Russian darknet marketplace launches memecoin on Solana

MoriCoin, the official memecoin of a Russian darknet drug market, launched today on Solana.

The unconventional token launch was picked up by cybersecurity threat researcher Vladimir S., who goes by the handle @officer_cia on X.

He said, “The onion-based drug market… appears to be operational based on numerous reviews.”

Read more: Darkweb drugs site Incognito Market threatens to out users who paid in crypto

The marketplace’s owner and namesake, the pseudonymous Professor Moriarty, also runs a Russian-language YouTube channel with over 3.2 million followers.

The channel’s videos focus on topics including criminal organizations and law enforcement tactics, as well as the illicit drug trade, with titles such as “WHAT RUSSIA GETS HIGH ON: 1980-2023.”

Traditional marketing strategies are unsurprisingly limited for illicit drug markets. The project’s X account suggests that the token is a marketing play to capitalize on the brand’s YouTube following and “expand… all over X platform.”

MoriForum, a Telegram community of over 35,000 members, includes channels teasing the token’s launch, even including detailed instructions for absolute beginners (a wallet “is like a banking app, but for crypto”).

Apparently taking a leaf out of Donald Trump’s playbook, top MoriCoin holders are promised “special rewards” and direct access to the “Professor” via a “whale chat.”

Discussion threads filled with cautious speculation over the legitimacy of a number of recently-launched copycat coins before the official token address was announced.

In the minutes following the launch, $MORI’s market cap peaked at approximately $50 million, before dropping by around half.