Soccer Icon Lionel Messi Allegedly Backs Solana-Based WaterCoin (WATER): Are Meme Coins Next for SEC Scrutiny?

Messi Allegedly Promotes Hydration Meme Coin WATER?

International soccer legend Lionel Messi the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) has entered the meme coin trend, promoting Solana-based WaterCoin (WATER) via his Instagram Stories.

Just yesterday, Messi's Instagram featured a picture of him with the WATER logo, suggesting an endorsement of the meme coin.

An Instagram account associated with WaterCoin shared the same story, amplifying the message.

Its latest post on Instagram stated:

“Lionel Messi has become the first celebrity to publicly support $WATER. First, but not the last... Get ready for it.”

Given Messi's global influence, his promotion could significantly impact public perception of the meme coin.

WATER's Price Jumped Over 55%, Now Has Lost Half its Gains

With 504 million followers on Instagram, Messi ranks as the platform's second most-followed individual, just behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

This extensive reach likely played a role in WATER's notable price surge, which jumped over 55% following Messi's post.

Although WATER has since retraced more than half of those gains, it continues to trend upward, currently trading at $0.0009406, a 129% increase in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap.

WATER Trading on Crypto Exchanges

Little is known about the WATER memecoin, but a link on its website reveals that it was created "in partnership with the masterminds" behind the Solana memecoin BEER.

BEER achieved over 35x returns during its presale and, at one point, surpassed a $500 million market cap.

Notably, BEER experienced extreme volatility last month.

According to WATER's website, it is "a meme coin with no intrinsic value or expectation of financial return.”

Currently, WATER has over 250,000 holders and is listed on major centralised exchanges (CEXes) including Bitget, BitMart, and MEXC.

What is Watercoin?

WaterCoin's documentation highlights the project's commitment to raising awareness for water-related issues, with aspirations to evolve into a comprehensive ecological cryptocurrency.

The project's roadmap delineates a four-stage progression, beginning with the initial presale of the token, progressing through listings on CEXs and collaborations with celebrities, and culminating in its transformation into a "charity-focused environmental currency."

However, the roadmap provides only a cursory outline of the strategies WaterCoin will employ to realise these objectives, and the token's price movements have displayed patterns suggestive of "pump and dump" schemes.

According to its documentations, it positions itself as the next significant meme coin on the Solana blockchain, supposedly distinguishing itself from other meme coins with a mission to effect a net-positive impact on the real world. https://wiki.watercoin.wtf/welcome

The WATER team has initiated global marketing social media campaigns aimed at generating billions of views on water-related challenges and has announced partnerships with major charities and influential figures.

To foster stability and trust within the community, influencers endorsing WATER are bound by vesting contracts, ensuring their sustained involvement with the project and precluding abrupt sell-offs.

Moreover, perpetual trading will be suspended for the first 90 days, establishing a stable environment for early investors.

$WATER has secured pre-agreed listings on leading exchanges, facilitating a robust market debut and broad adoption.

The presale entry is capped at 200 Solana (SOL) per wallet, ensuring equitable distribution.

The tokenomics of $WATER are structured to guarantee fair distribution and a robust ecosystem:

Total Supply: 88,888,888,888 $WATER tokens

Presale: 31,111,111,111 $WATER (35%)

Liquidity: 31,111,111,111 $WATER (35%)

Treasury & Community: 17,777,777,778 $WATER (20%)

WATER Foundation: 4,444,444,444 WATER (5%)

Early Contributors: 4,444,444,444 $WATER (5%)

There is nothing posted on its X account yet.

Messi Endorsement Real or Fraud?

Neither Messi nor his management team has issued an official statement regarding the WATER token post.

This situation echoes a recent incident involving professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, where a meme coin purportedly linked to him was promoted on social media before being retracted following Hogan's denial of involvement.

The token subsequently lost over $15 million in market value.

Despite the positive attention Solana meme coins have received from celebrities, it is crucial for cryptocurrency investors to exercise caution and perform thorough due diligence before investing, especially given the prevalence of scams.

Moreover, it is concerning that a small group of wallets holds 35% of the WATER token's supply.

On-chain tracker Bubblemaps has issued a warning, advising its followers to sell off their WATER holdings.

Yet, investors have chosen to disregard the warning about supply concentration and have continued to purchase the token following Messi's post.

There have been instances where hackers compromised celebrities' accounts to promote meme coins, only for the posts to be removed once the celebrities regained control of their profiles.

Notable cases include actress Sydney Sweeney and rapper 50 Cent.

However, Messi's situation appears different, as the post on his Instagram stories still remains visible at the time of writing.

From Messi's instagram stories at the time of writing

The Meme Coin Mania is on a Roll

Investing in meme coins carries substantial risk, as their rapid price increases often lack ties to any intrinsic utility.

Despite this, traders continue to take significant risks, hoping for windfall profits.

The popularity of meme coins has sparked debate within the crypto community, with some criticising them for damaging the industry’s image and attracting regulatory scrutiny.

Others argue that meme coins have utility as indicators of broader market trends, gauges of sentiment, and community builders, providing value beyond their financial worth.

A Matter of Time Till the SEC Sets its Sights on Celeb Meme Coins

Celebrities who have recently launched and promoted meme coins on the Solana blockchain may be violating securities laws and are likely to attract the scrutiny of the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to legal experts.

US-based public figures such as Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea (Amethyst Kelly), Jason Derulo (Jason Desrouleaux), and others have been involved in creating and promoting crypto tokens using their images since late May.

Creo Legal founding director David Chung warned:

“Nothing gets the SEC to act faster than shilling a meme coin.”

He pointed out that Jenner, who was the first to gain attention for her token, is "effectively making herself a target."

Chung added that the SEC could potentially pursue legal action against her for selling unregistered securities without the proper license.

Liam Hennessy, a partner at Clyde & Co, concurred, noting that celebrities faced criticism in the last bull market for illegally promoting cryptocurrencies without disclosing commissions.

Kim Kardashian, for example, paid over $1.26 million for endorsing EthereumMax (EMAX).

Hennessy emphasized that the SEC has asserted that nearly all crypto tokens are securities, and if these celebrity tokens fall within its jurisdiction, "the issuer would need to be registered with the SEC."

He explained:

“If not, there are appreciable penalties and fines for unlicensed activity. The celebrity may not be the token issuer, which arguably takes them away from what will be the SEC's first area of concern.”

SEC Chair Gary Gensler released a video cautioning against celebrity-endorsed crypto tokens last October.

The tokens in question were all launched on the Solana-based meme coin creation platform pump.fun.

Jenner and Derulo have acknowledged that Sahil Arora, who has been accused of being a serial scammer and celebrity meme coin promoter, assisted in the creation of their respective tokens, Caitlyn Jenner (JENNER) and Jason Derulo (JASON).

Crypto analytics firm Bubblemaps has alleged that each of these tokens, including Azalea's Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token—which did not involve Arora—has exhibited on-chain insider activity at their launches, with certain wallets profiting millions of dollars.

Celebrities involved in these promotions may also face potential legal action from investors who incur losses, as there have been instances of stars being sued for promoting cryptocurrencies.

Chung added:

“If enough people lose their money, then we could easily see a class action. The vast majority of meme coin projects end up going to zero, so I'm not expecting anything different here.”

Hennessy expressed:

“There are a host of other requirements around dealing with securities that might make it safer for them to stick with their day job.”