Avalanche Foundation Snaps Up KIMBO, COQ, and Three Other Tokens as First Meme Coin Investment

Avalanche Foundation, a non-profit that maintains the Avalanche blockchain, on Thursday said it had deployed capital into five Avalanche-based tokens based on certain criteria and that it intended to continue such investments in the future.

The picks are dog-themed kimbo (KIMBO), chicken-themed Coq Inu (COQ), gecko-themed Gecko (GEC), technology joke token TECH, and Avax has no chill (NOCHILL).

These tokens were issued in the past few months and saw daily cumulative trading volumes of millions of dollars. The mem coins jumped as much as 60% after Avalanche’s disclosure, beating a general market-wide drop.

DEXTools data further shows a bump in trading volumes on Avalanche tokens alongside a rise in the issuance of new meme tokens, likely in hopes of a new cult becoming the next Foundation pick.

Following the disclosure, volumes on the Avalanche exchange Trader Joe grew to $65 million on Thursday from $53 million on Wednesday, although these volumes include all tokens.

Avalanche referred to these meme tokens as community coins. “Community coins have become vital Web3 touchstones today. They represent the fun, spirit, uniqueness, and interests of diverse crypto communities,” it stated.

COQ was among Avalanche’s runaway meme hits in December amid a meme coin frenzy. A single trader acquired just over $450 worth of COQ shortly after its issuance and managed to turn it into over $2.5 million in a few weeks, with thousands of hopeful memes deployed on the network later on to emulate COQ’s apparent success.

Meme coins are often considered a scammy part of the market among blockchain purists, but the success of this niche—led by investments from prominent blockchain teams—could be starting to change the stigma associated with investing in such tokens.