Elon Musk's father's meme coin pumps and dumps following endorsement
Errol Musk has entered the market with his own coin and it has already experienced its pump-and-dump moment.
Cyrus McCrimmon, Getty Images.
While the richest person in the world, Tesla's boss Elon Musk, is playing with the meme coin market by posting price-affecting tweets on X, his father, Errol Musk, has entered the market with his own coin, Musk It (MUSKIT). It has already experienced its pump-and-dump moment.
The price of the token skyrocketed around 600% on January 30th before diving by 75% in the next few hours. Soon after, MUSKIT experienced another pump that also ended with a dump, and the price has now more or less stabilized, registering an almost 140% gain in the past week. However, since December, when the token was launched, the price is down around 60%. The market capitalization of the token is reported to be over $25 million.
The pump last week was fueled by an article in Fortune, where Errol Musk confirmed that he and his business partner, Nathan Browne, aim to raise up to $200 million with their meme coin MUSKIT in order to develop their new for-profit think tank, the Musk Institute. The coin itself was quietly launched in December last year, while Errol Musk said he's now ready to support the token publicly.
However, neither in the interview nor on the coin's official website did Musk provide any other details about the token or its tokenomics, which describe the supply, distribution, and utility of a token. That said, almost all meme coins are notorious for having no other utility than speculation and gambling, although in some cases, they have also been used to raise capital for good causes.
The website of the project has no other specific information besides stating that it's "opening soon" and making references to "Mars Base" and "SpaceX," another company owned by Elon Musk.
Elon Musk's involvement in this project is unknown. In public, his relationship with his father is often described as estranged, which Errol denies.
In either case, Errol Musk is not the only high-profile name trying to capitalize on meme coins. As reported, Donald Trump also launched his coin, TRUMP, just days before his inauguration. After initial eye-watering gains, the price of the token is down 76% from its all-time high.
