MiniFootball: Crypto Token Promoted by Soccer Stars Ends in Dump

MiniFootball: Ronaldinho, Rakitic and a textbook dump

On August 14, 2021, a newly launched token on the BSC promised to be the next Shiba Inu. Within less than 24 hours it was listed on Coinmarketcap and Dextools, with its chart rising uncontrollably. The promise was complete: Ronaldinho would invest $25,000 and a Real Madrid player would promote it on Telegram. The enthusiasm lasted as long as it takes for a footballer to sign a contract. The next day, the token crashed and the community shifted from asking for lambos to seeking explanations.

From the moon to Margin Call in 24 hours

The start was euphoric. The token reached number 2 on Dextools and people began buying at any price. "How much is the gas?? because I've set many prices from low to high and nothing...", wrote one user. Another boasted about multiplying their €8 into €18. The fever was such that some were already talking about a x100 gain. They called it HIMVERSION.

But the chart started showing cracks. A participant warned of four suspicious mega-sell-offs at the peak. "Just seeing that should have made me take my money out, but of course you always see all this in hindsight," they admitted later. The dump was brutal: the token lost almost all its value in a matter of hours. The promised footballers — Ronaldinho, Rakitic — did not prevent the disaster. "Even if Elon Musk came out, that wouldn't lift it," declared a skeptic.

Was it a rugpull or a simple pyramid scheme?

The subsequent discussion focused on the nature of the disaster. Some classified it as a classic rugpull; others as orchestrated manipulation. "They have killed all credibility they could have had. I would have preferred a standard rugpull without giving explanations, it's more honest," said a participant. It was discovered that the developers had changed transaction fees several times, according to an analysis of the team's wallets. The community felt deceived.

The collateral damage went beyond financial loss. One user confessed to having quit their job thinking they would retire: "I'm screwed, damn, I had left my job thinking I was going to retire.... I don't know..... maybe I can try to make a place for myself at Marconi. I have 20 bucks left." The shitcoin bubble showed its bitterest side.

The legacy: imitators and lessons not learned

The token generated clones like Safestar or Safemars, replicating the Safemoon pattern. Some tried to recover part of what was lost in other projects, such as SAFEMOON, which "has recovered and has a very interesting legion of fans." But most assumed losses. "9 out of 10 are scams and as @Una manola said, now they do a workaround to end up rugpulling anyway," summarized another.

The story of MiniFootball is not unique, but it is illustrative: promises of celebrities, vertical charts and a disorderly exit. Will anyone learn the lesson? The next shitcoin is already on its way.