From TikTok trends to crypto wallets, the “Chill Guy” meme has become an internet phenomenon, turning a laid-back cartoon dog into the face of a million-dollar market cap crypto.

Since its November 15 launch, the Chill Guy meme coin ($CHILLGUY) ballooned from a $10 million market cap to over $461 million, driven by the widespread popularity of the Chill Guy character—a relaxed anthropomorphic dog in a grey sweater, blue jeans, and red sneakers.

The Solana-based meme coin has increased in value by 50% over the last 24 hours alone, trading just shy of $0.50, per CoinGecko data. The token’s rise reflects the ongoing craze around meme coins, which continue to defy market norms with their volatile yet lucrative returns.

CHILLGUY features an anthropomorphic brown dog sporting a grey sweater, rolled-up jeans, and red sneakers, captivating audiences with its laid-back demeanor and has become a cultural phenomenon. 

Frequently paired with humorous captions on platforms like TikTok, the character embodies a carefree attitude, resonating particularly with Gen Z audiences.

However, the coin’s ascent has not been without controversy. Behind the meme coin’s success lies growing tension as the meme’s creator, Philip Banks, pushes back against what he calls unauthorized exploitation of his work.

“Just putting it out there, Chill Guy has been copyrighted. Like, legally. I’ll be issuing takedowns on for-profit related things over the next few days,” Banks tweeted last week. 

While Banks clarified that casual use by brands or individuals isn’t his target—“I just ask for credit. Or Xboxes.”—he noted unauthorized merchandise and shitcoins are crossing the line.

Despite these concerns, early adopters of CHILLGUY have seen massive returns, with one trader turning a $1,000 investment into over $1 million within days.

It isn’t the first time meme coins have demonstrated their ability to convert internet phenomena into financial windfalls. 

Recently, the Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) token—inspired by the viral story of Peanut, a pet squirrel euthanized by New York authorities—reached a $1 billion market cap within two weeks, while the First Convicted Raccoon (FRED) coin climbed 383% in a day.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

The ME Foundation will launch its Solana-based ecosystem token—ME, which is aligned with leading NFT marketplace Magic Eden—on December 10, a representative told Decrypt.

The airdrop, which traders anticipate may be worth more than $500 million based on pre-market trading prices, will reward users of Magic Eden’s Bitcoin exchange and cross-chain NFT marketplace. The token will be claimable exclusively through the Magic Eden Wallet app.

Specifics regarding the conversion of Magic Eden Diamonds, the platform’s existing rewards program, to the ME token have not been revealed. However, the spokesperson said that allocations are expected to be based on factors such as “organic” trading activity, cross-chain trading, and “loyalty” or historical use of eligible platforms.

While users will not find out their allocations until December 10, they will be able to check their eligibility for the airdrop in the days before the claim using a tool that will be released by the ME Foundation.

When the claim officially opens on December 10, 12.5% of the total 1 billion ME supply (125 million tokens) will be immediately unlocked and offered to eligible Magic Eden users to claim. An additional 22.5% of the supply, or 225 million ME tokens, will be set aside to incentivize future use of ME Foundation protocols and related platforms.

The ME token has jumped up to $4.50 in pre-market trading via Whales Market, though trading volume has subsided since additional token details were announced on Monday. At that price, the ME airdrop would reward users with over $562 million on claim day. Coinbase’s pre-market trading platform puts the price lower at $3.41, however.

Magic Eden started as a Solana NFT marketplace, but has since grown to become the leading Bitcoin Runes and NFT exchange while maintaining the highest market share among all NFT marketplaces in the last six months according to data from Tiexo.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

What’s worth millions, taped to a wall, and destined to rot? Hint: It’s art you can’t hang for long.

Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous duct-taped banana art piece, Comedian, fetched an eye-popping $6.24 million, including fees, at Sotheby’s contemporary art auction in New York on Wednesday night.

The sale saw six bidders battle it out before Jen Hua, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s and chairman of Sotheby’s China, placed the winning bid on Tron founder Justin Sun’s behalf. 

The artwork shattered its $1.5 million pre-sale estimate and became its place as one of the most expensive—and controversial—art pieces (or should we say fruit) ever.

Sotheby’s accepted crypto payments for this sale as the market is seeing new heights following Donald Trump’s re-election, with Bitcoin (BTC) soaring to $97,000 on Wednesday.

The crypto entrepreneur, Sun, claimed the artwork in a heated five-minute bidding war that involved six other participants. 

“This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun wrote on X, sharing his “banana” experience. 

He announced plans to eat the banana in the coming days as part of what he described as “honoring its place in both art history and popular culture.”

The artwork comprises a real banana affixed to a wall with duct tape, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and instructions for replacing the fruit as it inevitably decays. 

During the heated auction, Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker quipped, “These are the words I never thought I’d say, ‘$5 million for a banana.’”

The banana’s rise to infamy in the art scene began in 2019 when one sold for $120,000 at Art Basel. The work became a viral sensation after performance artist David Datuna ate the banana, dubbing his act “Hungry Artist.”

Since then, Comedian has sparked conversations about the absurdity and subjectivity of art valuation.

Justin Sun founded the blockchain platform Tron in 2017. In December 2021, he stepped down as CEO of the Tron Foundation, claiming he had transferred control of the project to Tron DAO, a non-profit decentralized autonomous organization.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair