$WatchCoin is a newly minted token linked to social engagement and viewership rewards that has made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
On launch day, it became the site of a high-stakes trading loss that affected a common type of trader, dubbed a “sniper,” who tries to take advantage of the volatility of freshly minted tokens by buying them right at launch and selling them at a profit (or so the theory goes). The sniper in this instance, however, missed big. He suffered a loss of 8,586 SOL, equivalent to roughly $1.48 million.
Regardless of the enthusiasm surrounding $WatchCoin’s novel distribution model, the incident has cast a shadow over the token’s debut and raised fresh concerns about fairness, execution costs, and short-term speculation in early-stage tokens.
Airdrop-Based Launch Model Sparks Excitement
WatchCoin announced that it had gone live today, Feb. 17, and offered a token sale to generate community engagement rather than just relying on investors. 40% of the tokens were released right away during the launch, while the other 60% were designated for airdrop events scheduled through the summer of 2016.
WATCHCOIN is now live.
You can now watch @AlexMasmej’s first video on 10K and earn his coin.
60% of WatchCoin’s supply will be vested through 100 videos — start earning today.
CA: 37CsKhfnGWjGwtsfhTbrknYpYAXG7C2J4gGR5QPZSnwY pic.twitter.com/gjY4gaVIap
— 10K (@10KWorld_) May 15, 2025
The mechanism involves unlocking a portion of tokens through viewership milestones linked to videos made by crypto celebrity Alex Masmej. Specifically, each of the 100 planned videos will unlock 6 million $WATCHCOIN tokens for viewers who watch within the first 24 hours. The first such video, titled 10K, is already live and serves as the kickoff for this experiment in watch-to-earn distribution.
The model has received accolades for encouraging active involvement and giving viewers an equitable opportunity to earn tokens, with the determining factor being time and attention rather than just financial resources.
$3.09M Sniping Attempt Ends in Disaster
Although numerous participants interacted in an organic manner with the airdrop process, one unidentified trader attempted to front-run the market using a classic “sniping” strategy. This high-risk maneuver is designed to scoop up large quantities of a token moments after launch, often before a wider price discovery has taken place.
This sharpshooter for the Solana blockchain spent an eye-watering 17,800 SOL, worth around $3.09 million, to acquire 47.83 million $WATCHCOIN tokens after the crypto’s launch. On top of that enormous expenditure, they also paid a nearly unfathomable trading fee of 669 SOL (approximately $116,000). That’s about 3.68% on an already exceptional transaction.
Not all snipers make money.
A sniper lost 8,586 $SOL($1.48M) on $WATCHCOIN!
This sniper paid a fee of 669 $SOL($116K) and spent 17,800 $SOL($3.09M) to snipe 47.83M $WATCHCOIN.
Then sold all 47.83M $WATCHCOIN for 9,883 $SOL($1.72M), losing $1.48M.https://t.co/rGYLPJm1Ms pic.twitter.com/twvIcT2HVm
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 16, 2025
The plan, however, backfired catastrophically. After the tokens were bought, the sniper sold the whole 47.83 million $WATCHCOIN haul for just 9,883 SOL, or about $1.72 million. The result? A net loss of 8,586 SOL, converting to a financial setback of around $1.48 million in under a day.
The debacle spotlights the severe dangers that lie in wait for anyone who might be tempted to adopt a trading strategy that is too aggressive. This is especially true for tokens that have unconventional distribution patterns, price dynamics that are hard to read in the early days, and a tendency to obey any and all laws of chaos.
Community Reaction and Future Outlook for $WatchCoin
The crypto community was quick to react to the incident, with many feeling and saying that the loss was just too big to comprehend. For some, the not-gaming-the-system failure was a warning about the dangers of betting on new tokens without knowing what you’re doing. Others saw this outcome as only right and just, considering that targeting a token’s price at launch is exactly the sort of surefire, Wall Street kind of thing that some crypto critics say is threatening to turn the community-driven world of crypto into a cash-for-your-dreams kind of place.
At the same time, enthusiasm for $WatchCoin isn’t waning, with many drawn to its experimental nature and the participation of Alex Masmej — a figure whose past work occupies the space where social media, tokenization, and user interaction meet. Masmej’s latest idea could be the first step toward watching curated content in something like commercial TV’s business model: you watch, you get tokens, communities get built.
Despite that, the market will probably stay volatile, especially as forthcoming videos reveal more of the leftover 60% of the token supply. Both traders and investors will need to meticulously consider the pluses of engaging early and the minuses of engaging early, which of course means considering the risks of speculative trading, before they act.
At present, the $WatchCoin sniper must wrestle with a stark, nagging reality: in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, the aggressive nature of that loss reminds one of a related aphorism: that in the quest for speed in this new market, one comes in danger of sacrificing strategy. Overtake the market, and it will gladly serve you your comeuppance.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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