Scammer Tricks Internet Into Buying Solana Memecoin By Faking 193-Year-Old Tortoise's Death

The world's oldest known living land animal has become an unlikely victim of a crypto scam, though thankfully, he's still very much alive. Jonathan the tortoise, a 193-year-old Seychelles giant residing on the British territory of Saint Helena, apparently found himself at the center of a memecoin rug pull that would make even the most hardened degen weep—except this time, the rug wasn't actually pulled because, well, the tortoise never actually died.

A scammer on social media platform X impersonated the veterinarian responsible for Jonathan and posted that the iconic reptile had kicked the bucket. The fraudulent post included a link to a Solana-based memecoin, tricking numerous users into ape-ing into the token before the truth emerged. The fake account, which somehow managed to fool a surprising number of people, claimed Jonathan had passed away on Saint Helena, prompting a wave of purchases that would make even Bitcoin maxis raise an eyebrow.

According to reports, the fake account posted that Jonathan had passed away on Saint Helena, prompting a wave of purchases of a Jonathan-themed Solana token. The price of the memecoin surged over 6,000% amid the social media frenzy before sharply dropping once the hoax was exposed. For those keeping track at home, that's a chart that looks less like a crypto project and more like a exit liquidity event with extra steps. The volume was apparently enough to trick plenty of people into thinking this was the next big thing—turns out, the only thing getting rekt was their due diligence.

The real veterinarian, Joe Hollins, later confirmed that Jonathan is alive and well. "Jonathan the tortoise is very much alive," he stated. "I believe on X the person purporting to be me is asking for crypto donations, so it's not even an April Fool's joke. It's a con." One has to admire the audacity