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A Solana token carrying Chinese AI star DeepSeek’s name briefly rises to $48 million in market cap, but the company denies ever launching a cryptocurrency.
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A Solana-based token named after the Chinese AI app DeepSeek briefly surged past a $48 million market capitalization on Jan. 27, fueled by $150 million in trading volume, according to Solana token data aggregator Birdeye.
Blockchain records show the token was created on Jan. 4, weeks before DeepSeek’s app made headlines by topping the US Apple App Store rankings.
The token’s valuation quickly cooled to $30 million at the time of writing despite efforts by its creators to link it to DeepSeek’s official X account and website. Over 22,000 wallets are still holding the token.
A second fake token also capitalized on the DeepSeek hype, briefly reaching a $13 million market cap with $28.5 million in trading volume. It has toppled down to $8.6 million since.
DeepSeek has denied involvement with any crypto tokens, warning users about potential scams.
Source: DeepSeek
The AI app’s rise has dominated crypto chatter, with analysts suggesting its success contributed to sending Bitcoin below $100,000 for the first time since US President Donald Trump took office. The app’s ascent has been viewed as a challenge to US dominance in AI, shaking financial markets.
Related: The release of DeepSeek R1 shatters long-held assumptions about AI
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 23 aimed at preserving US leadership in AI, calling for systems free of ideological bias or social agendas.
Fake tokens and X hacks
Ironically, Trump’s own Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin launch on Jan. 20 and the subsequent debut of another token named after the First Lady, Melania Trump, triggered a surge in fraudulent copycats.
Security firm Blockaid reported a spike in malicious “Trump”-branded tokens, from an average of 3,300 daily to 6,800 on the memecoin’s launch day.
Of those, Cointelegraph found 61 tokens launched on Jan. 20 with tradeable liquidity that claimed to be the official TRUMP or MELANIA. These tokens raked in $4.8 in purchase transactions from 12,641 wallets.
Renowned crypto detective ZachXBT warned of a rising scam trend where hackers target X accounts to promote fraudulent tokens. He said that scammers are shifting their focus from government and political accounts to celebrity profiles.
Magazine: 5 dangers to beware when apeing into Solana memecoins
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
