Caitlyn Jenner Meme Coin Sows Confusion as Observers Question Its Provenance

As an experienced analyst, I have seen my fair share of celebrity-backed projects in the crypto space, and this latest development with Caitlyn Jenner’s JENNER token on Solana has raised some red flags for me.

A Solana-based token, supposedly introduced by American celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, has puzzled crypto market spectators.

On late Sunday, a post appeared on Jenner’s X account via Solana’s token deployer Pump Fun, asserting that she had launched the JENNER token. However, this announcement was met with skepticism from market participants due to past incidents where celebrity social media accounts have been hacked for promoting false tokens or crypto protocols.

Typically, X’s security team swiftly detects and terminates compromised accounts. However, Jenner’s account persisted in advertising the token for several hours following its introduction.

“The post stated that nothing had been breached.” And, “Another message expressed confidence in reaching a $50 million market capitalization within the initial 24 hours, focusing solely on $Jenner.”

It’s plausible that market onlookers expressed caution towards the token due to past instances of American celebrities facing SEC charges for endorsing similar digital assets.

Approximately six hours following its release, Jenner’s account shared a video featuring the famous personality discussing the token. The caption assured viewers that the clip was authentic and not manipulated in any way. Impressively, over $113 million worth of trading volume had been recorded for the token within a mere four-hour period.

“This is real. Get involved,” Jenner said in the purported video. “My new crypto coin.”

In a different video release, Sophia Hutchins, Jenner’s manager, confirmed the authenticity of the cryptocurrency token and her role in overseeing the project. However, some skeptics among the X community cast doubt on this video, labeling it as possibly manipulated or fake.

As a crypto investor, I’ve come across reports from The Block indicating that promotional posts for a certain token were once visible on Jenner’s Instagram account. However, at 10:48 UTC, CoinDesk didn’t observe these posts, suggesting they may have been removed.

At present, just 4% of bettors chose “Yes” in the “Did Caitlyn Jenner’s account get hacked?” market on Polymarket. Over $1.2 million worth of wagers had been placed by this point in the European day.

As a researcher investigating responses to comments on Jenner’s website, I noticed that there was no immediate answer during a U.S. national holiday.