A macaque monkey named Punch who empathizes with an IKEA stuffed animal has spurred the implementation of a meme coin reminiscent of Moo Deng’s fame, who was bullied by his fellow housemates at a Japanese zoo.
Punch Token (PUNCH) was launched on February 6th after memes and stories about monkeys started circulating.
Punch was born at the Ichikawa City Zoo, rejected by his mother in the intense heat, and raised by zoo staff. He was reintroduced to the monkey group, but has struggled to be accepted ever since.
This little guy is chased and harassed by other monkeys, but what catches everyone’s attention is the comfort he finds in an IKEA stuffed monkey.
This proliferation increased PUNCH’s trading volume to $46 million and pushed the token price up 12,777% in the week to $0.031.
Many Meme Coin traders have felt for some time that good “runners” do not exist. This is the type of token that will attract a lot of attention and increase in price.
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When the penguin featured in Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary “The End of the World” made headlines earlier this year, penguin-themed tokens attracted $500 million in trading volume and a market capitalization of $153 million.
Another successful runner similar to Punch was the launch of Mu Den Token in 2024. This token is based on a viral baby hippo that was filmed biting its caretaker. The market capitalization of Moo Deng token exceeded $600 million.
However, like most meme coins, both tokens are down over 90% from their all-time highs.
PUNCH token shows signs of market manipulation
Popular crypto trader The White Whale has issued a warning about Punch Token, suggesting that it is showing signs of “market manipulation” and that the huge amount of liquidity the token has attracted suggests it is not organic.
They said, “The project and the project developer are probably not involved in what I’m warning you about here. The project may or may not be a good project, but this is cabal activity, plain and simple.”
Cryptocurrency traders aren’t the only ones to jump on the viral monkey’s financial potential, with users already offering to buy up stuffed monkeys from their local IKEA stores and sell them at high prices.
Read more: What is TikTok Coin?
Scalper or not, IKEA recorded an increase in sales of stuffed animals thanks to Punch’s fame.
The zoo itself has seen a surge in visitors just to see Punch the Monkey.
Punch also caught the attention of Tron founder and billionaire Justin Sun, who donated $100,000 to the zoo housing Punch through his exchange HTX.
