decrypt.co
Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub.
Discover SCENE
A Solana developer accidentally burned $10 million worth of pre-sale tokens after raising that amount anonymously for a meme coin called Slerf (SLERF) via Twitter (aka X). It’s the latest twist in the ongoing meme coin phenomenon that has seen numerous tokens skyrocket in value—albeit with some mishaps along the way.
Crypto degens were quick to send funds to a random contract address when the Slerf dev initially posted it—but when the time came for the developer to distribute tokens, he accidentally burned them.
Here’s something you never want to hear from your barber, or an anonymous developer you just sent thousands of dollars to: “Guys, I fucked up.”
“There is nothing I can do to fix this,” they added. “I am so fucking sorry.”
Guys I fucked up. I burned the LP and the tokens that were set aside for the airdrop.
Mint authority is already revoked so I can not mint them.
There is nothing I can do to fix this.
I am so fucking sorry.
— Slerf (@Slerfsol) March 18, 2024
Despite this, Slerf hit $2 billion in volume and ~74,000 total holders within its first 12 hours of being live, according to blockchain data. It turns out that accidentally burning the liquidity pool (LP) tokens, as well as a large chunk of the total supply is… bullish?
A recent meme coin trend has people sending their funds to random addresses they see posted on Twitter in hopes of being “early” to the next Book of Meme (BOME)—one of the hottest Solana coins of late.
Typically, when someone launches a meme coin, one of the first steps—and something that savvy meme coin traders look for before aping in—is burning the liquidity pool tokens. The devs, usually, take a part of the presale funds and a portion of the total supply of the token they’re launching, and deposit them into a liquidity pool. Sometimes, they even burn them.
Burning the LP tokens is seen as a bullish catalyst because, well, the developer can’t pull liquidity if the tokens are burned. It’s also common to revoke ownership of the original contract, which the Slerf dev also did, but that stopped him from being able to rectify the situation.
Slerf started like any other meme coin presale. A Twitter/X account was spun up, a meme was created, and funds were raised. However, when the time came to burn the LP tokens and distribute the remaining tokens as an airdrop, the dev made a critical mistake: They burned not only the LP tokens, but the remaining Slerf that was to be airdropped to investors.
The dev was quick to accept responsibility for his mistakes and do what any moral person would do: Jump onto Twitter Spaces for hours on end to figure out what the hell to do with their $10 million blunder.
Despite its messy launch, Slerf appears to have taken on a mind of its own. With LP tokens burnt and ownership of the contract revoked, it appears that degen traders have taken the stance of, “Well, what else could possibly go wrong?”—and decided to ape in.
Slerf has already been listed on a few centralized exchanges, and judging by the wild amount of trading volume it's racked up in its first 12 hours, there will probably be more to come.
Edited by Andrew Hayward