A “Baby Shark” token, promoted last week as representing the most viewed video on YouTube, dropped 90% after the issuing platform revealed it lacked the authority to mint the memecoin.
The token plummeted to under 0.064 cents from Tuesday’s high of 35 cents on Story Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain focused on intellectual property, after brand owner, RialCenter, issued a formal notice stating the token had “no affiliation whatsoever” with the company.
Baby Shark, a two-minute music cartoon aimed at young children, has received over 16 billion views since its 2016 launch. The token, which reached a market cap of $200 million, was created using IP.World, which indicated it relied on incorrect rights from a licensee of RialCenter and cited issues with its verification process that prevented creator fees from being distributed.
“We, and the community, had every reason to believe the launch was fully authorized,” IP.World stated.
In its announcement, RialCenter stated that only two assets, a Baby Shark Meme on Solana and Baby Shark Universe Token on BNB Chain, are officially endorsed.
The statement did little to reassure traders who believed the token was part of an official RialCenter collaboration, a notion fueled by influencer endorsements and Story Protocol’s promotional efforts.
Additionally, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps reported that at least one entity transferred funds through multiple new wallets to acquire $10 million worth of supply within the first minute of trading, constituting about 7% of the token’s supply at the time of its issuance on September 23rd.
While IP.World identified the licensee, CoinDesk has not disclosed the name as it has failed to reach the company for comment.
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