Meme coins riding the wave of Haaland's popularity: hype on Solana and signals of a reversal
Erling Haaland's name has once again become the center of attention in the crypto community, sparking a wave of speculative memecoins on the Solana blockchain. The trigger was a viral Easter egg from Google, timed to the World Cup quarterfinal between Norway and England. An animation of a Viking helmet appearing for the query "Haaland" instantly spread across the network, creating fertile ground for hype.
Instant Reaction from Crypto Developers
Anonymous teams seized the moment and quickly launched tokens like RO and VIKINGROW. These assets have neither real utility nor any official connection to the footballer or clubs. However, their emergence coincided with a sharp spike in search queries about Haaland, attracting retail traders hungry for quick profits. Similar activity surges have been observed earlier in the tournament, always tied to high-profile matches.
Market Dynamics and Risks
Currently, the Erling Haaland token is trading around $0.00037 with a market cap of about $370,000 — a negligible amount by market standards. Over the past day, the memecoin's price has dropped nearly 16%, demonstrating the classic volatility of such speculative instruments. Analysts view these assets more as a "bet on popularity" rather than a long-term investment. Meanwhile, retail traders continue to snap up popular tournament tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEX), ignoring the risks. More stable fan tokens behave more cautiously during playoff matches.
Licensed NFTs vs. Memecoins
While speculators chase memecoins, official Haaland NFT cards on the Sorare platform are appreciating in value. The footballer's seven goals in the current tournament have fueled demand from those betting on the game itself, rather than empty speculation. Sorare cards are issued under licenses from major leagues, making their valuation more transparent and justified. At the same time, tokens "riding" on star names carry legal risks — the legal battles surrounding the Iggy Azalea memecoin serve as a stark example.
Analyst Comment: The memecoin market tied to big names is a classic "retail trap." As long as the hype around Haaland persists, we may see short-term rallies, but the fundamental value of such tokens tends toward zero. The gap between speculative coins on Solana and licensed Sorare collectible cards only underscores how willing traders are to risk for quick profits, ignoring obvious signs of a bubble. I would advise extreme caution: the memecoin trend of this wave is already showing signs of exhaustion.