Slerf, a sloth-themed meme coin on the Solana network, has made headlines after raising $10 million in a presale and quickly gaining popularity, despite a major mishap by the developer. The launch of SLERF comes at a time when developers are raising millions of dollars in presales, contributing to a surge in the price of Solana’s SOL token, which crossed the $200 mark for the first time since November 2021.
The developer behind Slerf accidentally burned the liquidity provider and tokens, losing all the funds received in the presale. In a public statement, the developer admitted to the mistake, saying, “I burned the LP and the tokens that were set aside for the airdrop. Mint authority is already revoked so I cannot mint them. There is nothing I can do to fix this. I am so sorry.”
Despite this setback, Slerf quickly gained traction in the market, with multiple exchange listings, a $1.7 billion trading volume, and thousands of unique holders within hours of going live. The token was eventually listed on Solana-based exchanges like Jupiter and Orca, where its price surged to as high as $1.4 from an initial value near 3 cents.
According to data from Birdeye, Slerf has already amassed $1.8 billion in trading volumes and 500,000 individual trades from 106,000 traders. On-chain analysis tool Lookonchain reported that traders made millions of dollars by betting on the newly launched token, with one trader earning over $3 million in just over 12 minutes from an initial investment of $1.9 million.
Slerf’s launch is part of a larger trend in the crypto space, where developers are raising millions of dollars in presales, often in SOL tokens, on the promise of a meme coin airdrop. Over the weekend, it is estimated that over $100 million worth of tokens were sent to such presales, contributing to the surge in SOL’s price.
Despite the initial mishap, Slerf’s popularity and trading activity show the continued interest and excitement surrounding meme coins and presales in the crypto market. The frenzy around Slerf highlights the potential for significant gains, as well as the risks involved in investing in such volatile assets.