By cryptoadmin Why did Joseph Maldonado-Passage, higher often known as Joe Unique from the viral Netflix docuseries “Tiger King,” debut a meme coin on Solana from jail earlier this week?
“I’m knee-deep in lawyer payments,” he informed Decrypt in an interview, claiming the endeavor can even profit kids via donations to a nonprofit known as Operation Smile.
The 62-year-old, who has lived behind bars for seven years, didn’t launch the meme coin himself. As an alternative, he stated his attorneys helped him get “Official Tiger King” off the bottom, which started buying and selling underneath the ticker title EXOTIC on Monday.
Most celeb meme cash find yourself as flash within the pan. Their worth usually hinges on folks’s consideration, which might fade shortly. Others find yourself marred by allegations of insider buying and selling. Unique stated he’s hopeful that his token doesn’t find yourself changing into yet one more instance.
this proper right here too. Dont overlook all of this. You wont discover a extra sincere celeb coin. Observe the wallets, they’re all on https://t.co/NoBlv57TF8 . When @realDonaldTrump pardons me, think about the market cap then
Should you heard me on areas final night time, we’re simply beginning. Its… https://t.co/moNCRG63pl
— Joe Unique (@joe_exotic) March 28, 2025
“I pray to god that they don’t rug it and spoil my popularity,” the previous wildlife park proprietor stated. “I'm hoping that individuals will see that is legit and it has a goal.”
Superstar meme cash, whereas nothing new, reached a boiling level final 12 months, with names like Caitlyn Jenner, Jason Derulo, and Cardi B getting into the area. Hailey Welch, also referred to as “Hawk Tuah lady,” was amongst those who bought caught flat-footed. Her coin, dubbed HAWK, grew to become a fiasco after it imploded. A spokesperson informed Decrypt she “had zero management over it.”
EXOTIC debuted on a little-known launchpad known as pumpkin.enjoyable. The meme coin’s market cap initially surged to $900,000 however has since fallen to only over $100,000, based on the crypto information supplier GeckoTerminal. It has lower than 900 holders in whole, per blockchain information.
The web site for Unique’s meme coin doesn’t reference the venture’s purpose of contributing funds to Operation Smile. Nonetheless, it does say tokens will probably be donated to a “basis supporting tigers or animal well being” upon his launch from jail. On Friday, Unique’s account on X, previously often known as Twitter, stated it had already donated $1,000 to the nonprofit.
Unique says his attorneys bought behind the thought of launching a meme coin as a technique to showcase his dedication to charitable work. That’s a motive for him to be free, he stated, versus “sitting in right here, watching folks do medicine all day.”
Undertaking Smiles and Unique’s attorneys didn’t reply to requests for remark from Decrypt.
Unique is at present being held at FMC Fort Value, an administrative safety heart, based on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons He routinely makes use of the phone to attach with the skin world, protecting followers up-to-date through podcasts and X Areas.
In relation to crypto, Unique has been in a position to take up so much, even studying from different inmates. Whereas conversant in key phrases, his real-word expertise is admittedly restricted.
“There's not so much to do all day moreover sit and speak to individuals who know shit,” he stated. “I do so much from right here, however I don’t even know the way to arrange a pockets.”
Happy with my boy!
— Joe Unique (@joe_exotic) November 15, 2024
In 2021, Joe Unique was resentenced to 21 years in federal jail, per the Related Press. He was convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme towards animal welfare activist Carole Baskin, killing 5 tigers, promoting tiger cubs, and falsifying wildlife data.
Unique maintains his innocence, whereas additionally urgent U.S. President Donald Trump for a pardon on social media.
In 2021, an unofficial meme coin known as “Tiger King Coin” was launched as nicely. Unique stated he was entitled to obtain 1% of its provide, however by no means discovered who was behind the venture. He fears that coin could affect folks’s perceptions of the one which simply launched.
Operation Smile, based in 1982, offers cleft lip and palate restore surgical procedures for youngsters the world over. Unique hopes his meme coin can in the end assist that initiative transferring ahead.
“Folks really want to put money into it,” he stated. “I would love to have the ability to get it up there to the place I can repair 500 youngsters’ [faces] and pay my lawyer payments.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward