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Jason Derulo Memecoin Promo Spikes JASON 400% – Scam Allegations as Token Plummets Over 50%

Hassan Shittu

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Hassan Shittu

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Jun 2023

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Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in...

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June 24, 2024

Pop icon Jason Derulo is embroiled in controversy after promoting a meme coin, JASON, that plummeted in value shortly after its release. Known for his musical performances, Derulo’s involvement in the volatile meme coin market has initiated a broader debate about celebrity endorsements in cryptocurrency.This incident has sparked more discussion than there has been before about the potential risks and ethical concerns associated with celebrities promoting financial products, leading to both monetary losses for investors and reputational damage for the celebrities involved.

Sahil Arora Gets The Blame, But Derulo Is Caught In CrossfireRecently, Derulo took to X to announce the launch of the meme coin JASON to his 3.5 million followers. Regrettably, the coin’s value dipped by more than 72% minutes after its release, causing widespread dismay among investors and fans.

Damn Sahil got me 🤦🏾‍♂️! That’s ok, that’s motivation to take this all the way! I just bought 20k worth. In this for my fans for the long hall, going to do everything in my power to send this shit to the moon. Updating dex screener shortly. pic.twitter.com/eCJtZlo5yt

— Jason Derulo (@jasonderulo) June 24, 2024

In response to the fallout, Derulo pointed fingers at Sahil Arora, a figure previously linked to cryptocurrency scandals. Derulo, attempting to rectify the situation, tweeted:

“Damn Sahil got me! That’s ok, that’s motivation to take this all the way! I just bought $20,000 worth. In this for my fans for the long haul, going to do everything in my power to send this sh*t to the moon”.

Following that, Derulo addressed the issue in an apology video, expressing his commitment to making the coin’s recovery his “life’s goal.“

❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/UFPbaFSUeH

— Jason Derulo (@jasonderulo) June 24, 2024

Despite his proactive stance, skepticism surrounds Jason Derulo’s involvement with the JASON meme coin. Influential crypto figures, such as SlumDOGE Millionaire and on-chain detective ZachXBT, have cast doubt on Derulo’s claims.

SlumDOGE Millionaire criticized Derulo, stating,

“Bro made $1 million off his rug and put $20,000 back in the chart lol. You’re not stupid or new to crypto, Jason; you know exactly what was happening. Don’t play dumb now.”

The liquidity of the JASON meme coin is alarmingly low, at approximately $211,000, with around 3,190 holders. This situation mirrors other high-profile crypto scams where initial excitement leads to significant financial losses for ordinary investors.

Projects will throw them high 5 fig – low 6 fig for <10 min of work

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 24, 2024

The crypto community’s reaction has been critical. ZachXBT, known for exposing crypto scams, responded to Derulo’s apology video, saying,

“You are not sorry at all. You have promoted so many crypto scams over the years I have lost track.”

ZachXBT further added, “Projects will throw them high 5 fig – low 6 fig for <10 min of work,” in response to a user questioning why artists, who presumably earn from their music, engage in crypto projects. The user expressed hope for legal consequences for such actions.

This incident involving Derulo is not the first of its kind. The accused developer, Sahil, has launched several other celebrity-associated meme coins.

Notably, Sahil Arora, the alleged fraudster behind recent meme coin scams involving celebrities Caitlyn Jenner and Rich The Kid, has reportedly been banned from X (formerly Twitter). Arora’s handle, “@Habibi_Comm,” was suspended following news of his involvement in pump-and-dump and rug-pull schemes through celebrity crypto tokens.

Both Jenner and Rich The Kid have publicly condemned Arora, with Jenner announcing plans to pursue legal action against him both criminally and civilly.

Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) price is down more than 6% on Friday following notable whale profit-taking activity and controversies surrounding the WATER meme coin and American singer Jason Derulo.

SHIB’s decline potentially caused whale sale SHIB whales could be selling their holdings following the recent decline in the crypto market. Data from Lookonchain shows that a whale wallet moved its entire holdings of 1.08 trillion SHIB (worth $18.4 million) to Binance, potentially making a profit of $8.3 million. The whale initially withdrew the 1.08 trillion SHIB stash from Binance between November and December at an average price of $10.07 million.

Read more: Pepe poised for 20% crash

If the whale wallet had sold during SHIB's yearly high in March, its total profit would have been around $29 million. SHIB's 54% decline in the past four months may have prompted the sale.

However, SHIB is trading close to the key price level of $0.0000018, where investors purchased about 417.43 trillion SHIB tokens. Reclaiming this level could serve as a crucial support for the meme coin.

SHIB Global In/Out of the Money

Lookonchain data also reveals that the team behind the meme coin WATER could be dumping the token. The WATER developer moved 844.44 million WATER to 11 new wallets that didn't participate in the token's pre-sale. These wallets have been selling the token, making about 18,600 SOL worth $2.35 million.

