MIRA dad Siqi Chen faces backlash over controversial ZERO token launch

Key Takeaways

Siqi Chen launched the ZERO token with a warning but it still reached huge value before crashing.
Chen faced accusations of a rug pull despite claiming to buy back and burn the tokens.

Runway CEO Siqi Chen, father of little Mira, a four-year-old facing a rare brain tumor, has faced community backlash after launching a test token called “ZERO,” which hit $6 million in market value shortly after its debut before crashing by almost 70%.

Siqi has recently gained attention for his heartfelt plea on social media, which resonated deeply with many as he sought support for his daughter Mira, who is battling a rare brain tumor.

On December 25, a crypto trader created the MIRA token and transferred half of the total supply to Siqi, aiming to support Mira’s battle. As Crypto Briefing previously reported, Siqi liquidated part of his holdings, an approach that received strong backing from the community as it was the token’s purpose.

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However, the narrative took a turn when Siqi announced on X that he launched a test token called “ZERO” on December 30. He included a waning stating “this token is going to zero and you will definitely lose all your money. Do not buy it.”

Despite his explicit warning, investors flocked to buy the ZERO token. Faced with this unexpected demand, Siqi said he panicked and sold 40% of the token supply, netting a profit of 444 SOL.

Following this sale, the token’s value plummeted by 40%, leading to widespread criticism and accusations of a rug pull. Facing mounting community backlash, Siqi said in a follow-up post that he had used the entire profits to buy back and burn the tokens.

“I’m still learning how this all works,” Siqi said in his apology for the incident.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT, however, revealed that Siqi was not the crypto novice he portrayed himself to be. Far from it. Evidence surfaced pointing to his involvement in crypto investments dating back to 2021, including ownership of NFTs valued at over $240,000.

ZachXBT stated that Siqi had previously been involved in activities resembling pump-and-dump schemes.