18 October 2024
In another fabulous story from the crypto market, an investor has realized a staggering 3,360% return, transforming an initial investment of $86,000 into approximately $3.9 million. This extraordinary gain was achieved through an investment in the memecoin Goatseus Maximus (GOAT).
According to a report by on-chain analysis firm Lookonchain, the investor allocated 603 SOL (worth $86,000) to purchase 10.7 million GOAT tokens six days prior. At its peak, this investment surged to $3.75 million. Within the past eight hours, the investor liquidated 0.7 million GOAT tokens, converting them back into 1,453 SOL ($222,000), thereby retaining 10 million GOAT tokens valued at approximately $2.74 million.
Additionally, the trader invested $182,000 in 7.3 million BILLY tokens, which he sold after four months for $593,000, yielding a 226% return. Thus, the anonymous crypto investor made a staggering $3.291 million profit with both trades.
Crypto’s Latest Memecoin Sensation
The memecoin GOAThas garnered significant attention within the crypto community. Initially conceptualized by an anonymous developer using Solana’s memecoin creation app, Pump Fun, GOAT was not the direct creation of Andy Ayrey, the developer behind the AI bot Truth Terminal. However, the AI’s influence played a pivotal role in its virality.
Andy Ayrey, a digital innovator, developed Truth Terminal as an experiment in memetic engineering rather than crypto creation. Truth Terminal, trained on Meta’s Llama 3.1 model, engaged in extensive dialogues across platforms like X, Reddit, and 4chan, eventually fixating on the Goatsee meme—a notorious early internet shock image.
These interactions inadvertently inspired the creation of the GOAT memecoin, which launched on October 13 and rapidly escalated to a market capitalization of $360 million within four days. As of the latest data, GOAT’s market cap has slightly tapered to just over $335 million, with the token trading at approximately $0.33.
Andy Ayrey acknowledged the unexpected success of GOAT, stating, “This isn’t a crypto project; it’s a study in memetic contagion and the tail risks of unsupervised infinite idea generation in the age of LLMs.” He further elaborated, “This memecoin taking off is proving a thesis I’m building an AI alignment and safety company around; which is where the bulk of my skin in the game lies.”
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, initially provided a $50,000 Bitcoin grant to Truth Terminal for independent AI research. Amid the GOAT token surge, Andreessen clarified his non-involvement with the memecoin: “For clarity, I sent a personal $50K no-string-attached unconditional research grant to Truth Terminal and its creator Andy Ayrey this summer […]. However, I have nothing to do with the GOAT memecoin. I was not involved in creating it, play no role in it, have no economics in it, and do not own any of it.”
GOAT’s rapid ascent and subsequent stabilization highlight the continued appetite among crypto traders for high-risk, high-reward memecoins rather than fundamental utility. Truth Terminal’s role as a catalyst in GOAT’s success exemplifies the profound impact that AI-driven narratives can have on digital asset valuations
At press time, GOAT traded at $0.3520.