Also reads: Is this the end of the Solana meme coin experiment?

Crypto trader @WazzCrypto earlier revealed that the WATER team was behind the BEER meme coin, which crashed over 80% after insiders began dumping the token.

Meanwhile, celebrity artist Jason Derulo appeared to be showing interest in cryptocurrency again following several celebrity meme coin projects launched in the past two months. A recent video on X in which the celebrity indicated his interest in crypto has come under serious criticism, with crypto analyst ZachXBT commenting with screenshots of past "crypto scams" that Derulo had allegedly promoted.

Read more: Controversy surrounding DJT meme coin continues, Martin Shkreli claims Stone “does not know Barron Trump”

A community note under Durelo's post reads:

"This user is a scammer and has participated in many crypto pumps and dumps."

This information comes from analytics firm Bubblemaps, which has been tracking the token’s transactions.

The controversy started when Derulo, whose real name is Jason Desrouleaux, shared the contract address for the Solana-based JASON token on X (formerly Twitter) on June 23. This announcement led to a surge in trading activity, causing the token’s price to rise sharply and then fall quickly, according to DEX Screener.

Sahil Arora, the token’s co-creator, said the events were part of a planned strategy. However, Derulo’s social media posts suggest a different story. On June 24, Derulo tweeted that he had been scammed by Arora but was still committed to the project, stating:

“Damn Sahil got me 🤦🏾‍♂️! That’s ok, that’s motivation to take this all the way! I just bought 20k worth. In this for my fans for the long haul, going to do everything in my power to send this shit to the moon. Updating dex screener shortly.”

Bubblemaps’ Findings Bubblemaps presented evidence that contradicts Derulo’s claims of being deceived. The analytics firm found wallets, allegedly linked to Arora, that held half of JASON’s supply and sold almost everything, making a $180,000 profit after Derulo’s initial post about the token.

1/ Jason Derulo (@jasonderulo) has sold $JASON 🚨

Despite his claims, we doubt Jason Derulo got fooled by Sahil

Let’s look at the on-chain evidence 🧵 ↓ pic.twitter.com/e8PebBDRaO

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) June 24, 2024

Bubblemaps also identified a wallet they believe belongs to Derulo, which received tokens directly from Arora’s wallet and sold about $20,000 worth of the token, despite Derulo’s repeated assurances on social media that he wouldn’t sell.

Arora confirmed Bubblemaps’ claim about the wallet linked to Derulo. When asked about Derulo selling his token, Arora responded with a GIF of influencer Hasbulla saying “business, business”, suggesting the sales were part of a larger plan.

Though Derulo didn’t comment on the issue, he continued to promote the token. Bubblemaps noted that he actively engaged his community, hinted at token burns, and started buy competitions after the initial controversy.

The controversy has had a significant impact on the token’s market performance. JASON’s value increased by 175% over the last day, reaching a market capitalization of $7.7 million. However, it has since dropped by 40% from its peak on June 24, which was slightly over one cent.

Rise of “Celebcoins” The cryptocurrency market has seen a rise in “celebcoins”, digital tokens launched or promoted by celebrities. Andrew Tate, Iggy Azalea, and Caitlyn Jenner are among the celebrities who have created their own digital tokens.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has criticized the trend, warning that these practices can mislead investors and harm the integrity of the cryptocurrency market.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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Singer-songwriter Jason Derulo got into an online spat with crypto bros this weekend over whether his crypto token is a scam.

“$JASON to a billy,” Derulo tweeted late Saturday, predicting that the value of the Solana-based meme coin inspired by the celebrity would skyrocket. Despite rallying by many multiples in its opening week, the token has since plunged 80% from its June 27 peak, including another 21% on Monday.

JASON wasn’t originally launched by Derulo, but was deployed on Pump.fun, a Solana-based marketplace that claims to prevent rugpulls “by making sure that all created tokens are safe,” with “no presale and no team allocation.”

That hasn’t stopped the JASON token from collapsing lately, nor has it quieted critics in Derulo’s replies, who accuse him of a classic crypto grift.

Rather than quelling their concerns, the superstar said that critics are “spewing nonsense,” spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) and preventing “normal people” from onboarding the space.

This space needs a cleanup crew,” he wrote on Sunday. “My game plan is to onboard and brand build, your game plan is to jerk off in your room and FUD.”

Derulo initially claimed that he was duped into promoting the meme coin by Sahil Arora, who is the alleged mastermind behind a string of celebrity meme coins pump and dumps over the past several weeks. However, Derulo was quickly inspired to “take this all the way,” claiming to buy $20,000 worth of the coin “for the long haul” and purporting to build utility around the token.

