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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"6a09fdd3-d07d-44a8-bd23-1d1bcd095c65","kind":"publish","page_slug":"ansem-ansem-black-bull-creator-coin-controversy","published_at":"2026-09-09T01:46:15.736Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Ansem / $ANSEM (\"Black Bull\") creator-coin controversy","sections":[{"content":"According to on-chain analysis reported by crypto news outlets, an anonymous, unidentified deployer created a Solana token branded \"$ANSEM\" (marketed as \"The Black Bull\") on the Pump.fun launchpad around June 17, 2026, spending approximately $6,300 to buy roughly 792.45 million of the token's supply. The deployer then sent 650 million tokens — roughly 60% of total supply — directly to a wallet associated with Ansem at no cost to him. Ansem did not create this token, and multiple other unaffiliated developers separately deployed their own tokens using the \"$ANSEM\" name at around the same time once Ansem's name began trending, meaning no single official $ANSEM token exists. Ansem publicly disavowed several of these copycat tokens as not his. The deployer of the \"Black Bull\" version reportedly sold a portion of its own holdings for an estimated net gain of approximately $5,500–$11,800.","heading":"What is established on-chain: token launch and transfer to Ansem","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"AMBCrypto — $ANSEM deployer sends 60% of supply to Ansem","type":"news_article","url":"https://ambcrypto.com/ansem-deployer-sends-60-of-supply-to-ansem-who-says-he-has-airdropped-7m-to-holders/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"crypto.news — What is $ANSEM? The Solana influencer memecoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/what-is-ansem-coin-solana-influencer-memecoin-explained/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DEXTools — Ansem Disavows the $ANSEM Memecoins on His Name","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dextools.io/news/ansem-disavows-ansem-memecoins-onchain-data-june-2026"}]},{"content":"Between approximately June 27 and June 29, 2026, Ansem distributed roughly $6.7–7 million worth of $ANSEM tokens to more than 700 Solana wallets, according to on-chain data reported by The Defiant and AMBCrypto: one recipient wallet received over $1 million, six received more than $100,000 each, roughly 40 received more than $10,000, about 300 received more than $1,000, and around 400 received smaller amounts near $150. Ansem stated on social media that he had \"sent out another round of the airdrops, have airdropped about ~$7M so far, will do more as market cap goes higher,\" framing the distribution as an effort to grow the token's holder base from roughly 25,000 toward a stated goal of 1 million holders. Despite these distributions, Ansem's wallet retained an estimated 604 million tokens — about 58–60% of total supply — which analytics platform Rugcheck.xyz flagged as a manipulation risk due to the concentration of supply in a small number of wallets. At its peak, reporting indicates Ansem's token holdings were valued above $100 million (with one outlet citing Arkham Intelligence data showing a peak of approximately $260 million before a subsequent decline); other contemporaneous reporting placed the peak closer to $71–120 million depending on the measurement date and token price used. As of late July 2026, the token's price had fallen more than 57% from its all-time high, and Ansem had not sold his position according to the reporting reviewed.","heading":"Ansem's $7 million airdrop and wallet concentration","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"The Defiant — Ansem Airdrops $7M of $ANSEM Memecoin in Bid to Reach 1M Holders","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/ansem-airdrops-usd7m-of-usdansem-memecoin-in-bid-to-reach-1m-holders"},{"credibility":2,"name":"AMBCrypto — $ANSEM deployer sends 60% of supply to Ansem","type":"news_article","url":"https://ambcrypto.com/ansem-deployer-sends-60-of-supply-to-ansem-who-says-he-has-airdropped-7m-to-holders/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Yahoo Finance / Benzinga — Solana Memecoin ANSEM Rallies After Influencer Bets Big Amid $160 Million Paper Loss","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/solana-memecoin-ansem-rallies-114503779.html"}]},{"content":"Following the concentration of supply in Ansem's wallet and his subsequent airdrops, segments of the crypto community and commentators alleged that the arrangement resembled a rug-pull pattern — an unaffiliated developer gifting a large token allocation to a high-profile influencer, who then distributes tokens to build a retail holder base while retaining majority control of supply. Some critics reportedly characterized this as a prospective \"$2 million rug pull.