Nigerian Superstar Davido Pulls a Crypto Pump and Dump Scheme

Nigerian Afro-pop star Davido is facing serious backlash after the launch of his meme token, $DAVIDO. The token, launched yesterday, quickly drew the ire of the Nigerian crypto community. Many suspect a token dump is imminent, leading to accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme orchestrated by the celebrity.

Also Read: Celebrity Meme Coins Flood the Crypto Market

According to Lookonchain, Davido made a massive profit of 2,783 SOL, equivalent to $473,000, in just 11 hours after selling his $DAVIDO memecoin. Despite this quick profit, the singer still holds an unrealized profit of $207,000.

Davido Launched a Meme Coin

The story began with an initial investment of 7.5 SOL, valued at $1,275. Davido used 7 SOL, roughly $1,190, to create and launch his $DAVIDO token on the platform Pump.fun. This initial investment allowed him to purchase 203 million $DAVIDO tokens, which made up 20.3% of the total supply.

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Blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain reported that Davido also transferred 20 million $DAVIDO tokens to an address labeled “dead1111…1111.” After these transactions, he was left with 61.12 million $DAVIDO tokens, valued at $207,000.

Davido(@davido) launched a token named $DAVIDO and made a profit of 2,783 $SOL($473K) in just 11 hours, also has an unrealized profit of $207K.

11 hours ago, he received 7.5 $SOL($1,275) as start-up capital, created $DAVIDO on https://t.co/C909I8882s and spent 7 $SOL($1,190) to… pic.twitter.com/3ObDhsMbOU— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 30, 2024

Despite Davido’s silence on the issue, his actions have not gone unnoticed. His fans and the general crypto community have criticized him for withdrawing massive amounts from his DAVIDO token stash while encouraging others to buy.

These d-tier celebs you keep supporting mostly have already launched or promoted multiple scams in the past.

EX: Davido promoted RapDoge, Echoke, and Racksterli (massive Nigerian investment ponzi)

Now bc they come back and make one post you think this time will be different…— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) May 30, 2024

Cryptopolitan reached out to Davido for a comment, but there was no response by the time of publication. Many of Davido’s followers are new to cryptocurrencies, and this could result in huge financial losses and increased regulatory pressure on legitimate players in the market.

Community Lashes Out at Davido

The $DAVIDO token, also known as “Timeless Davido,” is the latest in a series of celebrity-themed memecoins making waves in the crypto industry. Davido announced the token launch on his X account, a move acknowledged by the official Solana account. This announcement created a frenzy in the Nigerian X space and led to a surge in the token’s market capitalization just hours after its launch.

I want to thank everyone that joined the $DAVIDO community last night !— Davido (@davido) May 30, 2024

This isn’t Davido’s first foray into the crypto industry. He previously launched $ECHOKE on the Binance Smart Chain, a project intended to offer services like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), entertainment, media, and hospitality. However, this project was short-lived and soon forgotten.

Though he hasn’t directly addressed the pump and dump allegations, Davido remains active on X. His latest post states: “Join the community $DAVIDO! More spaces coming soon and you’ll be REALLY excited by who we got coming up next!”

Cryptopolitan reporting by Jai Hamid