The creator of MIRA Coin, Siqi Chen, publicly apologized for the consequences of launching the ZERO test token, which led to significant losses for traders.
The Launch of ZERO Test Token
Siqi Chen created the ZERO token on the Solana-based meme coin platform, pump.fun, as an experiment to study investor behavior. The token's description clearly stated that its value would drop to zero: "It does nothing and never will. It is worth zero." However, this warning was ignored by some investors.
Impact on Investors
Despite the warning, many investors, including a whale who purchased $208,900 worth of ZERO, invested in it. According to DEX Screener, after its launch on December 30, ZERO's value initially surged by 178%, reaching a trading volume of $32 million and a market cap exceeding $710,000. However, soon its price plummeted by nearly 70% before a slight recovery of 15%.
Community Reaction and Next Steps
Chen admitted he was unprepared for the memecoin's popularity and expressed surprise that investors bought in despite the warnings. He disclosed that he sold 40% of the supply for 444 SOL, but later repurchased and burned the tokens. Chen pledged to reimburse affected individuals using personal funds and plans to organize airdrops for compensation. Meanwhile, MIRA's value appears to have been affected by this controversy, losing over 20% in the last 24 hours.
Reflecting on the situation, Chen emphasized the broader potential of blockchain technology for funding rare medical research. This incident parallels another controversy involving the owner of the Peanut the Squirrel memecoin, who also raised grievances against the creators of a similar coin.
