AI meme coin RALPH plummets 80% after developer dumps $300,000

A meme coin themed around AI linked to the prompt trend “Ralph Wiggum” plummeted sharply after on-chain data showed a wallet believed to be associated with developer Geoffrey Huntley sold approximately $300,000 worth of tokens in just one hour.

The sell-off, detected by the visual analysis platform Bubblemaps, triggered a rapid and deep price decline, sparking controversy around trust, token ownership, and the motives of the development team.

This incident continues to fuel debates about meme coins based on viral ideas, where thin liquidity and unclear benefits can turn normal profit-taking activities into market shocks.

What happened and why it matters

According to Bubblemaps, a wallet linked to Huntley sold a total of $300,000 worth of RALPH through three separate transactions, creating an almost vertical “red candle” and causing the price to drop about 80% at the peak of the volatility.

The on-chain analysis firm stated that this wallet belongs to a small group holding about 2% of the total supply, while another linked address still holds around 3%. Notably, shortly afterward, a funded whale also sold an additional approximately $115,000, and Bubblemaps said they are continuing to monitor the developments.

Huntley admitted to executing the sale, calling it a “risk reduction” move and reaffirmed that he still holds RALPH. He said the sale was made ahead of the next vesting period to avoid private OTC deals, which, in his view, would require accepting deep discounts but still risk market disruption.

However, many traders disagreed. Some argued that he should have added tokens to liquidity pools to earn fees and gradually exit positions instead of selling heavily in a short period. Critics said that the timing of the sale eroded trust, while supporters countered that profit-taking is inevitable in a highly volatile meme coin market.

The debate quickly became public. One user accused the sale of “burning” consensus benefits, while another responded that investors need to accept that developers will realize profits as long as the token exists to support a project.

Huntley also emphasized that he did not create, control, or agree with the issuance of this token. However, this statement faced backlash from holders, who argued that RALPH remains closely tied to his work and image.

RALPH price movement

At the time of reporting, RALPH was trading around $0.0054, down about 66% for the day and nearly 90% below its all-time high of approximately $0.047 set on January 21. The market cap of this meme coin has fallen to around $4.9 million from a peak of nearly $47 million.

24-hour trading volume reached about $7.7 million, more than 150% of the market cap — a sign of intense circulating pressure and forced selling.

Although still higher than the January low, the gap between recent highs and current price indicates how quickly liquidity can vanish. Compared to the broader market, RALPH’s volatility is quite specific, not driven by macro factors.

The incident also reflects recent warnings about speculative meme coin launches. Earlier this month, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao warned investors to be cautious of tokens created as jokes, noting that most tend to end in losses.

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