Millions of people have paid tribute to the late monarch in the hours since Queen Elizabeth’s death. But in the darker corners of cyberspace, some NFT and cryptocurrency enthusiasts have sought to make light, and even tremendous profit off of this miserable situation.
The death of Queen Elizabeth has sparked the invention of innumerable so-called “meme coins” looking to capitalize on this misfortune occasion.
40+ Queen-related cryptocurrency tokens which are similar to bitcoins have emerged in decentralized exchanges on Ethereum and BNB smart chain. RIP Queen Elizabeth, London Bridge is Down, Save the Queen, QueenDoge, and Queen Elizabeth Inu are to name a few. Cryptocurrencies and meme coins are created with names or likenesses related to newsworthy or viral events in the hope that people will want to purchase and trade with them. And since the news of her Majesty’s death is on hype, several sprang on the opportunity to create Queen-themed coins as a cash grab.
Statistics are mind-blowing. Activity on the Queen Elizabeth Inu coin spiked approximately 28.506% in over 24 hours with a trading volume reaching $200,000 (£174,000). As per Dex Screener, the amount was even higher for the ‘Save The Queen’ coin i.e $700,000 (£608,000).
With that being said, let’s just start this piece of reading by remembering the Queen.
Remembering the Queen
Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, (born April 21, 1926, London, England—died September 8, 2022, Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland), queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from February 6, 1952, to September 8, 2022. In 2015 she surpassed Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history.
Aged 96, the queen is said to have died in peace at Balmoral in Scotland with the current King Charles and Princess Anne at her bedside. Family members including Prince Edward, Prince Harry, and Prince William sadly missed their chance to say goodbye to the queen in person.
Irrevocably, jotting one or two paragraphs won’t be able to justify how powerful she was, but let’s move this piece of writing in the direction of its main topic i.e. crypto gamblers, NFT hawkers, and Web3 enthusiasts quickly moved to cash in on the world’s attention as soon as Queen’s death was announced.
QueenE, an Ethereum-based NFT project
In early July this year, QueenE launched its auctions, offering a single Ethereum NFT portrait in tribute to the late Queen. The project was created by Web3 builders Fabio Sevá, Vinícius Rodrigues, Everton Matumoto, and the pseudonymous mladen. eth. It was designed to launch new procedurally generated pieces at a steady clip for the rest of the Queen’s life.
The project forked its format and code from Nouns, an inventive NFT project that auctions a single Ethereum-based profile picture every day and admits buyers into an exclusive club—but gave it a royal twist by serving up lo-fi renditions of Queen Elizabeth II instead. Initially, the QueenE auctions occur every few hours but have mostly launched at a once-daily rate.
The project’s Twitter bio now reads, “Rest in Ethereum, forever.” Secondary sales of QueenE NFTs have picked up since the announcement of Queen Elizabeth’s death, and currently the floor price, – that is, the cheapest available item listed on a marketplace – sits at 0.88 ETH or about $1,450 at OpenSea.
As with Nouns, the proceeds from primary sales of QueenE NFTs are funnelled into the treasury, which is controlled by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). For those of you who don’t know, DAO is an online group with shared interests and token-based memberships. DAO members can vote on proposals that use the funds (currently 10.10 ETH, or $16,650) for several initiatives.
“Queen’s dead. #Bitcoin never dies”
Undoubtedly, people were swift to hit back at the Web3 community for its lack of taste surrounding the death of Her Majesty. One of the Reddit users on crypto-hating online forum r/Buttcoin shared a screenshot of a tweet made by MaxKeiser, crypto fund Bitcoin Capital founder, claiming it “new lows”.
One more user named Spooky9999999 called out crypto owners for minting the new coins, jotting the words “insensitive crypto greed strikes again.” Meanwhile, others joked about the future of the new coins. “ElizabethMoonCorgiRocketCoin is the future world currency. Central bankers are shivering as we speak,” Chuckolater comments.
My Opinion
Without a doubt, the prices of the coins discussed above are extremely volatile and will not be able to sustain any sort of value in the long run. The fact cannot be neglected that cryptocurrency is a completely unregulated marketplace, and the people behind the Queen-based tokens are doing nothing but simply trying to cash in on this moment of extreme sorrow.
Innumerable coins that have already been introduced in the crypto market are based on the name of the new King Charles III.
In my opinion, it is not an excellent way to capitalize on a significant moment of sorrow in the crypto world. Queen Elizabeth II died, but the crypto community didn’t miss the chance to utilize this opportunity to its benefit. The nation has stepped into a period of official mourning that will last until seven days after the funeral.
May her soul rest in peace.