Caitlyn Jenner Meme Coin Sows Confusion as Observers Question Its Provenance

A token launched on the Solana blockchain, apparently by U.S. celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, has left crypto market observers scratching their heads.
Late Sunday, a post on Jenner’s X account said she had issued the JENNER token using the Solana token deployer Pump Fun. Market participants quickly dismissed it as a likely hack because celebrity accounts on the social media platform have previously been compromised to falsely promote tokens or crypto protocols.
Usually, such account compromises are caught early and shut down immediately by X’s security teams. But Jenner’s account continued to advertise the token hours after the initial launch.
“Nothing has been hacked,” a post read. “We will be solely focused on $Jenner and expect to hit $50m market cap in the first 24 hours,” another said.
Market observers likely viewed the token with skepticism, as several American celebrities have previously been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for even promoting tokens.
About six hours after the issuance, Jenner’s account released a video that appeared to show the celebrity talking about the token. The post specifically mentioned it was not a “deep fake,” and said the token had recorded more than $113 million in trading volumes in just four hours.
“This is real. Get involved,” Jenner said in the purported video. “My new crypto coin.”
A separate video post appeared to show Jenner’s manager Sophia Hutchins affirming that the token was real and that she was “managing the crypto project.” Some X users dismissed that video as a deep fake.
The Block reported that posts promoting the token were also made on Jenner’s Instagram account. CoinDesk did not see these posts on Jenner’s account as of 10:48 UTC, indicative of their being taken down.
Meanwhile, only 4% of punters voted for “Yes” on the “Was Caitlyn Jenner hacked?” market on the predictions platform Polymarket. The market had attracted over $1.2 million in bets as of early in the European afternoon.
A request for comment posted through Jenner’s website was not immediately answered on a U.S. national holiday.
Edited by Sheldon Reback.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.