It started innocently enough. Phillip Banks, the artist behind the now-iconic "Chill Guy" meme, never imagined his laid-back doodle would dominate the internet, shared by everyone from UFC champ Jon Jones to Halo’s official account.

But when a Solana meme coin called CHILLGUY appeared, claiming to embody the spirit of his work, Banks wasn’t so chill anymore.

Launched on November 18, CHILLGUY resonated with the memecoin community, peaking at over $500 million in market cap. Traders and influencers hyped it, leading exchanges like Crypto.com to list the token.

But Banks wasn’t celebrating. “Chill Guy has been copyrighted. Like, legally,” he tweeted, seemingly frustrated that his art had been hijacked for profit. Within hours, the token’s value crashed more than 50%, though it has since rebounded to $266 million as at the time of writing.

Banks clarified his stance: memes? Fine. Merch and “shitcoins”? Absolutely not. Yet knockoffs like CHILLGIRL and Not a Chill Guy (PHILLIP) sprang up overnight, adding fuel to the fire. Banks’ Twitter went private as he faced doxxing and relentless crypto spam.

Despite a donation wallet set up in his name, Banks remains unmoved. For him, this isn’t about money — it’s about principles. As the CHILLGUY saga unfolds, it’s clear that even the chillest icons can hit a boiling point.

Gen Z Trader Rugs for $30K, Solana Community Pumps QUANT to $82M 😈

In the wild world of Solana memecoins, few stories are as chaotic as that of Solana Plays, a Gen Z token creator whose antics turned him into an overnight sensation.

It began with a livestream where he launched his token, Gen Z Quant (QUANT), using Solana’s pump.fun no-code deployer. Mid-broadcast, the teen rug-pulled his audience, dumping his holdings and pocketing $30,000 all while making rude gestures on camera.  

What followed was one of Solana’s legendary Community Takeovers (CTOs). Traders, furious but determined, rallied to pump QUANT, driving its market cap to an astonishing $82 million. Ironically, the move meant Solana Plays’ tokens could have been worth over $4 million.  

Undeterred, Solana Plays returned with SORRY, claiming it was an apology. Instead, he rug-pulled again, then launched a third token inspired by his dog, LUCY. The chaos escalated as on-chain sleuths uncovered his identity, leading to even more meme tokens referencing his personal life.  

Whether Solana Plays has truly exited the scene or is planning his next stunt remains unclear. For now, his escapades serve as a cautionary and highly entertaining tale of the Solana memecoin madness. 

Magic Eden’s ME Tokenomics Sparks Division 🧨

Magic Eden recently unveiled the much-anticipated tokenomics for its governance and rewards token, ME. Despite a generous 12.5% airdrop allocation, critics argue that the tokenomics favor new users over Solana OGs, the ecosystem that first fueled Magic Eden's rise.

ME has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with 50.2% allocated to the community and ecosystem and 49.8% reserved for contributors and strategic participants. The Token Generation Event (TGE) will release 12.5% (125M tokens) to users. This represents a more generous airdrop compared to many Solana protocols like Jito and Jupiter, which allocated 10%. Tokens outside the TGE are locked under a four-year emissions schedule, with contributors’ allocations starting linear vesting after 12–18 months.  

Despite the controversy, ME’s pre-market value surged over 500% this week, reflecting high anticipation. However, with Magic Eden yet to finalize launch details, the Solana community remains sharply divided over its intentions.

Solana Reaches New ATH, Monthly DEX Volume Hits $100B🔺

Last Thursday, Solana set a new all-time high (ATH) of $264, surpassing its previous peak of $259.96 from November 2021.

This milestone comes amid a weeks-long market rally, fueled by the anticipation of a crypto-friendly U.S. administration under Donald Trump. The rally has propelled Solana to a 50% gain since Trump’s victory, outpacing Bitcoin’s 47% rise.

Solana’s impressive growth follows a turbulent period after the FTX collapse, which saw the token plummet to as low as $8 in late 2022. Now, the network’s resurgence seems to be unstoppable. dApps are at the center of the rapidly rising significant user activity. This surge in activity has contributed to over $100 billion DEX trading volume in November, setting a new benchmark for the blockchain.

Institutional investors have also taken notice of Solana, with dApp funding reaching $173 million in Q3 2024, marking a 54% increase from the previous quarter. As Ethereum grapples with rising fees, Solana continues to stand out as a fast, low-cost alternative, solidifying its position in the crypto ecosystem.

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