Vine founder Rus Yusupov briefly announced the launch of a Vinecoin (VINE) meme coin, with whales sending in large SOL orders leading to the coin being sniped. The token is expected to make it big in the crypto industry, with its valuation projected to go above $1 billion. Yusupov took to his personal X account to post a contract address for the token, proving that his account wasn’t hacked.
However, he noted that the token launch was driven by nostalgia. The development is coming after Elon Musk announced his intentions to revive Vine. Musk controls the Vine brand and all the archives of its old videos by being the owner of X. The launch is also coming at a time when the AI agent launch trend was taking a back seat, with attention shifting to meme coins tied to celebrities and brands.
Whales snipe VINE hours after its launch
VINE was launched some minutes before 5 AM GMT on Thursday, seeing a surge of over 161,000% in the first seven hours of active trading. The surge came at the same time with direct high-volume purchases, with some others being repeated by whales who purchased the asset for 500 SOL. Several buyers also showed up, leaving the token with realized and unrealized gains.
The token was actively sniped hours after it was launched, especially with the launch happening at a relatively quiet time for the crypto market. Other traders also sniped the asset but were only able to make small gains. However, some traders are buying smaller portions of the assets, with most traders still skeptical because of the launch of the fake TikTok token.
Traders often approach the market with different strategies, with the top traders usually taking a bit of profit, leaving the rest for other rallies that may occur later. The token was initially seen as a risky token, but when the founder confirmed its authenticity, traders were actively involved. This rally is coming at a time when Solana just hit a new peak, with most experts commending the TRUMP token for the feat.
The token peaked at $0.20 before settling at $0.15, with experts expecting a rise soon. Its market capitalization also peaked at $220 million before going to rest at $159 million. Although most of the early buyers sold their stash completely, the whales that were involved posted the biggest realized and unrealized gains.