Professional boxer Ryan Garcia’s venture into cryptocurrency faced intense scrutiny after launching his own meme coin, which saw its value dramatically decline within 24 hours of its release.
The coin, dubbed $RYAN, was marketed as an initiative “EMPOWERING AMERICA’S YOUTH THROUGH SPORTS,” according to Garcia’s website. The project promised that “40% of ALL the $RYAN supply will go towards charity endeavors and supporting underprivileged fighters in the USA.”
However, alleged screenshots of social media posts, which have since been removed from Garcia’s page, showed the coin’s launch on Thursday quickly turned controversial as its value plummeted, leading to accusations of misconduct from investors.
The incident drew criticism from various figures in the social media sphere, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who commented on Twitter: “I’d trust a Hawk Tuah coin before a Ryan Garcia coin.”
“Disgusting behavior,” wrote one social media user, while another labeled him a “slimeball.”
The situation bears similarities to a December incident involving Haliey Welch, known for her viral “Hawk Tuah” clip. Welch’s “Hawk” cryptocurrency reached a $490 million market cap shortly after launch before losing more than 95 percent of its value within hours. Welch denied allegations of wrongdoing and stated she was “fully cooperating with lawyers for those impacted by the coin’s crash.”
Garcia has not addressed the allegations surrounding $RYAN.
