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People Are Setting Themselves on Fire and Getting Punched in the Face to Pump Their Crypto Coins

To compete against thousands of crypto meme coins flooding the market, creators are resorting to elaborate and sometimes dangerous stunts for attention.

Back then, amateur investors on Reddit began a short squeeze on the stock of GameStop and other out-of-favor companies; whereas in 2024, the circulation of viral posts in crypto circles on social media leads meme coins to surge in value. Unlike stocks, whose value is in theory tied to the performance and prospects of an underlying company, meme coins have no anchor to prevent a free fall in price. “With platforms that allow individuals to launch meme coins with no coding expertise, the barrier to creating supply is basically nil,” says Kahlil Philander, an assistant professor at Washington State University who specializes in gambling.

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