\" These are characterizations made by online commentators and are not findings by any regulator, law-enforcement body, or court, and no such proceeding has been identified in the available reporting. It should be noted that this controversy follows a prior, separate allegation: in October 2024, on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly accused Ansem of promoting a pattern of low-market-cap Solana memecoins — including tokens such as BODEN, HOBBES, ZEUS, and WYNN, several of which subsequently lost most of their value — in a manner ZachXBT said resembled pump-and-dump dynamics that could leave Ansem's followers holding losses. Ansem responded to that 2024 accusation by pointing to his early, public calls on tokens such as Dogwifhat (WIF), which he said were a net benefit to followers relative to promoting other assets. No fraud charges or regulatory findings arose from the 2024 ZachXBT allegations, and none have been identified in connection with the 2026 $ANSEM episode.","heading":"Community backlash and allegations of a potential rug pull","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"The Defiant — ZachXBT Accuses Influencer Ansem of Promoting Solana Memecoin 'Pump and Dumps'","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/zachxbt-accuses-influencer-ansem-promoting-solana-memecoin-pump-dumps-ac9dfb13"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Cointelegraph via TradingView — ZachXBT accuses crypto influencer Ansem of promoting memecoin 'pump and dumps'","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:12e1fc27b094b:0-zachxbt-accuses-crypto-influencer-ansem-of-promoting-memecoin-pump-and-dumps/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DailyCoin — Is Ansem Running 'Pump and Dumps'? Crypto Influencer Under Fire","type":"news_article","url":"https://dailycoin.com/is-ansem-running-pump-and-dumps-crypto-influencer-under-fire/"}]},{"content":"Ansem publicly and directly denied any intention to conduct a rug pull. According to reporting published June 30, 2026, Ansem stated that his approach was to use tokens to \"attract new users and provide liquidity,\" citing Dogecoin and BONK — both of which he had backed early and which grew into large, durable projects — as models for how a widely-distributed token tied to a public figure's following could benefit participants rather than extract from them. Ansem said this was the first project in which he personally led token distribution and held a majority of supply, contrasting it with earlier tokens he said failed because anonymous teams pre-hoarded supply and dumped on holders without transparency. On June 28, 2026, Ansem also publicly criticized Pump.fun's creator-fee reward structure and pledged to redirect the creator fees the token was generating — reportedly in the range of roughly $200,000 to $378,000 per week — back to traders via airdrops, a commitment he characterized in a social-media post as giving \"the trenches a stimmy since pump refuses to.\" These statements represent Ansem's own account of his intent and have not been independently verified beyond the on-chain distributions described above.","heading":"Ansem's response and denial of rug-pull intent","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Bitget News — Ansem responds to creator token controversy, denies intent to exploit investors","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605483689"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Lookonchain — Ansem responds to creator token controversy: Won't rug pull, cites Dogecoin and BONK","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.lookonchain.com/feeds/62587"},{"credibility":2,"name":"crypto.news — What is $ANSEM? The Solana influencer memecoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/what-is-ansem-coin-solana-influencer-memecoin-explained/"}]},{"content":"The $ANSEM episode has been cited by industry commentators as a representative example of a broader 2026 trend on Solana in which anonymous developers launch tokens bearing the name or likeness of crypto influencers without their creation or formal endorsement, then transfer large token allocations to the named individual. The influencer may subsequently benefit from platform creator fees and hold significant token supply regardless of whether they built or endorsed the underlying project, a dynamic that analysts say concentrates both potential profit and reputational/legal risk in the influencer regardless of their degree of actual involvement. Multiple outlets, including DEXTools, have described this as a systemic pattern rather than one unique to Ansem.","heading":"Broader context: the 2026 'creator coin' meta","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DEXTools — The 2026 Influencer-Token Meta, Explained: Creator Coins and On-Chain Data","type":"research","url":"https://www.dextools.io/news/influencer-token-meta-2026-onchain-reality-creator-coins"}]},{"content":"The available reporting establishes the on-chain mechanics of the token launch, the transfer to Ansem, and his subsequent airdrops, along with the token's price decline of more than 57% from its all-time high by late July 2026. However, the reviewed sources do not quantify or substantiate specific net losses suffered by identifiable investors as a result of Ansem's conduct, nor do they establish that Ansem sold tokens into the market at holders' expense; multiple reports note he retained roughly 58–60% of supply without selling as of the most recent data reviewed. Claims of harm in this dossier should be read as allegations made by commentators and critics rather than as established, quantified findings.","heading":"Assessment of harm to investors","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Yahoo Finance / Benzinga — Solana Memecoin ANSEM Rallies After Influencer Bets Big Amid $160 Million Paper Loss","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/solana-memecoin-ansem-rallies-114503779.html"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"crypto.news — What is $ANSEM? The Solana influencer memecoin","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/what-is-ansem-coin-solana-influencer-memecoin-explained/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Bitget