Alleged Former Trader Donated Portion of Wealth From Gifted Meme Coins to Charity

A parody X account, Richard E. Ptardio, claiming to be a former trader, made headlines after donating meme coins to charity.

The tokens, inspired by his persona, surged to nearly $1 million in value.

On 17 December, Ptardio revealed he had received 700 million Richard Ptardio (PTARDIO) tokens via Solana's Pump.fun, initially valued at $53,250.

Within hours, their worth skyrocketed by 1,765% to nearly $1 million.

Ptardio clarified that the tokens were created without his knowledge or consent and sought to distance himself from the project.

He added:

“I shall be selling my position and donating the entire proceeds to Save the Children. A far better use of the funds.”

Although the token's value later declined, Ptardio donated 313.42 Solana, equivalent to $69,000, to a charity supporting education, health, and child welfare initiatives worldwide, after discussing with his wife.

Ptardio's X Account in Nascent Stage But Has Over 7,500 Followers

It is quite common for meme coin creators to send tokens to individuals who inspired their creation, and the case of Richard E. Ptardio is no exception.

The parody X account, portraying an older man with 35 years of trading experience across London, Hong Kong, and New York, began exploring crypto commentary in mid-September.

To date, he has over 7,500 followers on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Ptardio often highlights meme coin investing, attributing its appeal to its "weirdness" and suggesting that "the market rewards the bold, not the logical.”

The PTARDIO token, launched barely a day ago, briefly peaked at a market cap of $4.75 million before declining to $115,810, according to GeckoTerminal.

Despite the drop, the token saw a 28.23% increase in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.000115.