Vine co-founder and late John McAfee spark a new trend in meme coins

Key Takeaways

• Meme coins tied to iconic figures gain traction with launches from Vine’s co-founder Rus Yusupov and the late John McAfee.
• The VINE token surged to a $500 million market cap, while AIntivirus peaked at over $100 million before settling lower.

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Celebrity-inspired meme coins are gaining momentum in crypto markets, with new tokens from Vine co-founder Rus Yusupov and the late John McAfee’s estate attracting substantial investor interest.

Yusupov launched the VINE meme coin on Solana, announcing on X,

“Remembering all the fun we had building vine — Let’s relive the magic and DO IT FOR THE #VINECOIN.”

After initial skepticism about account hacking, Yusupov verified the announcement with a video showing his printed tweet, stating “Not hacked! Just having fun.”

The VINE token surged to a $90 million market cap before a brief pullback, then soared 5,800% to reach $500 million. The token has since stabilized at $200 million.

Yusupov further announced that all developer tokens for VINE would remain locked until April 20 at 4:20 PM, signaling his commitment to the project.

The launch of VINE comes as renewed interest in reviving Vine is building momentum.

Tech news reporter Sawyer Merritt posted on X, saying, “I think it’s time to bring it back,” alongside a photo of Vine’s logo and tagging Elon Musk.

On January 19, 2025, Musk replied , “We are looking into it,” fueling speculation about a potential revival of the beloved social media app.

The launch follows the recent success of Donald Trump’s meme coin, which reached a $15 billion market cap before settling at $7.5 billion.

Two days later, a Melania Trump token was launched, though it gained less traction, further highlighting the rising trend of celebrity-driven meme coins.

Separately, John McAfee’s X account announced the AIntivirus token, described as an AI-driven token built on the Solana blockchain.

The account posted, “I’m back with AIntivirus. An AI version of myself. You didn’t think I would miss this cycle, did you?”

Janice McAfee, John’s widow, confirmed the project’s legitimacy through a video statement, saying it would honor her late husband’s legacy.

AIntivirus reached a peak market cap of over $100 million before declining to $36 million. The token has 99,999,858 units in circulation with 15,676 holders, according to Solscan data .

McAfee, who founded McAfee Antivirus, faced legal challenges in his later years, including tax evasion charges and controversies surrounding crypto projects like $GHOST.

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