Hiphop star Cardi B's social media account is promoting a new memecoin. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)
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Key Takeaways
Cardi B appears to have launched a memecoin.
Fans are divided on whether ‘WAP’ is a scam or legitimate.
The list of celebrity crypto scams is, unfortunately, a long one.
Grammy-award-winning rapper Belcalis Cephus, known professionally as Cardi B, appears to have joined the long list of celebrities who have used their massive social media platforms to endorse crypto tokens.
Unfortunately, some fans are not reacting well to Cardi B’s first foray into the crypto world, with many claiming her WAP memecoin is a scam.
Cardi B’s WAP
On Monday, Oct. 7, Cardi B’s X profile featured an animated trailer for the WAP token, inspired by her hit song with Megan Thee Stallion.
Blockchain security company Peckshield was the first to sound the alarm that Cardi B had been exploited.
“Be cautious when interacting with any address/link in the post,” the analyst wrote.
However, over eight hours on from when the post was published, there is no signs of the account being compromised.
Users who believe the token is real pointed to Cardi B’s other social media accounts, which have featured the rapper posting normally.
The animated trailer also points to the token being professionally planned by her team.
How Is WAP Performing?
At the time of publishing, WAP currently holds a market capitalization of $21.2 million, according to Dexscreener.
WAP price chart. Source: DexScreener.
In just over eight hours, WAP boasts over $600,000 in liquidity—a significant achievement for a memecoin but a common occurrence for a celebrity-endorsed project.
The Sad Case of Celebrity Rug Pulls
The widespread distrust in the validity of Cardi B’s crypto project is likely due to the unfortunate increase in celebrity-endorsed crypto rug pull scams.
Over the past few years, celebrities putting their names to crypto projects that end with the developers abandoning a project and making off with investors’ funds have become a prominent issue in recent years.
In 2017, famed producer DJ Khaled and boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao promoted Centra Tech’s ICO as a groundbreaking crypto payment solution.
The celebrities’ reputations were damaged after the project collapsed due to fraud charges aimed at the founders.
Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan also received accusations of running a pump-and-dump scheme. Shortly after endorsing “LohanCoin,” the value surged and then promptly crashed.
However, this is not the same for every celebrity who dives into the world of memecoin and crypto.
For example, Australian Hip-hop star Iggy Azalea’s token, MOTHER, has bucked expectations by performing incredibly well.
Right now, only time will tell what path Cardi B wants to take.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
