A savvy cryptocurrency trader made almost $28 million in profit after buying the latest memecoins inspired by a Binance co-founder.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, revealed his dog’s name, “Broccoli,” on Feb. 13, sparking a wave of memecoins named after the Belgian Malinois.
Broccoli memecoins quickly took up residence on popular memecoin launch platforms, including Solana’s Pump.fun, where there are now at least 480 Broccoli-themed coins, and BNB Smart Chain’s Four.Meme, with at least 300 CZ-dog-themed coins.
An unknown crypto trader capitalized on the social media hype after Zhao’s announcement and bought almost every memecoin named Broccoli, wrote crypto intelligence firm Lookonchain, in a Feb. 14 X post, adding:
“A sniper made $27.8M by sniping the memecoin named after CZ’s dog (Broccoli)!”
“After CZ announced the name of his dog, this sniper sniped almost every meme coin named Broccoli. Then he distributed Broccoli to multiple wallets for selling using disperse […] In the end, this sniper earned a total of 27.8M $USDT,” added the post.
Source: Lookonchain
In industry slang, “sniping” refers to traders looking to capitalize on short-term or intraday opportunities, using technical indicators to find quick trading opportunities.
Despite their intrinsic lack of utility, memecoins have made millionaires among crypto traders.
Pepe trader transactions. Source: Lookonchain
In May 2024, another unknown trader capitalized on Pepe’s (PEPE) price gains, netting over $46 million worth of profit after generating an eye-watering 15,718-fold return on his initial $3,000 investment.
Related: Redemption arcs of 2024: Ripple’s victory, memecoins’ rise, RWA growth
$28 million memecoin profit raises insider trading allegations
The $28 million profit raised some insider trading allegations among the crypto community.
Some of the traders’ wallet addresses are associated with the developers of some Broccoli memecoins, wrote pseudonymous crypto trader DoctorDeFi in a Feb. 13 X post, adding:
“For context, this is not a sniper but Broccoli dev. In total, he made >$50M.”
Source: DoctorDeFi
The thread showed three more crypto wallets potentially related to the Broccoli trader. The wallets had a combined value of over $34.2 million worth of stablecoins.
The Broccoli-themed memecoins saw widespread attention despite CZ stressing that he was not launching a memecoin of his own, adding that it’s “up to the community to do that (or not).”
Related: Crypto whale up $11.5M on AI token position in 19 days
Trump family memecoins spark investor hype, regulatory concerns
Investor excitement for memecoins has been increasing since President Donald Trump launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Jan. 18 and the Official Melania (MELANIA) token on Jan. 19 on the Solana network, ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20.
However, industry watchers are concerned that the Trump family’s memecoins may invite more industry scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The presidential memecoin launch sets a “precedent that could blur the lines between celebrity, politics and finance,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
This may challenge the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation in 2025, Lian told Cointelegraph:
“The question now is whether the SEC will tighten regulations to curb potential market manipulations or if they will adapt to this new reality by establishing clearer guidelines for such tokens.”
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