A relatively obscure NFT artist, known by the pseudonym Kero, has astounded the crypto community by raising over $10 million in a presale for a memecoin in less than a day.
Kero initiated the presale after conducting a poll on X, seeking input from followers on whether to launch a coin on the Solana network to commemorate joining the platform. With 5,000 votes in favor on the poll, Kero commenced the presale by sharing a wallet address, which swiftly amassed funds, eventually totaling nearly 55,000 SOL, equivalent to about $10.4 million at current market prices.
Initially uncertain about the coin’s concept before launching the poll, Kero ultimately named the coin SNAP in homage to their original meme character, Coco, a crocodile depicted in the style of the iconic meme character Pepe the Frog. Coco has been featured in Kero’s NFT creations, including various collections of digital trading cards inspired by famous artworks, memes, and other elements of internet culture.
According to blockchain data analyzed by The Block from Solscan, numerous contributions were made in small amounts. The median contribution was 1 SOL, which has nearly doubled in value compared to just a few weeks ago amid Solana’s recent price surge. On average, contributors donated around 3.5 SOL, although some wallets poured in hundreds of SOL.
The sudden success of the memecoin presale left other members of X’s crypto community astonished. “Literally nobody knows him. He just put an address on a tweet,” commented crypto trader Wizard of SoHo.
Kero has not announced an official launch date for the coin but recently indicated that it would not be launched until after 21:00 UTC (5 pm Eastern Time) on Sunday. “Due to the size and rapid development, we want to ensure we avoid any mistakes,” Kero explained.