Written by Zoltan Vardai, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Bryan O’Shea, Staff Editor.
Written by Zoltan Vardai, Staff Writer.
Reviewed by Bryan O’Shea, Staff Editor.
Roaring Kitty-linked RKC memecoin crashes as developer cashes out $729K
Latest NewsPublishedMay 12, 2026
A Solana memecoin linked to Roaring Kitty’s X account crashed after its developer cashed out $729,000, raising hack and sniping concerns.
The developer of a new Solana-based memecoin cashed out about $729,000 after Keith Gill’s Roaring Kitty X account posted the token’s ticker and contract address, triggering a short-lived trading frenzy before the post was deleted.
Following the now-deleted X post from Gill’s account, Red Kitten Crew (RKC) briefly surged to an $11 million market capitalization before falling about 67% to $3.6 million at the time of writing, as reported by Dexscreener.
The token’s developer sold about $611,000 worth of RKC and collected another $118,000 in creator fees through Pump.fun, bringing the total exit to roughly $729,000, as reported by blockchain analytics company Lookonchain. Lookonchain stated the developer initially used 10 wallets to buy 395.18 million RKC, representing 39.52% of the token’s supply, raising concerns that the launch was dominated by creator-linked wallets before retail traders entered.
The X post marked Gill’s first activity in over 15 months and raised community concerns over a compromised account. The token’s genesis distribution suggests a coordinated sniping effort where the creator-linked wallets have front-run the community to extract value.
The episode highlights the risks around celebrity-linked memecoin launches, where a single social media post, or a suspected account compromise, can send thinly traded tokens sharply higher before concentrated early holders sell into later buyers.
Cointelegraph reached out to Gill to find out whether he still controls his X account.
RNC token deployer’s sales. Source: Lookonchain
Gill was a retail trader and former financial analyst who was widely credited for sparking the 2021 GameStop short squeeze through viral social posts, encouraging retail traders to buy notable amounts of GameStop (GME) stock, forcing short sellers such as Citron Research to wind down their positions at a loss.
Now-deleted X post on RNK token. Source: The Roaring Kitty
Memecoin trader loses nearly $190K in 1 hour
Underscoring the perils of trading newly-introduced memecoins with a highly concentrated supply, a cryptocurrency trader lost nearly $190,000 within an hour on the RKC memecoin.
Trader loses nearly $190k on RKC memecoin. Lookonchain
The unfortunate trader spent $250,000 to buy 31.15 million RKC tokens, just before Gill’s X post was deleted, leading to the trader taking a $188,600 loss, after selling his coins for just $62,200, as reported by Lookonchain.
Related: Kaiko flags possible front-running before Robinhood token listings
Sniping and similar coordinated activity have been a long-standing value-extraction issue for memecoins.
On Wednesday, blockchain visualization platform Bubblemaps warned that 90 newly funded wallets bought 90% of Mystery (MYSTERY) memecoin supply at launch, describing the token’s concentration as a “textbook scam.”
The Mystery token has since crashed by over 98%, erasing most of its peak $7.5 million market capitalization, Dexscreener data shows.
Mystery/USD, all-time chart. Source: Dexscreener
In February 2025, a cryptocurrency sniper made nearly $28 million on the Broccoli (BROCCOLI) memecoin, shortly after Binance co-founder and former CEO, Zhangpeng Zhao, revealed that his Belgian Malinois was named “Broccoli,” sparking a wave of community-driven memecoin listings on launchpad Pump.fun.
Magazine: Bitcoiners eye ‘sell in May,’ SBF’s bid for new trial shut down: Hodler’s Digest, April 26 – May 2
Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.
- Memecoin
- Cryptocurrency Exchange
- Scams
- Tokens
- Altcoins
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