Parody X account donates $69K to charity after memecoins peak at $1M

A parody X account under the name Richard E. Ptardio has donated $69,000 to charity after his gifted memecoins reached a value of nearly $1 million.

The account, claiming to be a former trader, was gifted 700 million Richard Ptardio (PTARDIO) tokens on December 17. These tokens were created using the Solana token creator Pump.fun.

At the time of receipt, the tokens were valued at $53,250. However, just hours later, Ptardio shared that the value of his holdings had surged by 1,765%, reaching nearly $1 million.

In response, Ptardio took to X to clarify that he had not authorised or been aware of the creation of the tokens. He distanced himself from the project and announced his decision to sell the tokens.

“I shall be selling my position and donating the entire proceeds to Save the Children. A far better use of the funds,” Ptardio stated.

Despite the value of the tokens decreasing, Ptardio confirmed that he had donated 313.4 Solana (worth $69,000) to Save the Children, a charity focused on global education, health, and welfare programs for children.

Memecoin creators often send portions of their token supply to the individuals who inspire the project, and Ptardio’s situation was no exception.

The Ptardio account portrays itself as a seasoned trader with 35 years of experience working in financial markets across London, Hong Kong, and New York.

In recent months, Ptardio has commented on the crypto market, highlighting the unconventional nature of memecoin investments, claiming that "the market rewards the bold, not the logical."

The PTARDIO token had a peak market cap of $4.75 million but fell to $258,000 after only 20 hours, according to GeckoTerminal data.