Why did Joseph Maldonado-Passage, higher referred to 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 advised Decrypt in an interview, claiming the endeavor can even profit kids by means of 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 a substitute, he mentioned his legal professionals helped him get “Official Tiger King” off the bottom, which started buying and selling beneath the ticker identify EXOTIC on Monday.
Most celeb meme cash find yourself as flash within the pan. Their worth typically hinges on folks’s consideration, which may fade rapidly. Others find yourself marred by allegations of insider buying and selling. Unique mentioned he’s hopeful that his token doesn’t find yourself changing into one more instance.
“I pray to god that they don’t rug it and damage my repute,” the previous wildlife park proprietor mentioned. “I am hoping that folks will see that is legit and it has a goal.”
Celeb meme cash, whereas nothing new, reached a boiling level final yr, with names like Caitlyn Jenner, Jason Derulo, and Cardi B entering into the area. Hailey Welch, often known as “Hawk Tuah woman,” was amongst people who received caught flat-footed. Her coin, dubbed HAWK, turned a fiasco after it imploded. A spokesperson advised 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 simply over $100,000, in line with the crypto knowledge supplier GeckoTerminal. It has lower than 900 holders in complete, per blockchain knowledge.
The web site for Unique’s meme coin doesn’t reference the challenge’s purpose of contributing funds to Operation Smile. Nevertheless, 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 referred to as Twitter, mentioned it had already donated $1,000 to the nonprofit.
Unique says his legal professionals received behind the thought of launching a meme coin as a strategy to showcase his dedication to charitable work. That’s a motive for him to be free, he mentioned, versus “sitting in right here, watching folks do medication all day.”
Undertaking Smiles and Unique’s legal professionals didn’t reply to requests for remark from Decrypt.
Unique is presently being held at FMC Fort Value, an administrative safety heart, in line with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons He routinely makes use of the phone to attach with the surface world, protecting followers up-to-date by way of podcasts and X Areas.
In the case of crypto, Unique has been in a position to take in so much, even studying from different inmates. Whereas aware of key phrases, his real-word expertise is admittedly restricted.
“There’s not so much to do all day in addition to sit and discuss to individuals who know shit,” he mentioned. “I do so much from right here, however I don’t even know find out how to arrange a pockets.”
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 in opposition to 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 effectively. Unique mentioned he was entitled to obtain 1% of its provide, however by no means discovered who was behind the challenge. He fears that coin might 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 mentioned. “I would really like to have the ability to get it up there to the place I can repair 500 children’ [faces] and pay my lawyer payments.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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