“I’m not here to take liquidity out of the market, I'm here to build and bring liquidity into the market,” he said.

The conversation quickly pivoted towards the celebrity’s net worth, and whether this was all still just a pump and dump for a singer in need of more cash. That’s where things got spicy.

“You’re a literal scrub!” Derulo told crypto influencer Crypto Bitlord, who claimed he owned “forgotten altcoin dust” that surpassed the singer’s net worth. “If you met me, I’d either slap the shit outta you or you’d ask for a pic.”

Bitlord then accused Derulo of promoting an “unregistered security” that he got caught dumping on followers.

Derulo maintains that Crypto Twitter is “just hating” on his effort to bring liquidity into the market.

“The grind never stops—if people only knew what we are cooking behind the scenes,” he tweeted on Monday.

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JASON, the Solana-based meme coin of famous R&B artist Jason Derulo, has lost an eye-popping 97%   

In July, Derulo implied that the meme cryptocurrency could end up reaching a market capitalization of $1 billion. 

However, the token's actual market cap currently stands at just a minuscule $1.23 million. 

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It is worth noting that the token was originally launched on Solana-based meme coin factory Pump.fun. Following its launch, the token managed to experience substantial gains. Unsurprisingly, its momentum quickly faded. 

The singer wrote an entire essay about how he saw JASON as a way of building "a true community" for the first time in his career. 

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Derulo himself has attracted backlash from some members of the cryptocurrency community who are convinced that the singer tried to pull off a typical pump-and-dump scheme. 

After being confronted by some cryptocurrency influencers, Derulo urged them to stop spewing "nonsense," adding that he is already rich.    

"Humbly speaking I’m rich af and have a name and brand to protect," he said in a social media post.  

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The personal net worth of the "Whatcha Say" singer is estimated to be $16 million. He has a total of 14 platinum singles in the U.S. 

Derulo is, of course, far from being a crypto newcomer. As reported by U.Today, the famous hip-hop artist claimed that he was "early" to the Shiba Inu craze back in 2021. 

During the same year, Derulo joined the "CryptoPunks gang" when the NFT frenzy was reaching its peak. 

However, Derulo's foray into the celebrity meme coin scene proved to be quite disastrous. 

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Crypto-powered gaming platform BC.GAME has seen "a year of unprecedented growth"—and now boasts more than nine million users, according to a report shared with Decrypt.

BC.GAME unveiled a "complete overhaul" of its user interface in 2024, while building upon strategic partnerships with Leicester City FC and Jason Derulo. More developments are set to come, with the launch of the site’s BC token unlocking "even greater rewards and benefits" for players.

Per its report, the site claims to have surpassed 500,000 monthly active users, and now accepts more than 100 cryptocurrencies as a payment method.

Executives say platform activity was given a further boost by the addition of five brand-new games, as well as the launch of the BC Lottery and Telegram-based mini-app Coco Rush.

BC.GAME has also been building momentum in real life, bringing together more than 1,500 players for its Untamed Moments event in Dubai.

The exclusive event "showcased our commitment to creating memorable, immersive experiences for our community and solidified our presence as a leader in the gaming and entertainment sectors," a BC.GAME spokesperson told Decrypt.

BC use casesAccording to BC.GAME, 200 million BC tokens were airdropped to early adopters and loyal users, with a dedicated dashboard offering real-time on-chain data. A further airdrop of 400 million BC tokens to 100,000 wallets on Pump.fun took place on February 18, targeting users who had completed at least 10 transactions on the BC.GAME platform.

Meanwhile, a rewards system means players can earn tokens for logging in on a daily basis, getting involved in their favorite games, and referring friends.

A staking program was also recently launched—giving BC owners the chance to lock up their tokens and receive rewards along the way.

"BC is not just a token—it's a bridge to a more rewarding and inclusive experience for our users," the site's spokesperson told Decrypt.

They added that community support is at the heart of the platform’s offering—meaning that "every advancement, every milestone, and every new feature is driven by our commitment to users."

Looking ahead to 2025Over the coming year, BC.GAME says top priorities include unveiling new use cases for the BC token and making it a part of a wider decentralized ecosystem that extends beyond gaming. DeFi, NFTs and metaverse applications are planned as part of efforts to turn BC GAME into a hub for Web3 entertainment.

Executives added that token distribution will extend further through a second mining campaign, unveiling new benefits for BC token holders and a World Cup Festival packed with exclusive rewards, new games, and VIP privileges for existing users.

Limited-edition items launched in conjunction with BC.GAME's partners—including the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Leicester City FC—will also be distributed to the community, including exclusive products that can't be bought in shops.

"With BC Token now in the spotlight, the future has never looked brighter,” a spokesperson said, adding that the platform will “pave the way for the next era of Web3 entertainment."

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