A trader operating anonymously on the Tron network has achieved remarkable success, converting an investment of $1,000 into over $750,000 through the trading of a new Tron-based memecoin named SunWukong. On August 21, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence revealed that the trader acquired 43.8 million SUNWUKONG tokens for an initial investment of $997.
The dramatic increase in value for SunWukong was triggered by a publicity stunt involving Justin Sun, the founder of Tron. He changed his profile picture on social media to depict Sun Wukong, a character linked to a newly launched video game inspired by Chinese folklore, titled Black Myth: Wukong. This game debuted on August 20 and achieved significant success, reaching over 2.2 million concurrent players on the gaming platform Steam within the first 24 hours of its release, marking it as one of the most successful single-player game launches in the platform’s history.
DexScreener reports indicate that the memecoin’s price skyrocketed from roughly $3,000 to an astonishing $17 million—an increase exceeding 566,500% within a mere 12-hour window. Consequently, the trader’s initial $1,000 investment swelled to an estimated $750,000 at the peak of the market rally. However, since reaching its all-time high, the token has experienced a decline, losing 58% of its value, and currently has a market cap of $7.4 million.
Despite these gains, the trader has yet to realize any profits, as they have not sold any of their SunWukong tokens. Current estimates place their holdings at approximately $329,000. This trading activity aligns with the rise of a memecoin launchpad called SunPump, which has garnered over $1 million in revenue just 12 days following its launch. While some celebrate the growth of the memecoin market, others raise concerns about its speculative nature and its potential impact on the foundational principles of cryptocurrency.