- Ronaldinho’s STAR10 token launch faces skepticism and accusations of potential price manipulation
- Experts warn of celebrity-backed tokens’ volatility and lack of long-term utility
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho has officially stepped into the crypto world with the launch of STAR10, a digital token on the BNB Chain.
Announced via X, Ronaldinho said that the token boasts a total supply of 1 billion and aims to merge football with blockchain.
Source: Ronaldinho/X
Community reaction
However, the launch has been met with skepticism, as some community members remain unconvinced about its value.
Criticism quickly surfaced online, with users questioning the token’s purpose and Ronaldinho’s intentions behind this latest venture into the digital asset space.
“BNB……..? Everything about this is fishy. Invest if you want to lose money.”
Adding to the fray another X user – Abu noted,
“No we ain’t buying that scam.”
In fact, a Web3 content creator Zoe warned Ronaldinho when she said,
“Don’t ruin your legacy.”
Insider trading raises concerns
Additionally, a series of high-value transactions linked to the STAR10 team sparked further concerns over potential price manipulation.
For example – On 2 March, a wallet associated with the project spent 80 BNB ($50,000) to acquire 122.45 million STAR10 tokens, driving a 15% price surge to $0.40. Shortly after, selling 1 million tokens for 433 BNB ($270,000) triggered a 10% drop to $0.36, with trading volume spiking by 300%.
Onchain Lens also flagged insider activity, revealing that a wallet turned a $29,247 investment into $4.93 million in unrealized gains.
While only 119,278 tokens were sold for $33,106, the remaining holdings have skyrocketed in value.
And yet, despite the controversy, STAR10 has maintained a market cap of over $21 million. It also had a press time price of $0.2655, according to Dexscreener.
Celebrity memecoins and their reality
This move has added Ronaldinho’s STAR10 token to the growing wave of celebrity-backed crypto assets, following the likes of Donald Trump’s TRUMP and MELANIA coins, Argentina’s LIBRA, and Kanye West’s $YZY.
While these tokens attract significant attention, many lack real-world utility, leading to volatile price swings that put investors at risk.
Needless to say, experts have cautioned against the speculative frenzy, urging a more measured approach.
Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin, for instance, has also stressed on the need for crypto projects with long-term value, rather than fleeting hype.
He put it best when he said,
“Financialization as a means toward an end”, I can respect if the end is worthy (healthcare, open source software, art, etc). Financialization *as the final product*.”
