From pump to dump: Hulk Hogan denies promoting HULK coin

Solana’s HULKAMANIA coin faced losses after Hulk Hogan deleted alleged promotion posts.
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin expressed discontent about celebrity-endorsed memecoin frenzy.

In a recent development, the Solana [SOL] memecoin HULKAMANIA [HULK] experienced a significant loss of $15 million in market capitalization.

In fact, a rapid fluctuation was observed in HULK’s value on 6th June, when it experienced a substantial pump followed by a sharp dump within a mere two-hour timeframe.

Interestingly, these developments coincided with allegations that WWE wrestling legend Hulk Hogan had promoted the memecoin on social media on the 6th of June.

However, Terry Gene Bollea, also known as “Hulk Hogan,” denied responsibility for these posts.

Bollea later took to Instagram and said,

“Please do not take notice of any posts posted today. They are not from me and will be promptly removed.”

Hogan’s X posts

Screenshots of the now deleted posts of Hulk Hogan were shared widely on social media. The screenshots suggested that Hogan’s account posted comments promoting the $HULK memecoin.

Source: Matt Binder/XProviding further insights on the matter, crypto analytics firm Bubblemaps, asserted

“Insiders bought 15% of $HULK before it was announced.”

Source: Bubblemaps/X

According to DEX Screener, the buying volume for HULK exceeded the selling volume, with $43.0 million compared to $42.9 million. Despite the slight difference, the buying pressure was notably higher.

Source: DEX Screener

Adding a touch of sarcasm, reporter Kate Irwin commented on the situation and said,

“Either he scammed or got hacked lol.”

However, it remains unclear whether the account was hacked.

Impact on Solana-memecoin market?

While all of this was happening, the overall Solana memecoin market seems to have remained unaffected, witnessing a 1.7% change in its market cap during the same period.

This wasn’t the first instance of a well-known figure launching their own memecoin or endorsing a memecoin in general.

Recently, reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, along with rappers Iggy Azalea and Rich the Kid, also entered the fray and launched their own memecoins.

However, amidst the celebrity-endorsed memecoin frenzy, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, voiced his discontent, and expressed,