Memorable Day for Siqi Chen

Siqi Chen, CEO and CFO of startup finance platform Runway, shared a life-changing experience on X.

Fundraising for a Cause

On Tuesday night, Chen made a heartfelt plea for donations to support the Hankinson Lab at the University of Colorado. This lab is the only one in North America researching craniopharyngiomas, a rare brain tumor affecting his daughter, Mira. Following boosted posts from prominent users, including X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Chen's GoFundMe raised over $230,000.

The Rise of MIRA

Chen was stunned by a charity memecoin called MIRA, created by an apparent beginner in the crypto community. After its launch, the coin surged to a market cap of $80 million. User Waddles purchased and sent Chen 50% of the memecoin shortly after its launch, turning Chen's stake into millions.

> Waddles expressed, "I thought it would be good to buy and send supply to you to gain community support for a good cause."

Managing Funds

On Thursday, Chen announced plans to liquidate $1,000 worth of $MIRA every 10 minutes indefinitely.

> He committed, "If I change this schedule, I will announce it 24 hours in advance."

Regardless of individual trading motives, Chen viewed the overall situation as a success:

> "We set out to raise $200K and will end up with at least $1M towards rare disease research."

Market Fluctuations

Despite the positive fundraising outcome, MIRA dropped to a market cap of $20 million post-announcement. A related memecoin named kitkat, after Mira's dog, briefly reached $3 million before declining to $150,000.

Chen assured that 100% of the funds, including those from any related memecoins, would go to rare disease research after tax obligations.

New Perspectives on Charity Coins

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recognized charity coins as a potentially positive spin on the memecoin trend, although he highlighted a need for improvement in previous initiatives. "An unclaimed opportunity exists to create something long-lasting and positive-sum," Buterin noted.