Crypto Community Enraged Amid Charlie Kirk Memecoins

Charlie Kirk, the political activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was murdered yesterday. But his “tribute” memecoins caused a huge stir in the crypto space.

However, within hours, the crypto meme community began spinning up tokens. One token, $CHARLIE, surged online. It quickly reached a $16 million market cap, according to early tracking and screenshots circulating on Twitter and Telegram.

Some rushed to call the token a “tribute.” But most found it disturbing. In their eyes, launching speculative tokens off the back of a public figure’s death crosses an ethical line. The industry, once again, showed its worst instincts. Charlie Kirk memecoins are in bad taste, whether you call it tribute or any other names.

This isn’t the first time.

In June 2024, a wave of tokens emerged during Pump.fun live streams, where influencers encouraged users to mint and dump meme coins in real-time. Many of those tokens referenced recent tragedies, political scandals, or trending deaths, turning grief into gambling. Back then, a coin named $SUB -launched after the Titan submarine disaster, hit a multi-million dollar market cap in hours.

Similarly, after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, dozens of meme coins popped up within minutes of the announcement. Most of them rugged. All of them exploited public emotion.

Now, we see the pattern again.

This time, Charlie Kirk’s death became a launchpad. Meme degens flooded X with charts, calls, and memes. Some communities rallied under the guise of “commemoration,” but very few appeared genuine. Most were clear plays for liquidity. Speculative games thinly veiled as tribute.

Critics called it disgusting. “Thinking about bags while a person’s body is still warm, this is what gives crypto a bad name,” wrote one user. Another said, “We cry decentralization. But decentralization isn’t a license for moral bankruptcy.”

Still, defenders of the trend argue the space is permissionless by design. “You don’t need to agree with every use case,” said one $CHARLIE backer in a Spaces chat. “This is the cost of decentralization. It’s raw, fast, and expressive—even if messy.”

And that may be true.

Crypto doesn’t ask permission. Anyone can launch a coin. Anyone can buy, sell, or ignore it. That’s the core ethos.

But the question remains: just because you can, should you?

As the dust settles from this latest flashpoint, one thing is clear. The crypto industry continues to wrestle with its moral compass. It celebrates freedom- but often forgets the responsibility that comes with it.

The $CHARLIE coin may fade. But the stain it leaves behind is familiar. And it won’t be the last.