Nayib Bukele tweet pumps Chill Guy memecoin amid creator’s legal threats
A Thursday evening tweet of the Chill Guy meme by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele pumped the price of a Solana memecoin by 65% in 90 minutes.
While Bitcoiners interpreted the tweet as a reaction to bitcoin’s rally above $96,000, memecoin traders interpreted the tweet literally.
Although dozens of Chill Guy-named memecoins exist, the largest and most liquid version exists on Solana. Starting at a market capitalization of $300 million as of 9:09pm in El Salvador when Bukele tweeted, crypto traders immediately ran up the coin to a $500 million market cap.
As of publication time, the tweet has earned over 1.4 million views and the associated memecoin has generated over $350 million in 24-hour volume.
Bukele claims that El Salvador became a sovereign bitcoin investor on September 6, 2021. After years of acquisitions, the country now claims to possess 5,940 bitcoin worth over $550 million. With bitcoin at all-time highs, Salvadoran purchases have accreted hundreds of millions of dollars to the country’s treasury.
Historically, Bukele has only spoken publicly about bitcoin and tether, suggesting that his pumping of this small memecoin might have been inadvertent.
Read more: Solana pre-sale meme coin founders abandon their crashing projects
Phillip Banks created the Just A Chill Guy meme in October 2023 and it spread virally on social media, especially TikTok where it enjoys a phrasal template. Chill Guy’s nonchalant smirk, casual attire, and serenity portray an indifferent equanimity amid a variety of otherwise stressful situations.
Earlier today, the meme’s creator Phillip Banks threatened to issue takedown notices for assets or applications that used the character.
Speaking via X, Banks said, “Chill guy has been copyrighted. like, legally. I’ll be issuing takedowns on for-profit-related things over the next few days.”
He clarified, “Not like brand accounts using him as a trend, that’s kinda something I don’t really care about (I do just ask for credit. Or Xboxes), mainly unauthorized merchandise and shitcoins.”
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