Who’s Behind MOODENG? Largest Wallet Sees Nearly $10 Million Profit
As the market recovers, MEME coins have experienced a resurgence over the past month, with a standout project emerging on the Solana blockchain—MOODENG, inspired by the Thai internet celebrity MooDeng.
As of September 30, MOODENG’s market cap reached $220 million, making it one of the top ten MEME coins on Solana and achieving the highest market cap for projects launched on Pump.Fun. Many users on social media have reported significant gains from MOODENG, and its success seems to be more than just coincidence.
Timing is Key
Interestingly, MOODENG is not the first MEME coin themed around MooDeng; several related tokens were released 20 days prior. However, only two surpassed a market cap of $100,000, with MOODENG emerging as the clear winner. Initially, the Google search interest for MooDeng was low, but it coincided with a surge in its global popularity. MOODENG was created on September 10, and by September 12, search interest began to skyrocket.
Thus, excellent timing was crucial for MOODENG’s success. Tokens released too early or too late did not fare as well.
Beyond timing, capital also plays a critical role in the success of MEME coins. At MOODENG’s inception, there was little hype or funding. This phase became essential for major investors entering the market. The initial push for MOODENG came from within the Pump.Fun community, where trading bots contributed to 19.67 SOL in trading volume. Additionally, three mysterious wallets purchased 3 to 5 SOL each, filling the pump curve and enabling successful trading on Raydium, although these addresses later sold off their tokens, missing out on the ensuing price surge.
Major Holders See Over 6000x Returns but Remain Unsold
After MOODENG launched on Raydium, significant players began to enter the scene. High-frequency trading addresses contributed notably to the trading volume, often buying and quickly selling tokens. However, some wallets seemed to predict MOODENG’s success, starting to accumulate tokens from September 10 and holding onto them through September 30.
For example, the wallet 969uz8JLbKfeXdJ91bca6ZLjDtutvFr1FGG8H7KmHqY3 purchased 20 million MOODENG tokens starting on September 23, yielding over 5x returns to date without any sales. This address holds the largest single wallet amount.
Another significant address, shogunfucks.sol, associated with a DeFi protocol founder, reportedly earned eight figures from MOODENG. This address accumulated about 18.67 million tokens worth approximately $4.53 million since September 23. Interestingly, 1.8 million tokens were acquired from another wallet linked to Coinbase.
However, the true largest holder, 5FGcB2HydTE9pGbHoSjo7ABn4NgeQV8aS9AerD1TZREU, purchased 38.74 million MOODENG tokens for just 9.8 SOL upon the token’s launch. To avoid detection, this wallet subsequently spread the tokens across several other addresses. Currently, this wallet still holds around 38 million tokens, valued over $9.41 million, representing a staggering return of over 6142x on an initial investment of just $1,532.
Funds for this wallet trace back to another address involved in several rug pull incidents, raising questions about how these holders anticipated MOODENG’s success. The timing of their purchases coincided perfectly with the token’s lowest price, contributing to an immediate price surge.
Additionally, another notable wallet, BtTGmbw6iHHAkQpM2gn4igtDh7sqzAcmUMTRokFFbfdk, purchased 18.7 million MOODENG tokens at a low price, translating into a current value of $4.38 million, representing over 28,000x returns, while still holding most of their tokens.
Many large holders acquired their tokens before September 13 and have yet to sell, seemingly in consensus, which has significantly contributed to MOODENG’s price stability.
Mysterious Mexican Developer Predicts MOODENG’s Success
Beyond financial maneuvers, Coindarwin sought to uncover the individuals behind MOODENG. A self-identified Mexican developer, known as nebur, appears to be an early contributor. On September 10, he tweeted about receiving insider information regarding a coin that would skyrocket, claiming to be the first to release details about it. After building anticipation, he promoted MOODENG on September 11, just as interest was beginning to rise.
From that day forward, multiple KOLs in the MEME coin space began mentioning MOODENG, likely as early adopters. As MOODENG’s market cap grew, more players entered the market, and KOLs continued to promote it.
Overall, MOODENG’s success can be attributed to the influence of the Thai celebrity, which helped cultivate a global MEME culture. Additionally, the early large holders seemingly anticipated MOODENG’s high market cap, holding rather than dumping their tokens, a crucial factor for its price stability. However, the collective buying strategies and synchronized actions of these wallets suggest potential coordinated efforts behind the scenes. These untapped wallets may act as ticking time bombs, poised to influence the market when interest in MooDeng begins to wane.