Solana News Today: Trader Loses $36m After Selling TROLL Meme Coin Hours After Buying

A trader has unwittingly missed out on a potential $36 million profit by selling his stake in the Solana-based meme coin TROLL in August 2024, hours after purchasing it for $1,300. According to on-chain data verified by Decrypt, Leland King Fawcette, the developer of the TROLL token, confirmed his involvement in the trade via a handshake transfer from the relevant wallet [1].

At the time of the sale, TROLL had a market capitalization of just $9,360. By July 2025, the token had surged to a peak of $166 million—over 174,948% growth—before retracing slightly to $158 million [1]. If Fawcette had held onto his tokens, his initial $1,300 investment would have earned a staggering 2,769,131% return [1].

Fawcette admitted he created the TROLL token with the goal of testing whether any KOL would promote a meme coin with an unusually high supply. When only one KOL showed interest, he sold his tokens to copy traders and abandoned the project [1]. For months, TROLL remained largely dormant, peaking at $24,000 before surging dramatically in April 2025. A surge in community interest and speculation helped drive the token to its current market cap, making it the ninth-largest token on the Pump.fun platform and the 39th-largest meme coin globally [1].

Interestingly, a rival TROLL meme coin—linked to the original Trollface meme created by Carlos Ramirez (known online as Saint Whynne)—peaked at $14 million in April 2025 but subsequently lost nearly all of its value, currently sitting at $142,630 [1].

Despite missing out on the massive gains, Fawcette appears unfazed. He told Decrypt that the lack of a clear indication that the coin would rise so sharply, along with the sheer number of meme coins on the market, lessened his sense of regret [1].

TROLL was launched on Pump.fun, a platform that has generated more than 12 million meme coins since January 2024 [1]. The platform’s growth reflects the increasingly crowded and volatile nature of the meme coin market, where luck and timing can have a major impact on returns. Fawcette’s misstep highlights the unpredictable nature of such investments and the importance of holding through long-term volatility when potential gains are substantial.

Source: [1] Unlucky Trader Fumbles $36m on Troll Solana Meme Coin (https://decrypt.co/333599/unlucky-trader-fumbles-36m-troll-solana-meme-coin)