Blockchain researcher ZachXBT, also known as Zachary Wolk, has accused crypto influencer Zion “Ansem” Thomas of promoting low-market-value memecoins in a series of so-called “pump and dump” schemes.
Crypto Researcher ZachXBT Accuses Influencer Ansem of Promoting Memecoin “Pump and Dump”
In a heated post on his X account, Wolk alleged that Thomas facilitated the promotion of “hundreds” of memecoins to his followers and significantly influenced their price movements.
Wolk’s claims emerged during a discussion of Murad Mahmudov’s “Memecoin Supercycle” speech at Token 2049, in which Mahmudov defended the role of memecoins in the crypto space.
Wolk accused Thomas of engaging in the same behavior, promoting Solana-based memecoins with low capitalizations to capitalize on market trends rather than having actual trading expertise.
“If you as a big account resort to promoting new low-capitalization memecoins to your followers every few days, it’s because you have no leverage and are forced to use your followers instead,” Wolk said, accusing Thomas of using his influence to drive up the prices of niche cryptocurrencies.
Thomas responded by defending his actions, claiming that the interest in these tokens reflects what the retail market wants to trade. “The ‘low-capitalization trash’ you mentioned has commanded 90% of the retail mind share in crypto over the past year. Whether you like it or not, that’s what people want to trade,” he countered.
Some of the promoted coins, including the President Joe Biden-themed memecoin BODEN, have seen significant declines, with BODEN down approximately 99% from its all-time high in April. Other memecoins such as HOBBES, ZEUS, and WYNN have similarly fallen, down approximately 98% from their peaks.
*This is not investment advice.
