Solana Founder Announces New Coin As April Fools' Prank—And A Mimic Token Surfaces, Soaring 4000%

On April 1, Fool's Day, Anatoly Yakovenko, the CEO of Solana SOL/USD, took to X in jest to announce a new cryptocurrency named “BunkerCoin.”

What Happened: Intended as a light-hearted April Fool’s joke, Yakovenko’s post mocked the cryptic language often found in the descriptions of new cryptocurrencies.

He claimed BunkerCoin would operate using “shortwave radio channels” and incorporate a mix of technical jargon such as ZkProofs, Groth16 proofs, and a “Nakamoto-style longest chain rule.”

If you are into mainstream adoption, pivot to bunkers pic.twitter.com/xAwzf8TF5m
— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) April 1, 2024

The mock announcement was crafted to appear as a mishmash of crypto buzzwords. Nevertheless, the fiction became a reality when someone took the initiative to create BunkerCoin on the Solana blockchain.

In a surprising turn of events, the token witnessed a 4000% increase within 24 hours, reaching a market capitalization of $50,000 shortly after its launch.

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Why It Matters: Such coins are volatile, with many having limited liquidity and presenting considerable risk to potential investors.

In a tweet, Yakovenko said, “If you are into mainstream adoption, pivot to bunkers.” This was a nod to a similar jest from Jason Calcanis, a co-host of the All In podcast, shared on June 9, 2023.

However, the concept of sending cryptocurrency via radio is not entirely fiction. Rodolfo Novak of CoinKite successfully broadcasted a Bitcoin transaction using ham radio in 2019. Similarly, Finnish Bitcoin aficionados launched a project called Kryptoradio in 2014, transmitting blockchain data over radio waves.