New social media stunt in crypto: Did Enron just hint at joining the crypto space?

The X account of Enron stated they did not have an official token. But the message ended with a ‘stay tuned’ hint. Using the brand of the now-defunct corporation also led to the creation of numerous Enron-themed meme tokens on Pump.fun.

Rumors are emerging from an X account using the @Enron handle, hinting at a possible new token. The account itself states it has not issued its own crypto token, but leads to a site with a one-week countdown to an undisclosed event.

Just hours after the message spread, Community Notes outed the content as a crypto scam masquerading as the bankrupted energy corporation. However, the message already had an effect on the meme token market. 

The real Enron, notorious for its accounting scandal in the early 2000s, warned through its X account that it did not launch any type of coin or token. On the other hand, Enron hinted the possibility is not out of the question. 

The newly active Enron account had to explain its plans for the crypto space, after receiving thousands of queries on creating a digital token. For now, there is no official asset or contract address tied to Enron. 

That's not how this works buddy

you make the announcements

we make the coins

— IcoBeast.eth🦇🔊 (@beast_ico) December 2, 2024

The speculations around an eventual token launch follow the announcement of Enron’s plan to rebuild as a clean energy company. On Monday, Enron sent out a press release announcing its relaunch as a company aiming to solve the global energy crisis. The press release did not mention a new coin or token but accelerated the speculation and new asset launches through Pump.fun.

The only thing tangentially related to a token is a mention that Enron would use ‘permissionless innovation’ and decentralized technology. The account using the brand of Enron also seems to be aware of token scams, since it ended its recent X announcements with a warning not to follow any links or offers on behalf of its brand.

Enron still holds the record for the biggest corporate bankruptcy at $63.4B, far surpassing the scale of any crypto crash. 

Is there really an Enron token? 

Token creators on Pump.fun are extremely fast, and have already created at least a dozen assets under the same ticker. These tokens vary, with some appearing official and others humorously themed, such as referencing Enron’s infamous accounting scandals. The crypto community is well aware that the Enron moniker was a publicity stunt but ran with it as the next hot theme on Pump.fun.

There are several contenders for the most curious token based on Enron’s fame. The first one is the OG Enron token, created more than eight months ago. That token has not left the bonding curve, with just $10.4K in liquidity. 

An early asset with claims of being the OG token has also surfaced, though with only 267 holders and $23K in available liquidity.

Several tokens with a non-serious profile were also created, all holding $6.4K in liquidity. The last such token was launched seven days ago, before Enron’s relaunch message. 

The other contender is the most liquid Solana-based token tapping Enron’s fame. The asset still holds only $134K in liquidity, but it has at least graduated to Raydium. There are multiple competing tokens, but some feature more active wallet clusters and at least create the impression of activity. 

Social media users noted one of the tokens, with 2,344 users, pumped just days before Enron sent out its press release and started producing X content. There is no way to know who pumped those tokens, which take very little to rally and line up among trending assets. The appearance of a copycat trend further complicates the choice of which version to support.

Some Enron-themed tokens on Pump.fun have reached market caps exceeding $500 million, despite having low liquidity. These assets appear to attract traders with a sense of financial nihilism, who are more interested in pumping prices for symbolic or ironic reasons than for long-term value. There has been talk of creating another irrational cult to pump a selected Enron token version and put it among the more valuable memes. 

For now, no Enron-themed tokens have found market makers, and are just another hot short-term trend among meme assets. The tokens launched at a time when the meme market recovered above a total market cap of $123B, while funds rolled over from former stars into a new batch of rising tokens.

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