Survival is rare due to the volatility often seen in the Solana Meme Coin market. However, The White Whale (WHITEWHALE), a token born on the Pump.fun launchpad in late 2025, overturned those expectations.
White Whale has endured steep declines, accusations of rug-pulling, and relentless scrutiny from traders and analysts.
White Whale’s wild price fluctuations and the origin of its meme story
As of this writing, WHITEWHALE is trading at $0.089 and has a market cap of $89.6 million, according to CoinGecko data.
White Whale token has risen 180% in the past two weeks while the overall cryptocurrency market has been in a downturn. This reflects how extreme the price fluctuations are.
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The WHITEWHALE meme coin was launched in October 2025, inspired by the X (Twitter) persona @TheWhiteWhaleV2, a famous perpetual trader known for his infamous $80 million liquidation.
As outlined in an early community post on Medium, the token had no roadmap, no promised utility, and no known founders, just a meme story and a fixed supply of nearly 1 billion tokens.
Concerned that fraud using his likeness could damage his reputation, @TheWhiteWhaleV2 stepped in. By December, he had purchased tokens, added liquidity, and helped orchestrate a community takeover (CTO).
Pump.fun’s fees were redirected to holders and financial activity was made public. This is an unusual move in the meme-heavy Solana field.
But who is ultimately in control of WHITEWHALE’s finances today?
“I do. That’s completely important. I have ultimate responsibility for the token that bears my name. DAOs and other structures often give this space the illusion of democracy that rarely exists. You trust Jeff to be a good steward of HyperLiquid. You trust The White Whale to be a good steward of his namesake,” White Whale told BeInCrypto.
Early participants were rewarded handsomely, and the report highlights instances where traders turned hundreds of dollars into more than $1 million.
However, the same trader, Remus on Ex, lost most of these profits after a week, only cashing out $220,000.
“This trader lost $1 million on WHITEWHALE last week. Remus rose $1.5 million on WHITEWHALE. Unfortunately, he only cashed in $220,000 before the price crashed -80%. It is now up $464,000. Will Remus make it back? Or is it time to move on to the next coin? Mr. Arkham reported.”
How retail revenge was meted out to WHITEWHALE
According to CoinGecko, WHITEWHALE’s price has soared nearly 930% from its December low of $0.0082, and at one point tested $0.20.
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Its market capitalization exceeds $200 million, making it one of Pump.fun’s most successful launches in recent months, Messari said.
Listings on exchanges such as Bybit, MEXC, KuCoin, and LBank led to a spike in trading volume of up to $48 million in 24 hours.
At X, traders branded WHITEWHALE as a “Retail Revenge,” a cultural backlash against the rise of bots, snipers, and insider-driven memes.
Then came the collapse.
Lag or liquidity event? Inside WHITEWHALE’s January 20 crash
On January 20, 2026, the top holders sold approximately $1.3 million worth of tokens, causing a rapid price decline of 60%.
The estimated market cap dropped from about $200 million to between $20 million and $40 million, and social media was abuzz with claims that the rug had been pulled.
While headlines dubbed the event a lag pull, on-chain analysts using Bubble Map tracked the drop to a single major wallet separate from Remus.
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The team fought back, calling this a “liquidity event” rather than a withdrawal scam, but confidence had already been shaken.
“…our largest private holders have exited the majority of their positions… We did not participate in the selling, but we did do some buybacks… What has changed is the distribution. No longer is a single oversized private position sitting on top of the market. Supply is now spread across a wider range of holders. This is not a Treasury-driven event. This is not a departure from the principles we have set. It was a liquidity event,” Whitewhale wrote.
BeInCrypto asked The White Whale why this level of focus persisted despite the project’s anti-whale narrative. He responded that the project follows the core ethos of cryptocurrencies: permissionless finance. He stressed that traders should be allowed to do what they want.
“Please note that I did not launch this token. If I had launched Launchpad, I would not have used any Launchpad, as existing Launchpad does not have adequate measures in place to protect investors from things like this. Naturally, we are trying to talk to as many remaining large holders as possible and offer OTC trading to reduce the impact on the market. But people are allowed to do what they like.
Most importantly, The White Whale refuted the claim that the drop in a single wallet caused the overall crash. That, he said, set off a chain of panic selling.
Recovery is facilitated by locking and overshadowed by control.
Contrary to expectations, WHITEWHALE prices rebounded. Within a few days, it was climbing again toward a market cap of $80 million to $90 million, posting daily gains of over 70%.
The Treasury Department has locked down 40 million tokens for a year, reducing circulating supply and demonstrating long-term intentions, a move publicly confirmed by X community stakeholders.
“This significantly reduces circulating supply, removes the pressure to sell government bonds, and screams a commitment to longevity. Short-term fire sales are not allowed here. Credible projects do this to build real trust. This is the kind of discipline that quickly triggers positive emotions,” said one user.
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On-chain data cited by Rootsdata suggests that Treasury and associated wallets control a significant share of the supply, reaching more than 50%.
This concentration works both ways, with supporters seeing it as protection from predatory dumping, but critics warn it leaves the token vulnerable to a sudden collapse once again.
There is no denying that there are risks. WHITEWHALE tokens have no utility beyond the narrative, and price fluctuations of 60% or more are still common. Given that most Solana meme coins eventually fail, most traders still expect a downside. However, The White Whale himself is optimistic that this project can bring a good standard to all future tokens.
“I think the whole point of the meme is to not try to dress up as something we’re not. A lot of projects fail because we try to pretend we’re more than we are. Instead, we lean into who we are and we’re proud of who we are. So $WhiteWhale luck The biggest directive of the movement, so to speak, is to prove that something can be successful while maintaining integrity. My personal goal is to set the bar very high so that investors in meme coins start demanding similar stewardship, dedication, and integrity.”
Still, survival is important. In an ecosystem where many tokens disappear overnight, WHITEWHALE’s resilience and transparent financial practices set it apart.
But it’s also extremely dangerous, driven by whales, narrative, and momentum rather than fundamentals.
Therefore, WHITEWHALE token may not be a scam, and this view is supported by trading on major exchanges. We also post actual volumes and maintain an active, dedicated community as described in our Exchange support documentation.
In closing remarks, BeInCrypto asked The White Whale what will happen to the tokens if they decide to exit.
“Ironically, if I were to get hit by a bus, the price action would probably be very bullish. However, my name is attached to this project, so I can’t imagine walking away.”
