Solana-Based Meme Coin Linked to Alleged US Crypto Theft Crashes 97% Overnight
A Solana-based meme coin, John Daghita (LICK), issued by a wallet linked to an alleged theft of U.S. government-controlled crypto assets, has collapsed rapidly after a brief spike in trading activity. The token was created on the Pump.fun launchpad and initially attracted a lot of speculative interest, pushing its market cap to nearly $2.3 million within hours of launch.
On-chain data shows that the token rose by more than 13,300% before sharply reversing its price. A screenshot shared by Bubblemaps shows that LICK later fell to around $0.0011, losing over 14% of its value in five minutes as selling pressure increased.
Trading data suggests that the deployer wallet accumulated tokens early on at low valuations and made four purchases before the price rose quickly and then collapsed. Shortly after the sell-off, Pump.fun’s token appeared to be deleted, effectively terminating its trading activity.
Concentrated Supply Raises Red Flags
Further scrutiny was provided by Bubblemaps, which reported that LICK’s provider owned approximately 40% of the total token supply at launch. Such concentration is widely viewed by analysts as a warning sign because it allows insiders to exert excessive control over price movements and liquidity.
Bubblemaps claimed that the same person linked to the alleged theft controlled the developer’s wallet and a significant portion of the supply during the token’s launch phase. The launch attracted attention after blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the wallet linked to the token deployer was linked to tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies that were allegedly tied to assets seized by the US government.
Allegations and Investigations
Public records show that Command Services & Support, a Virginia-based company of which Dean Daghita is president, was awarded a US Marshals Service contract in October 2024 to assist in the custody and disposal of certain government-seized digital assets. ZachXBT claimed that John Daghita, the president’s son, gained unauthorized access to the wallets associated with these holdings.
The allegations have not been tested in court and no criminal charges have been announced. The incident has also caught the attention of policymakers, as Patrick Witt, director of the White House Crypto Council, said in a post on X that he was reviewing the claims following ZachXBT’s disclosures.
Additionally, blockchain investigator Specter reported that John Daghita deposited $35.2 million into Tornado Cash in two days, emptying his primary wallet. The remaining funds were distributed across multiple wallets and chains.
Specter also highlighted high-value ETH and SOL transfers and warned that recipients could potentially receive stolen funds, pointing to ongoing links to relevant wallets and Telegram activity. According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, US authorities could control more than 328,000 Bitcoin through various seizures, including assets from the Bitfinex case, potentially worth around $30 billion at current prices.
Meme Coin Chaos in Solana’s Pump.fun Ecosystem
Beyond the specific allegations, LICK’s collapse fits into a broader pattern within Solana’s meme coin ecosystem. Data from early 2025 suggests that more than 98% of tokens launched on Pump.fun have features associated with carpet-pulling or fast pump-and-dump systems.
Recent cases have reinforced these concerns, as Solana-based AI token AVA plunged more than 96% in December after on-chain analysis revealed that about 40% of its supply had been accumulated by wallets linked to the deployer at launch. In January, the memecoin WhiteWhale briefly lost about 60% of its market value in a matter of minutes after a large holder sold a significant portion of the supply, an event commonly referred to by traders as a “rug pull” despite a subsequent partial recovery.
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