Ethereum-based cryptocurrency ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ has lost 99.5% of its value over the past 30 days, data from crypto-trading sites CoinMarketCap and Crypto showed on Monday. The value of the entire 330 trillion coins in circulation now totals several thousand dollars, while one LGB coin is worth effectively nothing.
The token, which is less than six months old, peaked in value at the end of last year after it was promoted by opponents of US President Joe Biden and NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, whose name inspired the coin title.
The token actually got its name from a euphemism substituting an entirely different phrase. During Brandon Brown’s post-victory interview with NBC at a NASCAR race in October, the crowd of spectators was loudly chanting “F**k Joe Biden,” but the sports reporter mistook the crowd’s words for “Let’s Go Brandon.” Campaigners picked up the phrase, and turned it into an anti-Biden rallying cry. For instance, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis started using the term “Brandon administration,” and Senator Ted Cruz reportedly used the slogan on several occasions.
Crypto enthusiasts decided to cash in on the viral phrase, and launched a crypto token of the same name in November. Brandon Brown then accepted a partnership with the coin because he was in need of a sponsor for the 2022 season, despite public claims that he dislikes the use of his name in a political slogan. Brown was supposed to carry the slogan on the hood of his race car for two years.
However, NASCAR intervened in the craze last month, saying that it would not support the sponsorship deal. The coin started to rapidly lose appeal shortly afterwards, and its value has now nearly evaporated.
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