer said he was undeterred by the accident and focused on building the daring project.

Solana memecoins playing with fire

Mikol’s fiery marketing antics underscore a growing trend around Solana memecoins and the speculative culture gripping the crypto market during the latest cycle.

Solana’s accessibility and low transaction costs have encouraged many creators to launch tokens on its blockchain, regardless of their practical utility.

Recent data from Binance indicates that nearly 500,000 new cryptocurrencies were launched on Solana just last month.

Several of these projects were based on memetic concepts, but most of the coins might not survive the year. Nevertheless, the allure of turning small capital into massive gains within minutes or months fuels what some “crypto gambling” or the “crypto casino”.

An influx of celebrities like Australian singer Iggy Azalea and Nigeria’s Davido has added an extra buzz layer to these Solana memecoins, even if multiple past projects by the latter and other celebrities have mostly gone to zero.

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Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin expects more

Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin weighed in on the situation, expressing dissatisfaction with the current trend of celebrity-backed launches.

“I’m feeling quite unhappy about this cycle’s celebrity experimentation so far”, Buterin wrote on X in response to an Azalea-related reference.

The OG blockchain builder expects celebrity memecoins to have a public-serving end goal or charitable plan, where proceeds are donated to a cause.

Buterin also suggested more on-chain mechanics like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to coordinate meaningful participation and guarantee lasting ideas, rather than short-lived projects built on fading trends.

“The north star should be: to have a project where even if eventually all tokens involved go to zero, the average person who participated is happy to have done so,” said Buterin.

Read more: Solana co-founder: Memecoins intuitively onboard users