No whitepaper or formal campaign was needed. The surname Ronaldo was enough for, within hours, a rumor disguised as an official news about a supposed memecoin called 'CR7' to circulate.
The result: a market capitalization that reached 143 million dollars, sustained solely by the expectation and naivety of those who assumed that sports fame could automatically translate into financial value.
1. The classic script of fraud
The scheme followed a well-known pattern in the crypto ecosystem, known as a rug pull. First, coordinated purchases to artificially inflate the price. Then, the rushed entry of retail investors fearful of 'missing out.' Finally, the massive liquidation by large holders, which caused a 98% crash in minutes. The technique is not new; what is striking is that it continues to work so easily.
2. Influencers and rumors as catalysts
This type of episode does not occur in a vacuum. Some influencers with massive audiences on X (formerly Twitter) published —and later deleted— the contract address of the false token. The dynamic repeats: they spread the narrative, retail investors put in the capital, and in the end, the only beneficiaries are the insiders who control the initial flow of information.
3. Context: a repeating pattern
The case recalls the fiasco of the $YZY token, another project without solid foundations that ended in widespread losses. The difference is that, in previous occasions, there was at least some community backing. In the case of $CR7, it was all an instant mirage, reinforcing the idea that memecoins associated with celebrities have become fertile ground for fraud. The consequences are not limited to economic damage: they also undermine trust in the ecosystem and highlight the urgency of having mechanisms for regulation and official verification.
4. Reflections: pending regulation or inevitable cynicism
The collapse of the false token $CR7 shows that the risk to retail investors is neither isolated nor accidental. As long as there are no clear tools for protection and transparency, schemes based on narrative manipulation will continue to thrive. The lesson is simple: a famous name does not equate to real value. The lack of verification turns speculation into a game where few win and many lose.
The open question is whether the market will manage to internalize these lessons, or if it will continue to repeat the same cycle of enthusiasm, manipulation, and loss.
