Solana (SOL) has been one of the worst-performing cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours, dropping 6.80% to $180.80 as of February 17. This decline stands in stark contrast to the broader crypto market’s 1.72% dip.
Link to High-Profile Rug Pulls
One major factor contributing to Solana’s struggles is its association with high-profile scams. A recent Bubblemaps investigation revealed that wallets linked to the fraudulent LIBRA token—associated with Argentine President Javier Milei—were also behind the Melania (MELANIA) memecoin, promoted by former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.
The same wallet, labeled “0xcEA,” played a pivotal role in both scams, generating millions in profits through market manipulation and crosschain fund transfers.
Memecoin Hype Turning Toxic
Solana’s underperformance has been exacerbated by the launch of Pump.fun, a memecoin platform that made it easier and cheaper to create speculative tokens. This has led to an influx of low-quality projects, many of which turned out to be scams or pump-and-dump schemes.
Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen pointed out that while Solana initially benefited from the memecoin frenzy, the trend is now backfiring. As speculative traders cash out, SOL’s price remains vulnerable to further corrections.
