Sultan Gustaf Al Ghozali might not ring a bell, but back in 2022, this Indonesian college student grabbed headlines for a rather unconventional reason. He embarked on a six-year journey of taking a daily selfie, turning them into Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and surprisingly made over $1 million from this collection titled “Ghozali Everyday.”
In August the previous year, Ghozali bid farewell to his selfie project as he graduated from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro in Semarang, Indonesia. He humorously labeled the endeavor as “the stupidest idea” he ever had but expressed gratitude for its financial success.
However, Ghozali’s break from the limelight was short-lived. He recently resurfaced to introduce a new venture—a memecoin. Describing it as the “second part of Ghozali Everyday,” this memecoin-NFT hybrid operates on Base, Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain network. The presale of the memecoin amassed a whopping $1.4 million, and investors are eagerly awaiting their share of the “memecoin and NFT hybrid” airdrop.
Despite hopes of memecoins fading during the bear market, their popularity is resurging, with a market capitalization exceeding $66 billion. Memecoin projects like “dogwifhat” and “slerf” on Solana have seen substantial trading volumes, despite setbacks such as developer errors resulting in losses for investors.
Moreover, the memecoin trend extends beyond newcomers. Established memecoins from the previous bull cycle, like Floki Inu, continue to thrive. However, regulatory concerns loom large, with warnings issued against projects like Floki Inu due to uncertainties about their promised returns.
The resurgence of memecoins has caught the attention of regulators globally. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority released guidelines for influencers endorsing financial products, including cryptocurrencies, aiming to protect consumers from potential risks.
In other news, HSBC is introducing a tokenized gold product for retail clients in Hong Kong via its Orion digital assets platform. While this offers exposure to gold, the tokens are not redeemable for physical gold nor tradable on secondary markets. Tokenized gold is not a new concept, with stablecoin issuers like Tether and Paxos, as well as banks from Russia and Turkey, already offering similar products.
In Asia, instances of crypto-related scams persist, with South Korean authorities detaining individuals for swindling millions in a crypto scam targeting an elderly victim. Meanwhile, regulatory actions are underway in the Philippines, with access to the Binance website being blocked, prompting users to swiftly withdraw their funds from the exchange.
Lastly, South Korean authorities are seizing a property owned by Do Kwon, worth $2.2 million, located in Belgrade, Serbia, highlighting ongoing efforts to address illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space.
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