News — Ansem responds to creator token controversy, denies intent to exploit investors","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605483689"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Defiant — Ansem Airdrops $7M of $ANSEM Memecoin in Bid to Reach 1M Holders","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/ansem-airdrops-usd7m-of-usdansem-memecoin-in-bid-to-reach-1m-holders"},{"credibility":2,"name":"AMBCrypto — $ANSEM deployer sends 60% of supply to Ansem, who says he has airdropped $7M to holders","type":"news_article","url":"https://ambcrypto.com/ansem-deployer-sends-60-of-supply-to-ansem-who-says-he-has-airdropped-7m-to-holders/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DEXTools — Ansem Disavows the $ANSEM Memecoins on His Name: On-Chain Reality","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dextools.io/news/ansem-disavows-ansem-memecoins-onchain-data-june-2026"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DEXTools — The 2026 Influencer-Token Meta, Explained: Creator Coins and On-Chain Data","type":"research","url":"https://www.dextools.io/news/influencer-token-meta-2026-onchain-reality-creator-coins"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Lookonchain — Ansem responds to creator token controversy: Won't rug pull, cites Dogecoin and BONK","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.lookonchain.com/feeds/62587"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Yahoo Finance / Benzinga — Solana Memecoin ANSEM Rallies After Influencer Bets Big On 'Tokenized Creator Economy' Amid $160 Million Paper Loss","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/solana-memecoin-ansem-rallies-114503779.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Defiant — ZachXBT Accuses Influencer Ansem of Promoting Solana Memecoin 'Pump and Dumps'","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/zachxbt-accuses-influencer-ansem-promoting-solana-memecoin-pump-dumps-ac9dfb13"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Cointelegraph via TradingView — ZachXBT accuses crypto influencer Ansem of promoting memecoin 'pump and dumps'","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:12e1fc27b094b:0-zachxbt-accuses-crypto-influencer-ansem-of-promoting-memecoin-pump-and-dumps/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DailyCoin — Is Ansem Running 'Pump and Dumps'? Crypto Influencer Under Fire","type":"news_article","url":"https://dailycoin.com/is-ansem-running-pump-and-dumps-crypto-influencer-under-fire/"}],"summary":"In mid-to-late June 2026, an anonymous developer launched a Solana memecoin branded with the name of prominent crypto trader Ansem (Zion Thomas, @blknoiz06) and sent him 650 million tokens at no cost; Ansem's resulting holdings peaked at over $100 million in value before declining sharply. Ansem, who says he did not create or officially endorse the token, subsequently airdropped roughly $7 million of it to Solana wallets and publicly denied intending a rug pull amid community backlash over the concentration of supply in his wallet. No regulator, court, or on-chain investigator has established that investors suffered net losses attributable to Ansem's conduct, and Ansem has not sold his holdings as of the most recent reporting reviewed.","timeline":[{"date":"2024-10","event":"On-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly accused Ansem of promoting a series of low-market-cap Solana memecoins in a pattern he compared to pump-and-dump dynamics.","source":"The Defiant","source_url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/zachxbt-accuses-influencer-ansem-promoting-solana-memecoin-pump-dumps-ac9dfb13"},{"date":"2026-06","date_original":"2026-06-17","event":"An anonymous developer deployed the $ANSEM (\"The Black Bull\") token on Pump.fun, spending approximately $6,300 and sending 650 million tokens directly to Ansem's wallet.","source":"AMBCrypto","source_url":"https://ambcrypto.com/ansem-deployer-sends-60-of-supply-to-ansem-who-says-he-has-airdropped-7m-to-holders/"},{"date":"2026-06","date_original":"2026-06-28","event":"Ansem publicly criticized Pump.fun's creator-fee structure and pledged to airdrop creator fees generated by the token back to traders.","source":"Bitget News","source_url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605483689"},{"date":"2026-06","date_evidence":"Token price: ~$0.10 (as of June 29, 5:30 p.m. ET)","date_original":"2026-06-29","event":"Ansem's cumulative airdrops reached approximately $7 million distributed across more than 700 wallets, as reported with on-chain figures dated to that day.","source":"The Defiant","source_url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/ansem-airdrops-usd7m-of-usdansem-memecoin-in-bid-to-reach-1m-holders"},{"date":"2026-06","date_original":"2026-06-30","event":"Ansem publicly responded to backlash, denying intent to conduct a '$2 million rug pull' and comparing his approach to Dogecoin and BONK.","source":"Bitget News","source_url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605483689"},{"date":"2026-07","date_original":"2026-07-26","event":"Reporting citing Arkham Intelligence data indicated Ansem's token holdings had declined by roughly $160 million from their peak, though he had not sold his position; the token had fallen more than 57% from its all-time high.","source":"Yahoo Finance / Benzinga","source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/solana-memecoin-ansem-rallies-114503779.html"}]},"v":1}