Dolly memecoin frenzy erupts after Dolly Parton’s death as rug pulls hit investors

Dolly Parton died on August 25 at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Within minutes, crypto’s worst instincts kicked in. Users on Pump.fun, the popular Solana-based memecoin launchpad, rushed to mint tokens bearing variations of her name. $DOLLY, DollyParton, RIP Dolly Parton, and other variants flooded the market, collectively generating millions of dollars in trading volume before most of them cratered in textbook rug pulls. A familiar playbook, a new victim Creators launched tokens, promoted them as tributes or cultural moments, attracted enough buyers to push prices up, then sold their holdings near the peak. Prices collapsed. Late buyers were left holding worthless tokens named after a woman who spent her life building goodwill. None of these coins were authorized by Parton’s family, her estate, or any entity associated with the singer. Her nephew Bryan Seaver had shared the news of her passing on social media, noting she died surrounded by loved ones at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She had been admitted just four days earlier, on August 21, suggesting the severity of her condition escalated rapidly. Pump.fun’s infrastructure makes it triviall...